Planning and Sourcing of Instrumentation: An Asset Integration Assessment for Your Lab
A methodical approach that considers multiple factors can be beneficial for maximizing the useful life of analytical laboratory instrumentation. This is especially true when integrating additional assets in your lab. A key strategic piece of this process is assessing how these instruments will be added, integrated, and optimized to enhance the operation of your lab. This is where the Asset Integration Assessment (AIA) framework comes in.
The AIA takes an objective approach to optimize instrument planning, sourcing, and procurement, as well as the integration of instrumentation into your lab’s workflow for efficiency as well as high performance. This approach needs to consider a myriad of factors that influence an asset’s lifecycle value. It should also aid in decision making that will impact scientific and business outcomes.
The AIA applies to laboratories in all industries and sectors. It covers everything from instrument service, management, replacement, redeployment, and disposal. Here are the features and phases of the Asset Integration Assessment.
Comprehensive in Scope
The AIA framework takes into account many factors and ranks them. Along with other business factors like training, method development, and a variety of other considerations, the best fit for a lab facility can be determined. These factors include:
- The instruments and performance of manufacturers
- Costs and terms
- Warranty
- Maintenance and operations
- Service record
- Age and condition
- Utilization level
- Clinical acceptability
- Technology status
- Parts availability (current and future)
- Projected annual maintenance costs
- Projected reliability (utilization and user training)
- Spare parts
- Facility specifics
- Mission
- Science
- Go to market plan
- Capabilities
- Finances
Laboratory Factors that Converge and Diverge
Enhancing the decision-making process is another benefit of the AIA. Many factors can converge and diverge over time; this plan anticipates and accommodates for them.
- Retention, purchase, disposition decision improvement
- Financial limitations
- Anticipate major repairs conducted or known
- Competitive pricing considerations
- Standardization
- Know parts availability problems
- Training and in-house maintenance
- Utilization rate (and redundancy, if needed)
- Footprint in facility (space limitations)
- Technology status
Three Phases of the AIA
The AIA consists of three phases: the initial assessment, the operational canvas, and the optimized integration asset plan. Here’s a closer look at all three.
AIA Initial Assessment
The initial assessment consists of a needs analysis used to inventory the current laboratory assets, accounting for age, condition, software, value, criticality, utilization, and service record. The facility and structure will also be considered in this step. It is during this phase that a contextual understanding is achieved to ensure that business needs align with the scientific goals.
Operational Canvas
This phase of the AIA reviews the various factors that impact laboratory asset acquisition, installation, and integration. Understanding how to sort and rank each of these factors helps to prioritize the most important initiative in each situation. To realize business intelligence, the ranking process includes elements like training, utilization, service record, footprint, instrument condition, and criticality. Determining the importance of one factor over another will help to define scope and direction.
Optimized Integration Asset Plan
Once each factor is prioritized according to your specific criteria and business entities, the framework takes shape. This ensures that an asset plan will lead to an optimized integration. It will provide valuable insight that will impact decision making and be a foundation for the actual planning and implementation of your asset plan.
Integrating analytical instrumentation is an essential function for any laboratory. An Asset Integration Assessment framework ensures a successful integration of instrumentation into the laboratory using a holistic performance lifecycle perspective. Overbrook is an experienced, expert laboratory asset management firm that can create and oversee an AIA for your lab’s next integration.
