October 2020

Vol. 02, No. 46

Standard Operating Procedures and Lab Design

S tandard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are required for the

•
Management of Hazardous Materials. The identification of
hazardous materials in a lab will ensure that provisions are
made for their safe handling, storage, and disposal.
Services and Utilities. The determination of the optimal
especially important when work involves the use of hazardous sequence of procedures will determine where services and
materials, aseptic or highly regulated conditions, hazardous utilities are located so that equipment can be optimally
conditions, or other situations where an error in procedures can placed for use.
have serious consequences.
An SOP should be developed early in the design process. If the lab
In many sections of the DRM, it is a requirement to use SOPs in functions currently exist, the SOP can be derived from the current
the process of laboratory design, meaning they must be available SOP and modified to incorporate new functions. If the lab does
for reference during the design process. This does not require not exist, the intended users should develop a preliminary SOP
that the full operational SOP of the laboratory be complete, but based on planned procedures or processes.
that the function of the lab is defined in sufficient detail so that
the designer can optimize the lab’s configuration and features for The lab designer should read the SOP with the goal of
its processes and procedures. understanding the required spaces, features, equipment, and
adjacencies necessary to optimize lab for its function and for safe,
SOPs efficient, and effective operations. Bottlenecks, conflicts, and
Labs are very expensive to build and operate and often involve crossed paths should be eliminated to the extent possible;
hazardous conditions, so failure to follow procedure can have equipment and other items should be located where needed and
serious consequences. For these reasons, labs should be designed most convenient; and hazards should be located to minimize risk
rationally relative to the lab’s SOPs so that procedures are as and in appropriate proximity to required safety devices.
efficient, safe, and intuitive as possible.
If a lab is designed without referring to an SOP, the configuration
A well-written SOP will provide the designer with a wealth of and features will not be optimized for the lab’s procedures and
information that will enable them to properly address features processes. In this case, the lab SOP will have to be modified to fit
that are essential for lab operations, including: the lab configuration, which may require additional steps and
introduce compromises to efficiency and safety.
• Decontamination. The details of decontamination, including
methods, chemicals used, and frequency, will provide Conclusion
information relative to finishes, sealants, penetrations, and Using SOPs in lab design enables a laboratory’s configuration and
HVAC design. features to be optimized for a its procedures and processes,
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The definition of PPE resulting in a safer, more efficient lab and simpler, more intuitive
requirements will ensure that adequate space is provided, SOPs. If an SOP is not used as a design tool, the lab’s procedures
including space for shelving, bins, benches and other and processes must be modified to fit the lab configuration, which
features. can result in compromised safety and efficiency and a more
• Sequence of Procedures. Procedures in a laboratory often complex SOP.
proceed in a specific sequence, so locating equipment and
workstations in a rational order and adequately adjacent to
each other will increase efficiency while limiting conflicts and
potential errors.

‘Design Requirements Manual (DRM) News to Use’ is a monthly ORF publication featuring salient technical information that should be applied to the design of NIH
biomedical research laboratories and animal facilities. NIH Project Officers, A/E’s and other consultants to the NIH, who develop intramural, extramural and American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects will benefit from ‘News to Use’. Please address questions or comments to: [email protected]
Further details on this month’s topic are available on the DRM website DRM Chapter 2, Planning and Programming
https://www.orf.od.nih.gov/TechnicalResources/Pages/DesignRequirementsManual2016.aspx