PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES IN A SCIENCE LABORATORY
In every scientific lab, there are certain procedures and practise that have
to be carried out by the people using the laboratory, to ensure smooth
running. When working in a laboratory you should ensure that you have.
knowledge of equipment
maintenance of equipment
moving equipment and storing chemicals
disposal of waste
ordering procedures
Knowledge of equipment
The people working in the laboratory it is should be familiar with what the
equipment’s are and how they should be during an experiment. For
example, a measuring balance is a machine that is used to measure the
mass of objects or liquid substances. It is important to have knowledge of
your equipment to ensure accurate results and to be able to carry out
experiments safely. The scientific technicians must perform as risk
assessment to make sure that every hazard likely to occur can be
controlled and stopped to prevent serious injuries or worse. Having
knowledge of your equipment would also allow one to work very fast and
efficiently.
Maintenance of equipment
When working in a scientific laboratory, you should ensure that all the
equipment are in excellent condition and are safe for people to use
because poorly maintained equipment can be very dangerous for people
using them and it can also cause inaccurate results. For example, if a
beaker has been chipped or has faded markings, it is important that it is
melted to make it safe for people to use or either replaced to reduce
systematic error. Another important way to maintain the equipment is to
clean it properly, regularly and after every experiment because it may
contain residues from previous experiments which can lead to inaccurate
results and a waste of time and resources. Equipment such as a voltmeter
could have a damaged wire should be checked regularly, before and after
an experiment, by the scientific technicians for faults. Although, very big
machineries such as the fume cupboard cannot be inspected by a regular
technician but only by professionals and it is done once every year. This is
very important because faulty equipment cause inaccurate results. Before
and after every experiment, the scientific technician should have a record
of the equipment’s being used in case broken equipment needs to be
replaced or a potentially dangerous substance has been misplaced.
Moving equipment and storing chemicals