Moving house is stressful enough, but imagine if you’re tasked with the job of relocating the entire contents of a health laboratory. There’s way more to worry about than making sure all those glass test tubes are safely wrapped up in bubble wrap and arrive in one piece. Large-scale precision machinery and delicate medical equipment and samples need to be moved with care and so plenty of planning prior to the move itself is essential. Read on for some useful advice to ensure your next health laboratory move is as safe and stress free as possible.
Call In The Professionals
With a move as big as this, it makes sense to call in the professionals. There are plenty of removal companies out there who cater for your everyday house moves, you’ve only got to see this website to know that. However, health laboratory removal services are few and far between, so it’s important you do your research and find the right company for the job. Large-scale moves are more likely to involve a dedicated move co-ordinator, in which case it will be their job to ensure the move goes smoothly.
Certain health and safety procedures also need to be implemented before the move date, for example Environmental Health may need to get involved along with other specialist agencies who require advance notification of the type of objects being moved and how hazardous this might be. Now is a good time to have a good clear out, as it is not advised to transport waste matter or chemicals that are either surplus to requirements or out of date, as this increases the risk of something going wrong. Throw away any broken, outdated or unused equipment and machinery and consider using this opportunity to have a stock take to see what you can get rid of.
Dig Out The Instruction Manuals
Depending on the type of health laboratory, there could be some heavy duty machinery involved and this will make the move a lot trickier. Large machines, particularly those involved with radioactive or bio hazardous materials, need to be appropriately decontaminated before they are handled during a move. This procedure must be carried out by a qualified specialist who can certify that it is free from hazards.
For some smaller equipment, the concern may lie more with the fact that it is fragile, or that movement could interfere with the calibration. Consult the manufacturers instructions to assess how best to move your equipment, as pipette calibration can be a difficult thing to get right and could work out quite costly if you end up needing to service all your lab testing kit simply because it hasn’t been handled with care.
Refrigerators and incubators will need to be emptied before being moved, which means you will need to find a temporary home for the contents of these. Other laboratories in the area may be able to assist with this, or you could perhaps enquire with the local hospital or GP surgeries.
Some of your machinery may even be due a service, so it’s worth calling up the manufacturer and finding out whether they can take it away to do the service and then deliver to the new address. This not only makes your move a lot easier, but also ensures the machinery is up to date and working at its most efficient
Finance The Move Properly
A big move such as this will inevitably be expensive and will likely involve a whole finance team to number crunch and make sure it is fitting within budget. This is all well and good if you are involved in a large corporation, but what about if you own a small independent health laboratory? How can you guarantee the finances for your relocation project are being handled correctly?
Although, you might not have a dedicated finance team like some of the big pharmaceutical companies, you would be advised to hire a financial expert to provide bonds and insurance to help with the move. These are often used to finance projects and operations within a company and it just means that the pressure is taken off of you, leaving you to concern yourself with the logistics of the move instead.
Undertaking the relocation of a health laboratory is no easy task, but it is certainly not impossible. If you plan ahead, allow plenty of time, and follow the correct protocol, you can be guaranteed a smooth and, most importantly, a safe move.
