Designing a lab is a complex process requiring an experienced professional’s skilled touch. Consulting with a lab design company before starting design helps organizations optimize their laboratory projects from the earliest project stages. Explore the following considerations for businesses when deciding which professional to choose.
Define the Scope of the Project
Image via Unsplash by Julia Koblitz
To properly help an owner, a lab consultant will need to know the scope of the project. Is the project new construction or renovation? How many people will use the lab? For what purpose? What kind of equipment will be in the environment? Are there highly specialized spaces such as vivarium or BSL (biological safety level) requirements?
Lab consultant specialists can answer questions about these issues effectively and help guide you through the programming and design process, provided they understand the project’s scope. Begin the search for a lab design company with a rough outline in hand.
Discuss Productivity and Workflow
Have a detailed rundown of your processes, needs and organizational goals, and review them with any potential lab design consultant. Consider your organization, culture, systems and workflow you would like to use in the laboratory design.
Although a consulting firm will only provide detailed recommendations on how to improve or implement these workflows upon execution of a signed contract, it is worth asking whether the firm sees opportunities to optimize a company’s processes and improve productivity through the design phase of the laboratory project. The ideal consultants will not simply execute your plans; they will make them better.
Consider Past Projects
Lab planning and design is a niche market that requires a skilled and experienced touch. Before choosing a lab design consultant, evaluating past projects completed by firms you are considering for the job is essential. Ensure your organization looks specifically for consultants who have worked in your field. Whether academic, government, clinical, forensic or research and development (R&D), your industry, workflows, equipment needs and more are the drivers in the lab’s design. The ideal consultant will have examples of completed projects in the appropriate field.
HERA laboratory planners offer professional laboratory design and planning services to help companies create highly functional spaces that promote efficiency, research and innovation. Working with HERA can open new doors for optimization and customization that elevate your laboratories and your organization.