The Benefits of Automation in Laboratory Settings

Whatever industry you're operating in, having to do some manual input is inevitable. This is especially true for those who work in laboratories. However, advancements in technology have allowed for less manual labor, greatly boosting the productivity of many laboratories. For some people, however, letting go of traditional work processes can seem like an impossible thing to ask. If it works just fine, why try to fix it? However, if you're still on the fence about implementing automated systems, then you're missing out on several advantages. Here are a few reasons why you should consider investing in more automation for your laboratory.

You Can Cut Down on Laboratory Costs

If there is much to do, your first impulse may be to hire more people to do the job. But do you really want to recruit more employees just to carry out repetitive tasks all day? In order to maximize your expenses, you will want to make the most out of your employees' skillset. Unfortunately, you can't assign them to more meaningful tasks if they're stuck doing menial work. Instead, why not let automated systems with linear stages do the repetitive work for you?

Though you may spend quite a sum of money to purchase the machines, you'll earn back what you've invested in a relatively short amount of time. This is because this equipment will be able to finish multiple batches relatively quickly, all with minimal human intervention. Thus, you'll need fewer people for manual labor, meaning you'll have fewer salaries to pay out. At the same time, you'll greatly improve your turn-around time thanks to how quickly the machines can work. Some can even operate for an entire day without stopping, which means you can still produce results even when your staff has logged out.

You Can Focus on More Productive Pursuits

Having to manually carry out individual tasks may seem easy at first glance. Over time, though, it can become a bothersome chore. Eventually, it can cause your staff to burn out. Imagine having to manually take a tube, fill it up, label it, verify its contents, then place it back on the rack. Now imagine having to do it hundreds or maybe even thousands of times, day in and day out.

Your staff could wind up spending their entire day on these tasks instead of putting their degrees to use. By automating these simple tasks, you can give your staff members the time they need to pursue more productive tasks. They could analyze research data, look up new techniques, or even pursue groundbreaking research that could put your laboratory on the map.

You'll Have Safer Laboratory Operations

Though carrying out the same tasks over and over can be exhausting, they also present a very real danger to your employee's health. Having to do the exact same tasks over and over again could cause a lot of physical strain on your employees' hands. This could result in serious repetitive stress injuries and conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, which could greatly decrease your employees' performance in the lab. Affected employees may end up filing a worker's compensation claim against you for potential injuries caused by their job. This could greatly drain your laboratory's funds and result in bad publicity.

By offloading strenuous work to automated systems, you can save your staff from potentially debilitating conditions while keeping productivity at optimum levels.

You Can Get More Accurate Results

Most laboratory staff members have the skills and expertise needed to carry out necessary tasks, such as preparing samples. However, no matter how much training your staff may have, there is still so much room for human error. The slightest quiver could throw off your measurements by the smallest of units, which could ultimately affect the results you'll get. If you have a hundred different samples to keep track of, you might be unable to stay on top of it all, too.

By using an automated system, you can have the machines take care of sample preparation, thereby eliminating human error. At the same time, you'll also be able to easily track each and every sample. Thus, you'll greatly decrease the chances of losing or misplacing any single specimen.

In Conclusion: You Have Much to Gain from Automation

It's hard to argue against the many benefits that you can get by investing in automated systems for your laboratory. If you want your lab to operate more efficiently for much less, then it's time you seriously consider looking into automation. Not only can you save a lot of money, time, and physical space, but you can also increase your productivity and profits down the line.