How To Repair A United Micropipette

pipette-repair Have you ever wondered how much pipette repairs are costing your lab? You are non alone. Pipette repairs are something we are all faced with from time to time, and their costs may exist college than you think. What may surprise you is that some of these costs can be prevented merely by training lab personnel in proper pipette use and treatment.

Hidden (and non and so subconscious) pipette repair costs

Recently I spoke with Douglas Nelson, one of my colleagues, who shared his observations of broken pipettes in the lab and their associated costs. "We dealt with everything from simple fixes such as broken springs to more complex ones like broken ejector bars, bent piston rods, and cracked plastic housing pieces." I was very surprised to hear virtually how often these types of breaks were occurring—about ten times a year, per my colleague. For some of these repairs Douglas would have to implement were very simple—cleaved springs and worn O-rings—and could be completed in-house after ordering the required parts. Other issues, such as broken ejector assemblies or plastic housing pieces, required a much more than in depth repair and needed to be completed by an exterior vendor.

As we further discussed the types of repairs, some very apparent time and monetary costs started to emerge. Time associated with troubleshooting the root cause of the repairs, waiting for the parts or scheduling the outsource, and conducting the repairs or waiting for the pipette to render from the vendor. Budgetary costs included purchasing the part for in-business firm repairs, paying for shipping to outsource the pipette, and fees for repairs and labor costs for outsourced repairs.

All of the repairs and the associated costs reported past Douglas are pretty general, and likely occur in most labs. From my conversation with Douglas, I've created a breakdown of the potential costs associated with pipette repairs in Tables 1 and ii. Note that these costs are estimated equally parts, labor, and outsource fourth dimension may vary between vendors and pipette brands.

Table 1. Monetary Costs Associated with Pipette Repairs

Example Repair Parts	Gauge Budgetary Cost (per part)
O-Ring	$1-10
Ejector Pieces	$10-30
Springs	$5-$twoscore
Piston Rod	$20-sixty
Electronic Components	$15-200
Plastic Pieces, Levers, Battery Covers, Etc.	$xxx-400
Pipette Replacement (If repair not possible)	$200 to over 1,000

Note: Labor costs for outsourced repairs are not included

Table 2. Time Costs Associated with Pipette Repairs

Location of Repair	Time (Troubleshooting and Completing/Analogous Repair)
In House	45-90 minutes
Outsourced	Upwardly to 4 weeks*
*Also includes waiting time for pipette to render.

NOTE: Labor costs for outsourced repairs are non included

Every bit y'all can see from the tables, there are some significant costs, especially if repairs occur ten times per twelvemonth or more, as happened in my colleague's lab.

What about other hidden costs?

Oftentimes having to outsource pipettes tin can put a bang-up deal of strain on your lab, between preparing and receiving shipments and coordinating product piece of work around the outsourced pipettes. Equally an example, multiple groups may have to share pipettes, or you might need an additional set of pipettes on paw to supercede the ones you accept shipped out for repair. This ways that you could exist losing valuable product fourth dimension as technicians spend their time looking for pipettes to use or waiting for others to exist finished using a pipette before they can start their own work. There could be increased budgetary costs, purchasing pipettes and extra calibration supplies to proceed a stable inventory.

Going dorsum to my give-and-take with Douglas, I asked what contributed to the repairs he had observed. He indicated that the age of the pipette (old or new) could exist a factor. Crumbling pipettes have a natural progression of repair needs whereas repairs on new pipettes may withal exist covered by a warranty. Sometimes, repairs were required considering of pipette mishandling.

Mishandling? I was quite surprised to hear this. I asked him whether he or his team had directly observed repairs stemming from pipette mishandling, or if this was information he had received from a repair vendor.

"Nosotros have seen everything from seating pipette tips with excessive force to pipettes being handled in such a mode that led them to falling off a shelf to inconsistent use of pressure on the plunger." Once in his lab, a repair vendor suspected that excess ejection force was the factor that led to a broken ejector assembly. The vendor thought information technology was possible that the cleaved ejector associates was the upshot of lab personnel not using an advisable tip type for that pipette, and that the specific tip they used may take required a higher ejection forcefulness. Lab personnel might non have even been enlightened that they were using an inappropriate tip, and had just causeless that excessive ejection strength was normal.

I thought this was interesting and wondered if this could be a common issue labs may face. I got an opportunity to speak most pipette repair and mishandling with Candie Gilman, the Technical Support and Training Specialist for Artel. She shared an example of mishandling that may be surprising, it certainly was for me. She told me that the volume fix on adaptable book pipettes before they are stored can take a significant touch on on the functionality of the pipette. When pipettes are set at the minimum volume, the spring inside of the pipette chamber becomes compressed. If continuously stored like this, pregnant habiliment on the leap tin occur. In the short term, if a technician takes that pipette commencement thing in the morning and changes the volume from the highest to the everyman setting then uses it, the spring may not fully decompress prior to use and y'all could encounter some quality issues.

Candie also explained that pipettes need to be stored upright. 1 reason is that if liquid is inadvertently aspirated into the barrel, storing them upright volition allow gravity to help naturally drain the liquid. If pipettes are stored in a drawer, there is no gravity to help and the liquid can cause corrosion, not to mention potential contamination issues.

The benefits of pipette grooming for reducing repair costs

It sounds like there are quite a few situations in labs where pipettes are mishandled and technicians may not even realize it. Not to mention potential repairs due to this mishandling. What can labs do to assist their technicians and lower repair costs? I posed this question to Douglas. I asked him if they were able to implement any programs that reduced the need—and associated costs—of frequent pipette repairs. He mentioned that some departments at his company had developed their own in-firm pipette training programs simply others did not. He observed that most of the pipette mishandling-related repairs were in the departments that did not have a pipette preparation program. For case, the departments that implemented pipette training programs mostly had typical wearable and tear repairs (O-band replacement, springs) with few repairs associated with misuse (bent piston rods, and broken ejector assemblies). He estimated a repair cost savings of over $1,000 betwixt departments. Because of this savings, he sees a preparation program equally a practiced laboratory investment.

Decision

Pipettes are valuable instruments for almost every life science lab. As we've seen in the examples to a higher place, ensuring that pipettes are handled properly, receive regular preventive maintenance, and are regularly calibrated are critical for their proper function and can too salve your lab coin and lost product time.

Boosted Resources

At that place are many resources that hash out pipetting precision and accuracy. Here are a couple of resources that further examine how users can have impact on pipettes.

Website: How to Better Pipetting Techniques
Website: 10 Ways to Corruption a Pipette
Website: Planned Pipette Intendance

About the Author

Breeann Bryan

Breeann Bryan is a defended laboratory professional with a LEAN Six Sigma Black Belt. Her background ranges from the demote to operations management. She is proud to share the knowledge she has gained from her experience and empower others to tackle their procedure improvement challenges. Whether it's troubleshooting information quality issues or finding out how to maximize efficiency in the lab, she firmly believes that everyone deserves to have the right tools needed for the job.