The railway system of the world is scaled around the size of a horse and cart as that was the predominant transport technology when they came into existence.. Moving down in scale, we scale craft and industrial laboratory equipment so that humans can interact with it using their hands.. Evolution is an excellent process to improve and adapt size and function to meet the demands of survival.
It should also be noted that users often have a fixed solution in mind based on what they have done in the past - their solution may not be the best for the laboratory design project, and it is our job to challenge their assumptions and offer alternative, perhaps better, solutions..Lab processes can be grouped into distinct functional spaces, for example: dry processes, milling, synthesis or analytics.
These functional spaces are theoretical zones which have no spatial definition, acting as a visual way of defining a group of processes which are related to one another..Working with users to categorise the laboratory processes into these distinct functional spaces enables us to generate flow diagrams for the process..Lab design layout: identifying the flows.
As with any project, many stakeholders see a lab design layout as the primary early deliverable to determine that progress is being made on the project.It’s important to make it clear to the client team as well as the laboratory design team that the information needed to form the lab design layout is the priority.. Once we have determined the functional spaces within the lab, for example materials, people, and waste, we can arrange them into flow diagrams to create adjacencies between the different spaces of the lab, allowing us to create a rudimentary layout.
The aim is to reduce movement between the spaces to make the laboratory design layout more efficient.. We can then classify the client equipment to fit into each of these functional spaces and undertake the same exercise at a smaller scale to determine the adjacencies between the laboratory equipment..
Laying out the client laboratory equipment into a space is the last element of producing a laboratory design layout, once these flows have been established.Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) as a game-changer:.
Tim Coldwell highlighted IPD, describing it as a collaborative framework where multiple partners (e.g., general contractors, architects, and various consultants) work under a single multi-party contract.This model ensures shared risks and rewards, which significantly enhances alignment and efficiency among stakeholders.
This approach, which Chandos advocates for, represents a shift towards more cooperative and integrated methods in the construction industry, promising better project outcomes and sustainability.. 3.Focus on community and inclusion:.