Top 5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Laboratory Equipment
(Updated November 2021)
Even though technology and automated equipment have been known to enhance performance, laboratories continue to use manual processes and outdated equipment for routine tasks. Obsolete equipment can lead to issues revolving around accuracy, precision and throughput capacity, which in turn can be extremely costly. By upgrading equipment and utilizing automated features, labs can operate more efficiently and accurately, while simultaneously reducing costs. Listed below are five significant reasons labs should consider using automated equipment and modern technology.
Automation
Automation has become very prevalent in all industries and is an excellent tool to improve efficiency and production, while limiting error in the lab space. Automated processes complete the same tasks as human employees, but at a much more efficient and accurate rate. Routine tasks can be completed, with minimal human supervision, which allows employees to devote their time to other projects throughout the lab. (Learn more, Which Is Better - Manual or Automated Titrations?)
Automated options include titrators with autosamplers and chemistry analyzers.
Improved Safety
Manual procedures and traditional testing methods require continuous monitoring and contact with lab equipment and harsh chemicals. Overexposure to lab substances can be extremely harmful to employees and the testing environment. Modern lab equipment provides improved safety by minimizing contact with reagents, samples, and other harmful materials within the lab. Instrumentation can also be a more reliable tool for most methods, limiting the handling of fragile glass equipment. The use of automation and modern instrumentation minimizes the safety issues manual methods pose.
Increased Accuracy and Precision
In addition to improved efficiency and safety, labs should consider modernizing dated equipment and testing methods to generate more consistent results. Dated lab equipment can have adverse effects on the consistency and accuracy of the results and traditional testing methods can be subjective. Unfortunately, this can lead to uncertainty in the results obtained or require additional data collection for validation. Purchasing modern equipment and upgrading manual processes eliminates inconsistent results and subjectivity.
Upgrading your lab can improve accuracy and precision.
Online Monitoring or Computer Integration
As a complementary component, software and computer monitoring capabilities continue to improve as technology advances. Observation advancements make data collection, processing, and storing easier and more efficient compared to traditional methods. Advanced software allows employees to stream surveillance near real-time and controls the number of trials remotely. Labs can use the advanced software capabilities as a powerful tool to conduct multiple trials for extended periods of time with online monitoring.
Online monitoring in the lab allows for computer integration.
Return on Investment
Initial capital investment for modern equipment can be costly, but updated equipment and automated testing procedures ultimately generate more savings and productivity. It can be risky for laboratories to continue using older equipment due to the exponential increase in repair costs and the potential dismissal of certain products. As regulatory requirements increase and audits become more standard, the cost of operating manual methods will surpass the cost of upgrading to an automated system.
If your laboratory is interested in upgrading your equipment or processes, Xylem has a broad portfolio of analytical laboratory equipment with a variety of different features to suit your specific needs.
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Which is Better - Manual or Automated Titrations?