A well-designed pathology lab and attention to detail can lead to a much more productive workspace. Here are some ways that effective design impacts productivity, safety and, health within your pathology lab space.
A design team must focus on how much space is needed in the pathology lab, how many people will be working there, their roles, and how they will use it. Designing a lab with these specifications supports productivity and safety. In addition, creating a pathology lab with these considerations in mind can ensure that the design promotes productivity by giving workers the equipment and materials they need to carry out their jobs.
To get a clearer picture of employees' needs, don't ask them what they need or want, instead ask what they'll be doing. This is an essential starting point for efficient and safe pathology lab design. It's also important to keep in mind that there may be people working in the lab area with special requirements to work safely.
Lab hazards can include eye damage, falls, fires, and much more. All of which can shut down or delay work and harm lab users. While a proper pathology lab design can't eliminate hazards completely, a lab designed for safety makes these incidents much less likely.
When cleaning materials and appropriate warning systems are in place, sprinkler systems can extinguish fires before they spread, and lab users can quickly contain spills and other hazards. In addition, allowing adequate workspaces and aisles between workers will ensure that they do not bump into each other, causing accidents that can risk their safety.
Designing a pathology lab with appropriate workspaces storage and equipment can make it less likely to waste any available lab space. Allowing adequate storage for chemicals can help keep supplies away from areas that cause dangerous conditions or block exits. Storing potentially hazardous equipment and materials used in the lab away from heavy traffic flow areas and allowing appropriate ventilation sources is a crucial component for safe and efficient lab work.
Designing your pathology laboratory in a way that provides enough space for everyone to work and allows researchers to work efficiently and in the correct order can increase productivity and save time. This idea is to have things arranged like an assembly line where steps are done in sequence without moving back and forth between the stages. In addition, proper locations within a lab can improve workers' ability to concentrate and work efficiently and improve equipment performance.
Eyewash stations, emergency showers, fire detection and protection systems, and biosafety cabinets are features required for every lab. When lab users know that these features are readily available, they can better focus on their research, knowing that their health and safety are protected. In addition, having well-marked, easily accessible exits for researchers to get out safely and quickly in case of emergency is vital.
Lab designers should provide the ventilation system based on user activities. Controlling temperature and keeping the space comfortable should be the focus of customized pathology laboratory ventilation systems. In addition, a lab ventilation system should be more advanced, with features such as chemical hoods to capture contaminants in the air and control potential chemical exposures.
Getting a sense for features in a lab that users may not require now, but could benefit them in the future is essential. These features could include more advanced ventilation for chemical work or movable workbenches for quickly rearranging workstations. Pathology laboratory designers often hear complaints about labs not having enough storage space or outlets as a project grows. Since safety is paramount when considering lab design, planners must also work with engineers, researchers who will use the lab, and architects to keep things efficient and manageable.
All stakeholders, including engineers, construction managers, architects, facility managers, scientists, and environmental health and safety staff, must work together to make sure that the plan promotes safety, health, and increased productivity.
If you are interested in building a customized pathology laboratory, visit hankinslabconsulting.com to discover the options available for your pathology lab needs. We are here to help!
