News > The Importance of Upgrading Your Equipment in an Analytical Laboratory

The Importance of Upgrading Your Equipment in an Analytical Laboratory:

Analytical laboratories still use manual processes and outdated lab equipment for routine tasks when there is now technology and automated processes to replace these outdated procedures. Using obsolete equipment is what leads to problems with accuracy, precision, and throughput capacity that can end up extremely costly for the analytical laboratory. Upgrading lab equipment and utilising automated processes means that analytical labs will become more efficient and accurate while lowering costs over time. There are five important reasons to why these labs should consider using automated equipment and modern technology.

Automation:

All industries have started to use automation as it is an excellent tool that can improve efficiency and increase production with little to no errors accruing in an analytical laboratory. Using automated processes means that tasks usually completed by human employees are completed at a much more efficient and accurate rate. This means that employees can dedicate their time to other projects in the lab as there is no need for routine tasks to be supervised.

Improved Safety:

By continuing to use manual procedures and traditional testing methods, it requires continuous monitoring and contact with lab equipment and harsh chemicals that can be dangerous. Employees and the testing environment can be harmed by being overly exposed to lab substances. Upgrading to modern analytical equipment can provide improved safety as it minimalizes contact with reagents, samples and any other harmful substances found in the lab. Instrumentation is a more reliable tool for most methods as it limits the handling of fragile glass equipment. Automation and modern instrument minimize the risk of safety issues that manual methods pose.

Increased Accuracy and Precision:

By modernizing dated equipment and testing methods, analytical labs will notice that more consistent results are generated. Outdated lab equipment may have adverse effects on the consistency and accuracy of results and traditional testing methods can be subjective. These can lead to uncertainty in results obtained and require additional data collection for validation. By making an upgrade to modern equipment and manual processes, it eliminates inconsistent results and subjectivity.

Online Monitoring or Computer Integration:

Software and computer monitoring capabilities is continuously improving as technology advances which means observation advancements make data collection, processing and storing easier and more efficient. The advanced software means that employees can stream surveillance near real-time and control the quantity of trials remotely. Multiple trials can be conducted for extended periods of time with online monitoring if labs use the advanced software capabilities.

Return on Investment:

Although initially capital investment in modern equipment can seem costly, the updated equipment and automated testing procedures ultimately generate more savings and productivity overtime. The risks involved with using older equipment can lead to increasing repair costs and potentially a dismissal of certain products. As regulatory requirements increase and audits become more standard, eventually the cost of operating manual methods will surpass the cost of upgrading to an automated system.

Looking to Upgrade Your Analytical Laboratory?

If you are interested in upgrading your lab equipment or automated processes, we have a wide range of analytical laboratory equipment that can suit your specific needs. Please contact a member of our sales team today, they will be happy to help.