Scott D. Hanton

Lab Manager Academy’s Lab Management Certification can help you deliver on a wide variety of lab management duties

Lab managers must make a wide range of decisions to enable the lab to be successful. Many of these decisions are made directly from personal experience and could be improved with better use of data. Implementing or improving the tools, software, systems, and practices that capture, monitor, and use operational process data can enable lab managers to make better, more informed decisions.There are many types of data that can be captured and organized for use in operational decision-making, but her…

Tips to implement a data-driven asset management plan

Leadership is driven through a series of important actions in the lab

It was great to see the return of the Pittcon Conference, held in Philadelphia, PA from March 18 to 22, 2023. The conference featured a large exhibit hall that contained a large diversity of vendors, equipment, and instruments for the lab. The exhibit hall provided scientists from many different kinds of labs the opportunity to see new and innovative products, and collaborate on new answers to technical challenges with the vendors providing those solutions. The exhibit hall had more than 500 ve…

Most labs work hard to find the right balance of output delivery, cost, and time management. There is constant pressure on budgets and satisfying key stakeholders and line management. To help find this balance, lab managers benefit from finding ways to increase productivity. “Productivity is about doing more with the same,” according to Michael Mankins of Bain & Company, an expert on organization design, corporate strategy, and transformation practices. To increase productivity means to generate…

Networking is all about building connections with a wide range of people you can help—and who will help you. It’s the ability to elevate these people from strangers to acquaintances. Most people won’t ask strangers for help, but they will ask for help from people that they know. Networking is a leadership skill that combines meeting new people and supporting existing relationships. It’s also about how to reach out to people in your network to get the help you need. Here are five tips to help imp…

Modern science demands a lot of resources. To conduct effective experiments, scientists must have the samples, reagents, consumables, assay components, equipment, tools, and instruments readily available. Time spent searching for specific items, repairing equipment, or finding depleted stock takes away from the time scientists can be thinking about their science and doing the right experiments and analyses. Lab managers can improve the productivity of their labs by taking steps to ensure that ev…

Upgrading the lab space is an exciting opportunity. Most labs have few opportunities to create the kind of space that enhances the technical work, corrects issues the staff are facing, and enables them to thrive. To take advantage of all the skills, experience, and knowledge required for a successful new build or renovation project, lab managers should develop three different teams—one internal to the lab, a second that brings other skills from within the greater organization, and a third that b…

Happy employees are productive employees. According to George Mason University, well-being is defined as “building a life of vitality, purpose, resilience, and engagement.” Investing time and energy in improving staff well-being can pay off in a variety of ways.According to a presentation by Esther Kyte, then the managing director at the Center for Positive Organizations, staff who are thriving deliver better job performance, are more proactive, miss fewer days of work, are more innovative, and…