Internet of Laboratory Things makes Life better at Work

Internet of Laboratory Things: What does #IoLT really means for you?

Internet of Laboratory Things , #IoLT, is identified as a new step in the digitalisation of laboratories. But not only.

A while ago, a Laboratory Director told me « if my instruments were connected and managed with error detection rules I may not have lost my Laboratory Manager, he was a good collaborator ».

Unfortunately, human errors often occur in a lab and one day this Lab Manager didn’t apply the right incubation conditions and a precious sample has been lost. Combined with other managerial difficulties this situation led to the resignation of the Lab Manager.

Internet of Laboratory Things (IoLT) is not just a matter of digitalization of the lab, it is also a matter of human consideration, not to say humanization (cons-intuitively). IoLT enables Lab Workers to be alerted when something goes wrong in the lab, opening the way to less stress, less human errors and more productive results.

Internet of Laboratory Things: What can #IoLT do for you?

The Lab Technician can even work remotely. They no longer have to go back and forth to the lab to monitor instruments parameters. They can concentrate on other tasks without worrying about the experiment evolution. Their smartphone will warn them when something happens in the lab the same way they receive a mobile app notification.

The Internet of Laboratory Things also brings more flexibility and agility to Lab Workers, allowing them to monitor their experiments while working in another room of the building, writing a report, or even dining and going home for very long experiments.

Pathing the way for telework!

That’s not all, Managers also can stop worrying about the correct application of Good Laboratory Practices. They can rely on the IoT system to manage quality, prevent errors, ensure traceability, etc. They can follow instruments usage and reduce human “bothering” solicitations as for example “have you done this?”, “have you planned this?”, “did you take care of this?”, etc. Thanks to data collection, traceability and automatic analysis they can know who / what / where / when and why at glance on their dashboards.

Maybe the best with Internet of Laboratory Things is its capability to comfort the whole laboratory organisation:

• Remote control of the lab
• Supervision systems
• Automatic experiments
• Analysis workflows
• Any new processes facilitated through Internet of Laboratory Things

The Lab technician doesn’t have to waste half of his/her day going to the lab for tasks lasting only few minutes.

Instruments can automatically follow any analytical workflows, data analysis reports are automatically sent to the manager mailbox, etc. Time usage is more than ever optimized, working in the lab is more pleasant.

Internet of Laboratory Things: IoLT is a Profitable Investment 

The adoption of IoLT and the new uses it brings to the company ensures a considerable return on investment for the entire laboratory team. A connected lab helps with Health and Safety by delegating activities to digitalized processes. They contribute to retaining qualified employees and are a great help to the chief happiness officer.

After all, humans have always been at the center of the laboratory life, and it won’t stop there.

Millennials and Generation Z are hot management topics those days. These generations are known for their expectations and behaviours closely associated with new communication technologies and their desire of autonomy and independence in their way of working.

The Lab 4.0 technologies induce transformations in the working method that are welcomed to accompany this 21st century managerial changes.

In the end, Employees are familiar with home automation and expect what can be done at home to be also possible in the lab. If it is possible to launch television series by voice, why wouldn’t it be possible to do the same for laboratory activities?

Connected Labs is sponsoring the Paperless Lab Academy 2020 European edition and will be available for you to contact

 

 

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Thomas Perraudin, Co-Founder of Connected Labs 

Thomas is an experienced entrepreneur and computer scientist, fond of technological innovation. Founder of Cerebellis, a company specialized in software development for biology and health industries. He partnered with SoftNLabs in 2019 to create a new IoLT solution: Connected Labs

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