Lab Equipment Inventory Ideas
An up-to-date laboratory equipment inventory is a helpful resource, not only for keeping track of what’s in your labs, but also for maintaining and replacing costly equipment. Your school or department may already have a procedure, but here are some ideas worth considering before you conduct your next lab equipment inventory.
Getting Started
Questions to ask and things to investigate as you plan an inventory.
- Does your school have an existing inventory spreadsheet or program, or can you create your own?
- Check with your school to determine if a physical inventory needs to be conducted on a regular basis to comply with any school procedures or state or federal regulations.
- Are there parameters on what items are to be included in the inventory, such as equipment with a purchase value over a specified dollar amount and a life expectancy of a certain number of years?
- Do non-academic departments such as Accounting, Purchasing, or Receiving require specific information be included in an inventory?
Inventory Data
Suggestions on what to record in your equipment inventory.
The Basics
- Equipment name
- Date purchased
- Manufacturer/Brand
- Model number and serial number
- Company purchased from
The Money
- Original purchase price (and freight cost if appropriate)
- Funding source (budget, grant, gift, etc.)
The Who and Where
- The faculty or department that purchased it
- Department that currently owns it
- Contact person
- Location stored (room/shelf)
The Upkeep
- Maintenance dates (who serviced the item, reason for service, costs)
- Important specifications (electrical needs, vibration sensitivity, etc.)
Inventory Ideas
Tips and strategies to increase your inventory’s effectiveness.
Tag It. Consider marking equipment with an inventory tag or label that includes a unique ID number and record this in your spreadsheet. Tagging is especially useful if you have more than one piece of identical equipment, for example, multiple centrifuges of the same brand and model. A tag will also help you answer the question, “Did we inventory this already?”
Get the Picture. Why not take some photos? Snap some digital pics of the equipment and a take a close up of the serial number label to keep on file. A photo could help identify stolen items and be the key to finding a missing piece of equipment.
Proper Protocol. When writing laboratory protocols for experiments, it’s essential to list all of the required equipment. Having an up-to-date inventory makes writing and following a lab protocol easier, as the details and history of the equipment are available in your inventory.
Depreciation Appreciation. Your Accounting Department will appreciate your inventory! Information about costs and purchase dates will help Accounting capitalize and depreciate equipment per their procedures. And you’ll help your department too. Use depreciation data to justify replacing old equipment with new!
A current lab equipment inventory is a useful tool that can help keep labs, curriculum, and research running smoothly, on schedule, and on budget. If you have any questions about maintaining an inventory, please contact Flinn. We’re happy to help!
Best regards,
Jillian Saddler
Senior Chemist