Letters: November 2020

Like most labs throughout the country, I was tossed a curve ball last March in the form of Covid-19. When I was told we had to shut down, I figured it would be for a couple of weeks. Never would I have imagined July being more realistic.

I realised a LOT of planning would be required for resuming our activities. With nine labs and 60 or so individuals relying on my facilities, further delays were out of the question. I knew I was going to need help, so set up some virtual meetings with other Technical Managers across the University and quickly established a tactical working group to manage our respective returns more efficiently. We all had slightly different slants; teaching, hazardous material handling, external visitors etc. But generally our goals were aligned – we had to resume our activities and safely.

It was clear I needed a system to reduce the occupancy of the labs at any given time and to track where people were going. An online booking approach was ruled out as it relied too much on end user agility. Instead a simple weekly planning form was created, which requires a bit more input from a management perspective, but ensures maximum use of all the lab areas and we haven’t had to resort to staggered working arrangements. Prior to lockdown we were already making use of the ULab platform for instrument bookings, which massively helped our efforts. We also set up a simple QR code system on ULab for out-of-hours working.

It’s been tough, but there have been positives. The new working procedures have helped students and staff become more organised. I’ve also met new colleagues, which has been vital for all the return preparations. When the next challenge comes along, we’ll be ready for it!