Lab innovations 2024: automation and productivity in the laboratory

Within the lab, analytical scientists grapple with many time-consuming tasks. Sample preparation and cleaning, in particular, are labour-intensive processes. Manual tasks such as pipetting and mixing, especially when dealing with large sample volumes, present challenges. 

With an average turnaround time of 30 minutes, the accumulated hours of all these jobs translate into potential revenue losses in the thousands. These laborious processes inflate operational costs, directly impacting lab profitability. Meeting tight client deadlines becomes a high-stakes challenge, influencing the lab’s competitive edge in securing business opportunities. 

Lab automation emerges as a transformative remedy for these challenges. Research suggests that half of all errors stem from routine tasks. By automating repetitive processes and optimising workflows, lab managers conserve time and minimise errors. This ultimately leads to significant savings for the lab and their clients.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a powerful catalyst, propelling laboratories to swiftly embrace automation. With physical constraints and social distancing measures, managing manual tasks became arduous. This unprecedent hurdle in scheduling experiments and ensuring staff safety fuelled a rapid adoption of automated solutions. Consequently, researchers efficiently overcame these hurdles, marking a significant leap toward streamlined and secure lab operations.

Automation’s impact is profound. By minimizing human involvement, it dramatically slashed contamination and errors. Precision and consistency soared, eliminating variability introduced by human factors. 

The pandemic accentuated the need for 24/7 operations. Automation met this demand, allowing labs to operate around the clock, independent of working hours. Researchers gained remote control, ensuring uninterrupted experimental progress and heralding an era of seamless scientific endeavours.

This innovation not only overcame pandemic challenges, but also revolutionized lab efficiency. Tedious manual tasks, once time-consuming, are now swiftly and accurately executed, liberating researchers to delve deep into analysis and exploration, capitalising on the wealth of data generated. Automation has ushered in an era of seamless scientific endeavours, reshaping the landscape of research and discovery.

Automation’s impact extends beyond efficiency. It streamlines processes, reducing costs per sample and enhancing competitiveness. Additionally, it ensures consistent results within tight timelines, meeting client demands effectively. Its robust detection systems and reduced sample prep time enhance reliability, aligning with client expectations.

Environmentally, automation promotes responsible practices. By employing pre-formed kits and precise calibration, labs reduce waste and minimise environmental footprints, underlining a move toward sustainable laboratory management.

Modular and scalable solutions are key to successful laboratory automation. Whether identifying and checking sample carriers, opening and closing sample vials or dispensing liquids in microwell plates, Festo allows lab professionals to implement customised applications for sample preparation in the smallest of spaces.

Russell Lotinga is business development manager at automation technology provider and Lab Innovations exhibitor Festo

• To catch up on the latest in laboratory automation, make a date for Lab Innovations 2024, which runs from 30-31 October at Birmingham NEC, to view products from Festo and a host of fellow exhibitors and participants.