Moving a laboratory can be tough. Moving a laboratory animal facility can raise stress levels to alarming heights, especially if you don’t have an ark handy.
In a perfect world, moving a facility would be all but imperceptible to the average lab worker – something as simple as driving to a new address for work on the agreed-upon date. But in reality, transplanting equipment, data and animals is often anything but a smooth operation.
One year ago, Michael R. Benham, a consultant with Spectrum Strategies, a planning and management firm with a focus on facilities and real estate, took an in-depth look at what it takes to move something as complicated as a laboratory animal facility in Animal Lab News.
The following is an outline developed by experts like Benham who have taken part in the sometimes intimidating process of moving a laboratory animal facility:
Plan
Planning the move, Benham said, should start in tandem with the start of the construction/rehab process in the new facility. Something as simple as knowing whether or not a piece of equipment will fit through a doorway can be solved at this stage.
“Many aspects of a move can be made much easier if accommodated during the design process,” he said.
Create a project team
- Draft a project charter and put it in writing. Things can be made simpler when it’s clear who is in charge of what. One model, Benham pointed out, is to make each research unit responsible for its own move, supported by the animal husbandry staff, veterinarians, vet techs, and relevant specialists.
Moving the equipment
Everything from tools and cages to monitoring systems are going to have to be relocated, so it’s best to make sure everything is inventoried before anything is hauled away. If the lab doesn’t have an inventory, create one – and label each piece of equipment with:
A full description of the piece
Manufacturer - who makes it?
Manufacturer’s serial number
A full description of the service contract or warranty
The owner - the laboratory scientist or technician who is responsible for the piece
Requirements for closing calibration, powering down, disconnection, reconnection, powering up, and opening calibration at the new site
Special packing and moving requirements, including dimensions of the crated equipment
Internal identification number
At the destination site, it’s important to ensure the landing locations are equipped with the necessary utilities, such as electric, gas, vacuum or steam.
Moving the animals
The two most important things to consider when transporting animals are the primary regulations facing laboratory animal facility directors: Preserving animal welfare and protecting the public from disease or other harm.
Regulations for protecting animals are taken primarily from the Animal Welfare Act, which sets specific standards for the transportation of research animals. Rats, mice, and birds are specifically exempted from these regulations.
The National Research Council Institute for Laboratory Animal Research has also published “Guidelines for the Humane Transportation of Research Animals” which provides a complete description of the many government, trade association, and international regulations regarding movement of animals. ( Guidelines for the Humane Transportation of Research Animals is available here.)
Maintaining the integrity of your research
Benham considers maintaining the integrity of the research and maximizing lab uptime the two main challenges associated with moving a lab. Research years in the undertaking can’t be restarted, so precautions must be taken. Among them:
Require contractors to have a plan that isolates animals from the noise, debris and other effects commonly found at a construction site.
Follow AWA regulations to minimize stress on the animals being moved.
Avoid introducing new viruses, bacteria and parasites into animal populations.
Maintain at least the same standards of containment that existed in the old facility to avoid cross-contamination of colonies or from outside sources.
Establish a commissioning program to assure all systems are working, including caging and ventilations systems.
Refrigerate any tissues or genetic materials, be prepared to handle chemicals or bio-hazards consistent with regulatory requirements.
Coordinate any emergency plans associated with transporting potential bio-hazards with the necessary local/community officials.
With proper planning and some cooperation, moving a laboratory animal facility can be done with very little stress to the equipment, animals and even lab staffers, Benham said.
