General Laboratory Rules: 30 Points from Planning to Daily Work

A laboratory that is safe and produces reliable results starts at the planning stage and depends on rules followed every day. The 30 points below bring together the basic rules, from how the laboratory is arranged to daily working habits, under four headings.

Planning and Layout

1. Plan the administrative area and the physical, chemical and microbiological analysis areas as separate units.
2. Plan and operate laboratories to suit the nature of the analyses carried out.
3. Provide enough lockers, separate changing rooms for women and men, and a social area for staff; bags, coats and unnecessary belongings should not be brought into the laboratory.
4. Plan separate rooms, equipped to control the required conditions, for analyses that need special environmental conditions.
5. Protect laboratories from dust, humidity, steam, vibration, electromagnetic effects and pests, and keep working areas at a constant 20 °C.
6. Make analysis areas wide enough for staff to move around freely.
7. Design pipework, radiators, lighting and other service points to be easy to clean; walls, floors and ceilings should be easy to clean and disinfect.
8. Lighting, heating and ventilation must not affect analyses directly or indirectly.
9. Provide a cabinet with first-aid medicines and supplies, together with first-aid instructions.
10. Take fire precautions and obtain a certificate of compliance from the fire brigade.
11. Around the building there should be no heaps of rubbish or waste that could cause pollution, no standing water and nowhere pests could shelter.

Staff and Hygiene

1. Staff should wear suitable clothing and equipment; in the laboratory always wear a laboratory coat of normal length and the right size, preferably made of flame-resistant fabric.
2. Tie long hair back or cover it with a flame-resistant cap; do not wear open-toed shoes; toilets must not open directly onto laboratory areas.
3. Do not eat, drink or smoke in the laboratory; do not touch your face or put anything in your mouth.
4. Carry out cleaning, sanitation and disinfection periodically according to written instructions, and keep records.
5. Carry out periodic health checks on staff; staff with an infectious disease, or identified as carriers, must not work.
6. Clean every item, tool and instrument used by the appropriate method and put it away.
7. Control entry and exit, and keep anyone other than the staff working there out of the analysis areas.

Working Practice

1. Do not discharge waste directly into the environment; neutralise it by the proper technique and in accordance with the regulations.
2. Put solid waste in the bin; do not leave finished glassware containing liquid on the bench, but place it in the sink.
3. Turn off water and gas taps and electrical switches when not working, and handle materials with care.
4. Always put attention and care first in your work.
5. Remember that others are working too: do not make noise or play jokes.
6. Report every incident to the laboratory manager immediately.
7. Do not take any substance or material out of the laboratory without the management’s permission.

Working with Chemicals

1. Always take solids from a bottle with a clean spatula or spoon; do not put the same spoon into another substance without cleaning it; do not place bottle caps upside down on the bench.
2. If a glass-stoppered bottle will not open, tap the stopper gently with a piece of wood; if it still will not open, carefully warm the neck of the bottle by turning it over a small flame, or stand the bottle in water for a while. Never heat substances in closed or stoppered containers, or containers not marked as heat-resistant.
3. When pouring liquid from a bottle, keep the label uppermost, and collect the last drop at the mouth with the bottle’s own cap.
4. Do not mix chemicals at random.
5. Always store incompatible chemicals, which react with each other to cause fire, violent explosion or toxic products, in separate places.

The planning points are part of the needs and workflow analysis stage of a turnkey laboratory project; KRCLAB carries this process through from design to handover.