Know the warning signs of lab equipment wear to limit downtime, mitigate impact, and repair problems faster and more efficiently.
Laboratories can’t afford inaccurate and unreliable equipment, which is why lab workers have to understand the symptoms of lab equipment in decline. Our guide explains some of the most common warning signs for lab equipment wearing down, so you can be better prepared to make repairs or replace the machine.
Inconsistent Quality
Accuracy is crucial to the success of any testing lab, so there’s little room for equipment that’s of inconsistent quality. A lab can’t perform its duties to its clients if it can’t rely on its equipment to consistently produce accurate results.
While the occasional mishap or glitch from lab equipment isn’t the end of the world, if the mistakes and malfunctions continue and worsen, a lab must take it as a warning sign the equipment must be replaced.
Frequent Calibrations
Calibrating lab equipment and tools is necessary for running and maintaining a lab. Calibration is when equipment technicians compare a tool or machine’s measurement against a standard benchmark to test its accuracy and adjust the apparatus accordingly.
How often a machine or tool needs to be calibrated depends largely on the equipment and how often it’s used; some machines need to be calibrated every couple of months, and others only once a year. If certain lab equipment requires frequent calibrations for accuracy, it’s likely due to prolonged wear and tear and is less reliable for accurate results.
Repeated Repairs
The last thing any lab wants is to constantly send their essential equipment for services and repairs. That’s why equipment repair services are crucial to the success of many labs and can be the difference between a profitable operation and one stuck in stasis.
A sure sign of lab equipment wearing down is that it repeatedly requires repairs, but many labs don’t have the budget to replace the equipment, and frequent repairs cost more money and waste more time. That’s why high-quality HPLC repair companies like GenTech Scientific are vital, as we sufficiently repair and calibrate equipment so labs can be sure that it’s fixed right the first time.
Grows Loud & Noisy
Even the sound of the machine in operation can be a warning sign of declining lab equipment. If you’ve been around the machine for many years, you’re probably familiar with the sound it generates in operation when it runs smoothly and efficiently.
After years of use and wear and tear, it’s common for lab equipment to become excessively or abnormally loud. Sometimes, a simple repair can fix the noise, but a loud machine is typically a warning sign of more severe problems inside the equipment.