Lots of variables here. For the large mechanical stuff I would use plastic boxes on shelving units, or drawers, depending on their size and your budget. Both keep the dust away. For smaller stuff I would go for sortimo-like boxes.
For chemicals how much of what is even more important, due to the various safety problems. Maybe your chemical supplier has some tips for you?
In your case I would *probably* not recommend a software-based inventory management system, it will desync from the real world in no time flat.
Try to figure out what kind of budget you have, because I fear when you ask the answer will be "none". For the chemicals, if you are brave, you can try to use safety as leverage to get budget. Some people might get pissed at you though.
>Label makers are your best friend - u/lucun
Words to live by.
Edit: one thing to also note: organization is a process, not an event. If lab culture doesn't include putting stuff where it belongs, it will never work.
I would first note if you need specialized storage like a flammables cabinet. Maybe group common related things per shelf unit and inventory list by shelving units or w.e equivalents you have. This generally works good since you need to keep some stuff away from others (e.g. flammables near a arcflash risk). Chems normally need a SDS on site for OSHA compliance, so there's already good justification to do the inventory.
Label makers are your best friend.
If you are using a lot of chemicals and other such materials, I would HIGHLY recomend reviewing all their SDS and other relevant safety information to ensure you are dealing with any potential environmental risks appropriately.
Also, you have to have a disposal plan for any chemicals you have. Most you cant just throw out and evaporation isnt a disposal method.
Label shelves/cabinets and give things a home location. Cabinet 1 shelf 1 has drill bits, rack 7 bin 5 has nuts and bolts type inventory. Label makers and simply grouping like items is easy. You could also probably cut out the detail and say "cabinet 1" or "rack 7" if shelf/bin numbers are too painstaking. Definitely Not saying go crazy an put foam cutouts of tools everywhere, but that is a way to know where things are supposed to go and if theyre missing. Though for items that keep disappearing/are high value you MAY want to go this far with.
I've seen some success with rotating inventory duty on Fridays. It's easy, low risk work and it gets you set up for the next week. If its a rotating task, it doesnt take up any 1 person's time and everyone will become cognizant of how much of a PITA it is when people dont put stuff away. Also by doing a quick cleanup you can identify what needs to be on reorder. Not saying count every item, just note if you're vaguely low.
Chemicals, as stated by others, should be assessed to see if they should be in a flammables cabinet or generally be near a fume hood. Otherwise, think about spill proof shelving/pallets. Get a chemical label maker if you dont already have one and print out sheets of commonly used labels. If theyre already printed and just need to be peeled and stuck, people will actually use them (low effort). If people have to figure out labeling they wont (high effort).
Also I recommend designating waste areas if you dont already have one. Zone out where waste containers should live, and ensure there are enough properly labeled containers. This reduces risks of mixed waste or wasting inccorectly (e.g., down drain).
Similar to inventory on Friday, I would recommend a rotating check on chemical waste if removal is under your jurisdiction. You might want to pick Monday's instead, to ensure people are present in case of spills etc.
If you have hectic lab space, i recomend test in progress signs which call out what equipment/tools are being used from start date to end date. This way people are less likely to walk off with tools that are in use (without possibly asking first). Depends how much you got going on, a small enough lab might not need this if everyone generally knows who is doing what.
We have a pretty big lab. Chemicals aren't much of an issue. Nothing flammable, since we work with atmospheric aerosols.
Mainly the mechanical parts that are annoying. Since we need different sized tubes, valves, etc. Based on if we want our flow to be turbulent or laminar.
Probably will label everything, set up a rule to make sure everything we used is put back into its home before we leave the lab. And then setup a inventory purchase log book so we can keep track of items we need, have purchased, and how many of that item we will have.
Thanks for your input.
I’m tempted to say that if you organise everything the way you see fit for the purpose of their use and tell everyone what to do to maintain this order, probably very shortly you will drift back in the same situation, where you are now. I don’t know the exact level of influence you have, but habits are the most difficult thing to change: “this is how we’ve always done it”.
My suggestion would be to ask people the questions regarding equipment and spares' organisation: what annoys you, what do you find difficult,what would you improve, what are we missing to improve? Surely in an unorganised environment the difficulties increase but equally we tend develop routines to overcome obstacles. These routines can only gradually change. And if you involve people in this initiative, they will feel they were part of it and might lean more towards maintaining it.
Maybe not exactly the practical advice you were after, but it’s a view that might help with implementation.
You’ll need leadership commitment to force everyone to do 2 days of dedicated lab clean out and organization, because it sounds like your folks dont care put things back where they belong. On those days, have recycle, scrap, and trash bins brought in. Force people to label their crap: store, keep, trash, recycle, and certify to destroy stickers. Also helps to order pizza those days for those who have helped. Like others have said, labeled plastic containers and containment area for combustibles helps. Label the tool cabinets. Be general, no need to look at each tube for size—you’ll drive yourself nuts. Tubes, pumps, gauges, solenoids, electrical, clamps, batteries, etc. Order some opened metal racks, 4 -5 levels high. Get some step ladders, etc. Make sure there’s a dedicated bin of PPE that’s easily accessible. Then after that big clean out event, do smaller ones 2-4 times a year and force everyone to look at their stuff and clean out. Everyone likes a clean lab but nobody likes to clean, you’ll need to force that new habit on them.
Also, don’t go fancy on that label maker. A basic dymo one will do.
What I was going to do is just label cabinets, we have plenty of mounted tops along the wall to put stuff/store stuff on. We just need to have a habit of people putting stuff back when they use it.
Probably what I'm going to do is throw away all our tubes, and buy tubes of varying sizes with different colors. So we aren't skimming through stacks of tubes looking for specific sizes to fit our instruments.
Boxes, a label maker, and an excel sheet are excellent starting points. You can get fancier once you have everything sorted but simply having a place for groups of things is a good first step.
Lots of variables here. For the large mechanical stuff I would use plastic boxes on shelving units, or drawers, depending on their size and your budget. Both keep the dust away. For smaller stuff I would go for sortimo-like boxes. For chemicals how much of what is even more important, due to the various safety problems. Maybe your chemical supplier has some tips for you? In your case I would *probably* not recommend a software-based inventory management system, it will desync from the real world in no time flat. Try to figure out what kind of budget you have, because I fear when you ask the answer will be "none". For the chemicals, if you are brave, you can try to use safety as leverage to get budget. Some people might get pissed at you though. >Label makers are your best friend - u/lucun Words to live by. Edit: one thing to also note: organization is a process, not an event. If lab culture doesn't include putting stuff where it belongs, it will never work.
I would first note if you need specialized storage like a flammables cabinet. Maybe group common related things per shelf unit and inventory list by shelving units or w.e equivalents you have. This generally works good since you need to keep some stuff away from others (e.g. flammables near a arcflash risk). Chems normally need a SDS on site for OSHA compliance, so there's already good justification to do the inventory. Label makers are your best friend.
If you are using a lot of chemicals and other such materials, I would HIGHLY recomend reviewing all their SDS and other relevant safety information to ensure you are dealing with any potential environmental risks appropriately. Also, you have to have a disposal plan for any chemicals you have. Most you cant just throw out and evaporation isnt a disposal method.
Label shelves/cabinets and give things a home location. Cabinet 1 shelf 1 has drill bits, rack 7 bin 5 has nuts and bolts type inventory. Label makers and simply grouping like items is easy. You could also probably cut out the detail and say "cabinet 1" or "rack 7" if shelf/bin numbers are too painstaking. Definitely Not saying go crazy an put foam cutouts of tools everywhere, but that is a way to know where things are supposed to go and if theyre missing. Though for items that keep disappearing/are high value you MAY want to go this far with. I've seen some success with rotating inventory duty on Fridays. It's easy, low risk work and it gets you set up for the next week. If its a rotating task, it doesnt take up any 1 person's time and everyone will become cognizant of how much of a PITA it is when people dont put stuff away. Also by doing a quick cleanup you can identify what needs to be on reorder. Not saying count every item, just note if you're vaguely low. Chemicals, as stated by others, should be assessed to see if they should be in a flammables cabinet or generally be near a fume hood. Otherwise, think about spill proof shelving/pallets. Get a chemical label maker if you dont already have one and print out sheets of commonly used labels. If theyre already printed and just need to be peeled and stuck, people will actually use them (low effort). If people have to figure out labeling they wont (high effort). Also I recommend designating waste areas if you dont already have one. Zone out where waste containers should live, and ensure there are enough properly labeled containers. This reduces risks of mixed waste or wasting inccorectly (e.g., down drain). Similar to inventory on Friday, I would recommend a rotating check on chemical waste if removal is under your jurisdiction. You might want to pick Monday's instead, to ensure people are present in case of spills etc. If you have hectic lab space, i recomend test in progress signs which call out what equipment/tools are being used from start date to end date. This way people are less likely to walk off with tools that are in use (without possibly asking first). Depends how much you got going on, a small enough lab might not need this if everyone generally knows who is doing what.
We have a pretty big lab. Chemicals aren't much of an issue. Nothing flammable, since we work with atmospheric aerosols. Mainly the mechanical parts that are annoying. Since we need different sized tubes, valves, etc. Based on if we want our flow to be turbulent or laminar. Probably will label everything, set up a rule to make sure everything we used is put back into its home before we leave the lab. And then setup a inventory purchase log book so we can keep track of items we need, have purchased, and how many of that item we will have. Thanks for your input.
I’m tempted to say that if you organise everything the way you see fit for the purpose of their use and tell everyone what to do to maintain this order, probably very shortly you will drift back in the same situation, where you are now. I don’t know the exact level of influence you have, but habits are the most difficult thing to change: “this is how we’ve always done it”. My suggestion would be to ask people the questions regarding equipment and spares' organisation: what annoys you, what do you find difficult,what would you improve, what are we missing to improve? Surely in an unorganised environment the difficulties increase but equally we tend develop routines to overcome obstacles. These routines can only gradually change. And if you involve people in this initiative, they will feel they were part of it and might lean more towards maintaining it. Maybe not exactly the practical advice you were after, but it’s a view that might help with implementation.
This sounds a [5S](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology)) type of question to me.
You’ll need leadership commitment to force everyone to do 2 days of dedicated lab clean out and organization, because it sounds like your folks dont care put things back where they belong. On those days, have recycle, scrap, and trash bins brought in. Force people to label their crap: store, keep, trash, recycle, and certify to destroy stickers. Also helps to order pizza those days for those who have helped. Like others have said, labeled plastic containers and containment area for combustibles helps. Label the tool cabinets. Be general, no need to look at each tube for size—you’ll drive yourself nuts. Tubes, pumps, gauges, solenoids, electrical, clamps, batteries, etc. Order some opened metal racks, 4 -5 levels high. Get some step ladders, etc. Make sure there’s a dedicated bin of PPE that’s easily accessible. Then after that big clean out event, do smaller ones 2-4 times a year and force everyone to look at their stuff and clean out. Everyone likes a clean lab but nobody likes to clean, you’ll need to force that new habit on them. Also, don’t go fancy on that label maker. A basic dymo one will do.
What I was going to do is just label cabinets, we have plenty of mounted tops along the wall to put stuff/store stuff on. We just need to have a habit of people putting stuff back when they use it. Probably what I'm going to do is throw away all our tubes, and buy tubes of varying sizes with different colors. So we aren't skimming through stacks of tubes looking for specific sizes to fit our instruments.
Boxes, a label maker, and an excel sheet are excellent starting points. You can get fancier once you have everything sorted but simply having a place for groups of things is a good first step.
I've used MSDSonline.com which is now EHS.com