The Best Way to Set Up A Civil Engineering Lab (Part 2)

You’ve been looking to set up a new civil engineering lab. You’ve ordered new equipment, and the goods have arrived.

Now comes the fun part–setting everything up and getting a fully functional lab going.

This is part of a series on setting up a new civil engineering lab (Check out part 1 here). In part 2, we’ll cover topics such as:

• What To Do After Unboxing Equipment

• Thinking About Ventilation

• How to Keep Equipment Running

• The Type of Personnel You'll Need to Run Your Lab

• And more

 

What To Do After Unboxing Equipment

Once your equipment arrives, the very first thing you’ll want to do is conduct thorough inspections. Ensure that each item is free from damage and functions as intended. Proper calibration will help to maintain accuracy in your experiments and tests. Establishing a routine maintenance schedule will help prolong the lifespan of your equipment and ensure consistent performance.

What About Ventilation?

Adequate ventilation is crucial, especially when working with materials or processes that emit fumes or require specific environmental conditions. Depending on where your ovens in your new lab are going to be located, you’re going to want to consider how to properly provide ventilation.

Design your lab space to include proper ventilation systems to maintain a safe and comfortable working environment.

 

How to keep equipment running?

Regular maintenance is the cornerstone of a functional laboratory. Implement a maintenance plan that includes routine checks and timely repairs. Training your staff to handle minor issues can prevent small problems from escalating into significant disruptions.

You’ll want to make sure you have equipment like:

• Vacuum “Torr” Gauge

• Calibration blocks for scales (some states require this)

• Calibration height blocks for your gyratory

Having tools like these on hand will help ensure your equipment is always in tip-top shape.

What type of personnel you will need

With your new lab equipped with the right equipment, you’ll then need to make sure you have the right type of personnel available to run the lab.

If you have a general lab, a Level 1 Technician will suffice to run everything. But if you’re focusing on mix design for your lab, you’ll need to have a Level 2 Technician available, or anyone who’s certified to do mix designs.

Each situation will require the right amount and type of personnel, so it’s essential to have a plan in place before opening your lab to avoid any future headaches.

The main challenges you’ll face after setting up your lab

Now that your lab is set up with the right equipment, and you have your chosen personnel to run the lab, eventually you’ll run into some challenges down the road that you’ll need to deal with to keep your lab running smoothly.

1. The number one challenge we’ve seen that can really throw a wrench in a new lab setup is changes in personnel. People will inevitably come and go, but it can really upend things when they do go, especially after you’ve established set processes and procedures that you’ve trained your whole team on. Make sure you add extra time into your projects in case a personnel change happens.

2. Going over budget can be another challenge. By working with us at InstroTek to set up your lab, we can work with you on establishing a budget and making sure you don’t exceed it–saving you money in the long run.

Getting ready for testing

Now that your equipment is installed and your personnel are ready to go, you’ll need to ensure you have the proper certifications and accreditations necessary to run the lab. 

Before purchasing new equipment, we'll work with you in determining what certifications you’ll need and even provide the certification process, so your new lab will be ready for testing. We’ll also assist with calibrating all of your new equipment, so everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

If your equipment involves nuclear tools, like gauges, you’ll also need to make sure you have the proper licensing needed to operate them. At InstroTek, we specialize in nuclear gauges and can help you with this step to get your lab up, running, and ready for testing.

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💻 Watch Part 2 of setting up a new civil engineering lab on The Hot Mix Podcast:

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