A little lab automation can go a long way
30/11/2021
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30/11/2021
Budget season for lab managers is a tricky time when critical spending decisions need to be taken on competing investment priorities. Staffing costs and the benefits of new laboratory equipment are often weighed up and set against each other. Should you hire more research talent or buy a new instrument for your lab? When it comes to automation solutions, purchase decisions don't need to give rise to these difficult either-or budgetary questions.
Acquiring the right automation tool generates a net positive ROI, while also freeing up the time and resources of your lab team, allowing them to take on other valuable research projects. By spending a proportion of your unused budget on an affordable automation tool, you can quickly make a valuable and enduring impact on your workflows.
Automation improves the productivity, research accuracy, and physical safety of laboratories. New innovative technologies become available all the time that are purposefully designed to streamline your lab workflows. A quick decision to invest some of your budget in critical automation capabilities can have an instant out-of-the-box impact.
What's more, many affordable and user-friendly instruments can be set up quickly by anyone, with little additional configuration or specialist training required. Your technicians and researchers benefit from:
Manual pipetting activities, in particular, can take up more than 80% of the workday for certain laboratory staff. And so it's no surprise that many labs are seeking to increase their throughput with faster liquid handling processes. Here again, the automation of liquid handling isn't about replacing humans with robots. It's about relieving laboratory staff of repetitive, time-consuming manual pipetting tasks, so they can focus on the science. For many lab applications, the purchase of an automated pipetting system provides the necessary improvement in accuracy and throughput these systems provide.
Automated pipettors range from handheld devices to fully integrated work cells, but finding a powerful automated solution doesn't have to lead to a budgeting shortfall. Many highly versatile and accessible benchtop pipettors are available within the reach of most labs. What strategic research could you accomplish by freeing up your highly skilled staff and scaling your operations?
If your scientists are spending many hours on manual liquid handling tasks, along with labelling, sample tracking, and volume detection, then perhaps it's time to consider supercharging your essential lab operations with the appropriate automation tools. SPT Labtech's series of apricot liquid handling and the BioMicroLab sample management instruments offer you reliable automation capabilities for use across many applications.
Benefit from exceptional value with the peace of mind that comes with an automated solution from the extensive SPT Labtech range. The accessible apricot range of automated liquid handlers offer you a versatile solution for use across many applications. The small benchtop units are easy to use and can be controlled by anyone from an intuitive touchscreen interface without the need for specialist training.
For a quick overview of these user-friendly automated pipetting instruments, watch our short product video:
Speed up your workflow with easy, integrated scanning. Our BioMicroLab scanners decode 1D and 2D barcodes without the need for additional software. The easy-to-use barcode readers scan and decode racks, microtubes, cryotubes, and other labware in a matter of seconds. Built-in condensation reduction technology allows you to scan frozen racks. The instruments are highly affordable solutions for most everyday lab requirements.
Move away from visually or manually inspecting plates and tube racks. The BioMicroLab VolumeCheck™ instruments give you an affordable solution for automated non-contact volume detection. Prices represent excellent value for instruments providing the fastest volume detection speeds and offer compatibility with 384-well plates and uncapped tubes in 96, 48, and 24-format racks.
Automate the time-intensive process of printing and applying labels by hand. The BioMicroLab LabelPro applies labels to microtubes, cryovials, glass vials, and Falcon conical centrifuge tubes. The instrument offers great value for money and is available as a standalone printer but can also be integrated with a BioMicroLab XL tube handler for automated labeling alongside other tube-handling tasks.
Streamline labor-intensive capping and decapping workflows with a user-friendly benchtop solution. The BioMicroLab AutoCap makes it easy for your lab staff to quickly add or remove screw caps for 96-format internal or external thread tubes. The instrument is controlled by an intuitive touchscreen interface or by a network connection. It allows for the interchangeable capping of different labware and ensures your staff avoid the repetitive strain injuries typical of manual capping tasks.
If you want to increase your lab's productivity or relieve your valued technicians of tedious, time-consuming manual tasks, take a look at our apricot and BioMicroLab product ranges for more details and technical specifications. At SPT Labtech, we work closely with scientists and researchers at our customers' laboratories. Book a demo or get in touch – we look forward to hearing from you!