A day in the laboratory at SureScreen
7:30am – 9:00am
The technicians don their lab coats and process the results from samples that have been running through the night. Quality Control checks are performed on the equipment, and methodologies are standardised.
9:00am – 9:15am
Tom Wood, SureScreens Laboratory Manager, prioritises the jobs for the day, whilst technicians begin to pre-treat samples and prepare them for analysis.
9:15am – 10:30am
While the first batch of samples are running, the laboratory has the days first delivery of samples, usually by post. These are booked into our sample management tool, WorkForce, by our technicians and given an order of priority.
10:15am – 10:45am
The team have a well deserved Coffee Break, but these are staggered, ensuring that technicians are present during analysis at all times.
10:30am – 12:00pm
The first batch of samples are approaching the end of their analysis. When everything is clarified, the results are entered into WorkForce for authorisation before release.
12:00pm – 13:30pm
The team start filtering out for lunch, again staggered so that there is cover in the lab. Some go for a healthy salad and a walk around the grounds at our beautiful Morley site, while others prefer a more traditional sandwich, packet of crisps and to catch up on what is happening on social media!
12:30pm – 15:30pm
The second set of samples are finalised for analysis, and Batch Two is delivered to the equipment whilst the technicians break off into their individual jobs and projects. The increase in automation for routine drug testing gives us the capacity to handle the more complex and non-standard jobs, such as testing of raw drug substances and paraphernalia.
14:30pm – 16:30pm
The senior staff begin to authorise the results of the analysis. The results and Certificate of Analysis are uploaded to WorkForce, and the customer is informed their results are ready to read.
16:30pm – 17:00pm
The Laboratory is cleaned down. Surfaces are disinfected, samples are stored away, floors cleaned and bins taken out. This is the least interesting but one of the most necessary parts of our day and sets us up ready for a fresh start the following morning.
