What Gets Measured Gets Done
By Brian Lucid, Ken Lepidi
Nobody needs to tell you that those big shiny stainless steel machines down in your cage wash area cost a lot of money to purchase, operate, and maintain.
User Knows Best: Post-Occupancy Conversations
By James F. Cartwright, AIA, Robert K. Young, RVT, RLATg
The final judges of how well a vivarium has been designed and constructed are its users—the personnel who work in it on a daily basis and keep it operating 24/7/365.
Welfare Assessment of Laboratory Animals: Current Good Practice and Some Outstanding Issues
By Penny Hawkins BSc, PhD
An overview on setting protocols for assessing the welfare of laboratory animals.
Automation in the Animal Facility: From a Nightmare to a Blessing
By Massimo Aspesi
Automation can help every facility run more smoothly.
Bedding Out, Bedding In
By Darren McRoy
Many bedding disposal and dispensing products offer distinct advantages to save animal facilities both time and money.
Automatic Data Collection Systems for Animal Care Facilities
By Bob Scher , Bobby Burkett
Today’s animal care facilities can increase efficiencies of routine husbandry management tasks by utilizing the numerous automatic data collection technologies available.
Innovations for the Betterment of Research: The Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research at the Baylor College of Medicine
By Jerry Percifield, John J. Sharp, Ph.D.
This article will present and discuss the new Margaret M. Alkek Building for Biomedical Research (ABBR) and the new technologies, designs and protocols that have been implemented in this world-class facility.
Rack 'em Up -- Racks for Tanks for Small Fish in Biomedical Aquatics Facilities
By Bill Trevarrow
This article will review several features central to good racks and good rack use, presenting outstanding features, potential pitfalls, and future directions.
"Robotic" or Automated Cage Washing
By Paul Careless
Today’s equipment and control systems have been developed into reliable and safe systems that are easy to operate.
Digital Imaging as a Welfare Tool
By Peter Barrington
Digital camera systems help maintain regular observation of animals while minimising disturbance.
Automation: A New Era!
By Bruce Ginder
“Cage handling automation does not work!” How often have you heard this in the hallway discussions of industry conventions or meetings?
A Gripping Tale of Prevention - Safe Operation and Maintenance of Automated Equipment
By Glenn R. Ketcham, CIH, Vince McLeod, CIH
This issue’s column discusses Lockout/Tagout, the procedures used to isolate and de-energize complex machinery so repairs or maintenance can be performed safely.
Conclusive Vivarium Performance through the Commissioning Process
By Dan Frasier, PE
The Benefits of Hands-on Commissioning: This article focuses primarily on the Construction and Acceptance Phase commissioning activities, describing methods important for conclusively achieving the performance required in today’s laboratories.
Green Building Basics -- High Performance Design
By Rick Deitrich
Even lab animal facilities can be designed or renovated to use less energy, and conserve water and other resources.
Robotics & Automation - What's Right For You, Stage I: Preparing for Automation
By Patrick McIntyre, Som Homphothichak, Jerry Percifield, Magnus Nilsson
This article will focus on the cage processing tasks required on a daily basis and the equipment and processes available to support the efficient completion of these tasks.
Robotics & Automation - What's Right For You, Stage II: Design Considerations For Automation
By Patrick McIntyre, Som Homphothichak, Jerry Percifield, Magnus Nilsson
The initial phase of developing a design for a cage processing area with robotics and automation includes discussions to establish the goals, requirements, and budget.
Robotic Automation
By John Masucci, Magnus Nilsson
Design, cost savings, and employee welfare considerations for the vivarium
Facility Automation: Focusing Your Scope on Optimizing IVC Performance
By Rick Deitrich
Having spent a considerable amount of time over the past 30 years working with planners, architects, engineers, facility directors, and supervisors, I have come to appreciate the challenges that confront the design team and the importance of considering each of the disciplines that are brought to the table.
Energy-efficient Washing Systems
By David Beckinghausen
What’s going down the drain can be money. Energy conservation through reduced water consumption and lower cycle temperatures don’t mean less sterile.
Design for Clean
By Jerry Percifield
Architects and engineers who design vivariums have a critical responsibility to provide specialty design and engineering that will facilitate cleaning procedures.
Vivarium Automation Part 2
By Chris Cosgrove, Noel D.M. Lehner, DVM, MS, Daniel Lutz, AIA, Karl Yrjanainen, PE, Jesse Ozarowski, Joseph J. Lisowski, Karen P. Murphy, LC, Edwin G. Taraba
Some vivarium automation can be “free-standing” to a certain extent while others need to be incorporated or engineered into the larger facility plan.
A New Approach to Secure Dispensing & Inventory Control
By Marissa E. Marsala
A growing number of facilities are beginning to turn to point-of-use (POU) automation solutions to address and improve safety, quality, and compliance.
Vivarium Automation Part 1
By Chris Cosgrove, Noel D.M. Lehner, DVM, MS, Daniel Lutz, AIA, Karl Yrjanainen, PE, Jesse Ozarowski, Joseph J. Lisowski, Karen P. Murphy, LC, Edwin G. Taraba
In vivariums, where environmental controls are critical to research, and where animal and personnel health and welfare are a constant concern, automation can work on behalf of reducing risk and increasing efficiency. The introduction of an automated process can provide many improvements in vivarium function and safety that save time and money. Automation can also introduce new levels of control and monitoring that can raise specific criteria and conditions to a higher level of reliability.
A Guide To Rack Washer Purchasing
By Dave Diamant
Purchasing large capital equipment such as a rack washer involves more than looking at the bottom line and selecting, what appears to be, the least expensive machine.