Laboratory Design

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Laboratory Design

March 27, 2025
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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ISO/DIS 22544Laboratory design — Vocabulary (Under Development)

ANSI STANDARDS ACTION

International Building Code Chapter 38: Higher Education Laboratories

Update: 6 June 2024

Update: 28 September 2023

Update: 10 May 2023

Update: 27 February 2023

Updated: September 20, 2021

Original Post: May 25, 2019

 

Colleagues in the US education facility industry who collaborated with the original University of Michigan codes and standards advocacy enterprise ahead of the launch of ISO TC 276 Biotechnology standard in 2015 may recall how the University of Michigan recommended that ANSI request removal of “facilities” from the scope of the proposed biotechnology standard; administered by the Deutsches Institut für Normung committee.

Our recommendation was accepted; thereby partitioning the science of biotechnology from the facilities that supported that activity as much as possible.  Back in the early 2000’s we found the US research community in higher education was indifferent to participation in international standards of any kind; despite the concentration of chemical, energy, environmental air, electrical and fire safety risk aggregations.

Now the scope of this standard appears to recover some of the facility scope in another title; a few of the key details linked here.

CLICK IMAGE

Since the beginning of the original University of Michigan standards advocacy enterprise described in our ABOUT we found the US research community indifferent to participation in standards  development of any kind; much less international standards.  To a large degree it remains so.  Perhaps in the fullness of time, respected voices will join ours.

The Standards Administration of China is the Global Secretariat.  The American National Standards Institute participates as an Observer.  The business plan posted in 2019 is linked below:

ISO TC 336 Laboratory Design 22 March 2023 336 L

ISO TSP 290 (Laboratory Design) | 2019  (Shown for reference only)

You may communicate directly with Steve Cornish: scornish@ansi.org on any matter regarding this project.

Starting 2023  we are breaking up our coverage of laboratory-related best practice titles accordingly:

Laboratories 100 will cover all relevant standardization catalogs with special attention to titles that are incorporated by reference into public safety and sustainability laws.

Laboratories 200 will cover laboratory occupancies primarily for teaching and healthcare clinical delivery.

Laboratories 400 will cover laboratories for scientific research including medical research.

Laboratories 500 is broken out as a separate but related topic and will cover conformity and case studies that resulted in litigation.  Both Laboratories 200 and 400 will refer to the cases but not given a separate colloquium unless needed.

We maintain titles from the project on the standing agendas of our periodic Global and Laboratories conversations open to everyone.  Always at 15:00 UTC.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Issue: [19-134]

Category: Academic, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben, Markus Scheufele, Larry Spielvogel

Source: ANSI Standards Action | Page 33

ANSI-Accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (TAGS) to ISO

LINK TO ORIGINAL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ISO STANDARDS WORKSPACE

Standards für die Präanalytik

Electrical Safety in Academic Laboratories

Danse de recherche sur le cancer


Reposted by ANSI July 13, 2020

Last week the American National Standards Institute notified stakeholders that the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) — the ISO member body for China — has submitted a proposal for a new field of ISO technical activity on “Laboratory Design”.   The proposal bears resemblance to a notice of public consultation that was posted last year; now linked below:

ISO TSP 290 (Laboratory Design)

Comments on the (apparently revised) proposal are due at ANSI offices on August  3rd.

We refer you to Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org) and/or Henry Cheung (HCheung@ansi.org) at the American National Standards Institute.

We maintain consensus products of this nature on our Global and Laboratory teleconferences; open to everyone.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.


Originally posted May 25, 2019

 

ISO Member Nations | Click on image

 

“Science, my boy, is made up of mistakes,

but they are mistakes which it is useful to make,

because they lead little by little to the truth.” 

― Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth

 

The Standardization Administration of China (SAC) — the ISO member body for China — has submitted a proposal for a new field of ISO technical activity on “Laboratory Design” with the following scope statement:

“…Standardization in the field of laboratory design including site selection and design planning, the functional division of experimental areas, the determination of scientific and technological processes, layouts and design of furniture, and the scientific design of the facility taking into account environmental conditions and impact.  Excluded:

– IEC/TC 64 (Electrical installations and protection against electric shock);
– IEC/TC 81 (Lightning protection);
– IEC/TC 66 (Safety of measuring, control and laboratory equipment);
– IEC/TC 85 (Measuring equipment for electrical and electromagnetic quantities).

Once the new TC is established, liaisons with other relevant ISO technical committees will be established, including ISO/TC 48(laboratory equipment), ISO/TC 212 (Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems)and CASCO as well as relevant IEC technical committees (IEC/TC 45(Nuclear instrumentation), IEC/TC 62 (Electrical equipment in medical practice), IEC/TC 65 (Industrial-process measurement, control and automation), IEC/TC 76 (Optical radiation safety and laser equipment) and IEC/TC 104 (Environmental conditions, classification and methods of test).  Note: the TC will support the contribution of the laboratory design industry to UN Sustainable Development Goals and enable countries to address a wide range of global issues including eradication of hunger and poverty, health, climate change and economic development….”

“…The new TC will stipulate technical design requirements for a diverse range of laboratories with different functions and responsibilities. It will include, but not limited to:

1. site selection and design planning;
2. layouts and design of furniture (e.g workbenches, fume hoods, safety showers, biological safety cabinets, etc);
3. electrical, water and gas supply systems, drainage, fire prevention, HVAC, auto-control and decoration;
4. laboratories featuring bio-safety, constant temperature and humidity, and other special laboratories;
5. laboratory safety, staff health, environmental protection, and energy saving;
6. Smart laboratory (use of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, block chain, etc. to empower laboratories, e.g. increase the depth and width of services provided to clients, improve the servicing level during the consulting, design and maintenance phases.)…”

A Giant Traditional Chinese Painting | CLICK ON IMAGE

A Giant Traditional Chinese Painting | CLICK ON IMAGE

“…The setting up of laboratory design TC and establishment of laboratory design standards will benefit organizations and groups as follows:

      1. Laboratory owners (including governments, scientific agencies and enterprises, etc.): Laboratory owners will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design for better management of laboratory design, construction, acceptance and operation. The investment budget will have a reference basis; construction cost will be better controlled; investment risk will be lowered; project quality can be better evaluated; construction cycle will be shortened; capital usage efficiency will be raised;
      1. Laboratory designers: Laboratory designers will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design, and will have standards to follow and verify by, make fewer design faults and ensure laboratory design to be more scientific and professional; laboratory environmental facility will be improved in terms of safety, energy conservation, environmental friendliness, as well as impacts on human health and well-being.
      1. Laboratory constructors: Laboratory constructors will have construction and acceptance standards to refer to; the construction quality will be raised; technology advancement will be promoted; the industry will be further regulated.
      1. Laboratory users: Laboratory users will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design; stakeholders can communicate with each other in a more informed way and evaluate laboratories based on common standards, making laboratory use, operation and management more scientific and regulated. Smart laboratories will allow more functions and add value by integrating technologies of big data, cloud computing and internet of things, etc.
      1. Laboratory operators: Laboratory operators will understand the principles and methods of laboratory design, which will facilitate the maintenance of laboratories; Smart laboratories will enable the remote digital control of laboratory operation and facilitate reliable, efficient and convenient maintenance.
      1. Society:  The society will be able to cultivate more professional personnel in the field of laboratory design; a more sound and fair development of laboratory design and construction both home and abroad will be facilitated; more energy-saving and environmental-friendly design will promote the sustainable development of the society; the premium laboratories will inspire the creativity of researchers and promote the advancement and development of technologies. Smart laboratories will facilitate technological progress, product quality improvement, data recognition as well as international trade….”

“Louis Pasteur” | Albert Edelfelt (1885)

If the proposal is accepted, China is willing to undertake the work of secretariat of the new TC and will provide all necessary resources including financial and human resources as well as facility supports.   A partnership agreement between China and France at committee level is foreseen.   

Anyone wishing to review the proposal can request a copy by contacting ANSI’s ISO Team (isot@ansi.org), with a submission of comments to Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org) by close of business on Friday, June 28th

N.B. This proposal will be featured in an ANSI Online news story and open for public review and comments from relevant US stakeholders via notice in Standards Action. In addition, ANSI will conduct targeted outreach to gather input on this proposal.  Based on the input received from US stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented to the AIC for approval before the ISO voting deadline of August 13, 2019.  Contact Steve Cornish (scornish@ansi.org)

ANSI’s due process requirements were applied to this ISO/SIA/AFNOR proposal and comment from US stakeholders were consulted.  It appears that most US stakeholders do NOT want to participate in the development of this standard as currently written.   The public comments are available from Henry Cheung (HCheung@ansi.org) who has also prepared a draft statement from ANSI.

Comments on the draft statement are due August 2nd.  

 

Perspective:  We have been down this road before.  The original University of Michigan user-interest advocacy enterprise — through ANSI — was persuasive in having “facilities” struck from the scope of the original ISO TC/276 Biotechnology project proposal (Global Secretariat: Deutsches Institut für Normung) in 2012.  Now we circle back to a proposal that captures the facility component as an articulated enterprise which, in large research colleges and universities, is a delicate risk aggregation that generates significant revenue.

As always, we are happy to discuss any best practice title from anywhere on earth that affects the safety and sustainability agenda of education communities.   Just click the login credentials at the upper right of our home page any day at 11 AM Eastern time.    We also sweep through the status of international consensus products emerging from ISO, IEC and ITU technical and management committees.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [19-134]

Category: Academic, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben, Markus Scheufele, Larry Spielvogel

Source: ANSI Standards Action | Page 33

LINK TO ORIGINAL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ISO STANDARDS WORKSPACE

 

 

Laboratory Chemical Safety Fixtures

March 27, 2025
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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“Der Alchemist” c. 1908 Max Fuhrmann

 

We use European Norm 15154-1 and 15154-2 to enlighten differences about laboratory risk is managed among different nations — specifically between the United States and Europe. The education industry has many instructional, research and healthcare settings in which laboratory chemicals are routinely used.  The laboratories specifically, are significant revenue generators in research universities.  We contribute to leading practice discovery for any technology that reduces risk to people and property.  As we are classified as a “user-interest” in the global standards systems; we are also attentive to budget risk.

The European Norm documents are developed as a pair as shown below:

EN 15154-1 Emergency safety showers – Part 1: Plumbed-in body showers for laboratories – This document is a product specification, giving performance requirements for emergency safety body showers connected to the water supply. It is applicable to plumbed-in body showers only, located in laboratory facilities. It is not applicable to emergency safety showers used on industrial sites or in other such areas. Requirements are given in respect of the performance, installation, adjustment and marking of the showers as well as installation, operation and maintenance instructions to be given by the manufacturer. NOTE Attention is drawn to national regulations which may apply in respect of the installation and use of emergency safety showers.

EN 15154-2 Emergency safety showers – Part 2: Plumbed-in eye wash units – This document is a product specification, giving performance requirements for emergency safety eye wash units connected to the water supply. It is applicable to plumbed-in eye wash units only. Requirements are given in respect of the performance, installation, adjustment and marking of the eye wash units, as well as installation, operation and maintenance instructions to be given by the manufacturer. NOTE Attention is drawn to national regulations which may apply in respect of the installation and use of eye wash units.

The current version is dated 2006; to best of our knowledge (though there may be local adaptions that are dated later).  The European Committee for Standardization website may contain more information about status and developmental trajectory.  The International Organization for Standardization also administers two technical committees (ISO/TC 48 and ISO/TC212) also involved in laboratory safety and sustainability concepts.

We do not advocate user-interest safety and sustainability concepts in this pair of standards at the moment.  However, we do use EN 15154 et. al, for comparative purposes; setting it against the prevailing United State standard produced by the International Safety Equipment Association — ISEA 358.1-2014 Emergency Eyewash and Shower Standard.

We track public consultations on this topic during our periodic Laboratory and Water 200 colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the next online teleconference; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [13-28] [15-271] [19-155]

Category: International, Laboratory Safety, Mechanical, Plumbing,

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Mark Schaufele, Richard Robben

Laboratory Safety Guidance

March 27, 2025
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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LEARN MORE:

OSHA Bibliography: Laboratory Safety

Illinois State University. Chemical Hygiene Plan for Chemistry Laboratories: Information and Training, 1995

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC Model Chemical Hygiene Plan, 1999

University of Nebraska – Lincoln. UNL Environmental Health and Safety. Safe Operating Procedures, 2005-2008

OSHA News Release Region 1: Laboratory Citation

 

Higher Education Laboratories

March 27, 2025
mike@standardsmichigan.com

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2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES: Complete Monograph (2658 pages)

Note the following changes in the transcript above:

Section 702 (Rated Construction), FS44-24 Installer Qualifications (typical marketmaking), Section 3801 (Materials exceeding the Maximum Allowable Quantity), F59-24 (Battery Containment Areas), F81-24 (Health Care Facility Plugs), F112-24 (Lithium Ion Battery Labs), F197-24 (Market making, laboratory oven protection study), F235-24 (Hazardous Materials Classifications & quantity limits).


Safety and sustainability concepts for research and healthcare delivery cut across many disciplines and standards suites and provides significant revenue for most research universities.  The International Code Council provides free access to current editions of its catalog of titles incorporated by reference into public safety law.  CLICK HERE for an interactive edition of Chapter 38 of the 2021 International Fire Code.

During today’s colloquium we will examine consultations for the next edition in the link below:

2021 International Fire Code Chapter 38 Higher Education Laboratories

We encourage our colleagues to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process.   The next revision of the International Fire Code will be undertaken accordingly to next ICC Code Development schedule; the timetable linked below:

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

We encourage directly employed front-line staff of a school district, college or university that does not operate in a conformance/compliance capacity — for example, a facility manager of an academic unit — to join a committee.  Not the Fire Marshall.  Not the Occupational Safety Inspector.  Persons with job titles listed below:

  • Fire Safety System Designer
  • Fire Alarm Technician (Shop Foreman)
  • Building Commissioner
  • Electrical, Mechanical Engineer
  • Occupational Safety Engineer

These subject matter experts generally have a user-interest point of view.

Contact Kimberly Paarlberg (kpaarlberg@iccsafe.org) for information about how to do so.

 

Related:

 2021 International Mechanical Code

2021 International Plumbing Code

2021 International Energy Conservation Code

Issue 16-69

Category: Fire Safety, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Joe DeRosier, Josh Elvove, Mark Schaufele

Archive / Higher Education Laboratories

Meeting Point

Danse de recherche sur le cancer

Debating Society

March 26, 2025
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The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest continuously running debating society in the world.

The Union has served as a model for the foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities, including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union. The Union is a private society with membership open to all students of Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University.

“This House Believes Modern Conservatism is Incompatible with Democracy” Play All

Lent Term Card 2025

Cambridge Center for Smart Infrastructure & Construction

The Cambridge Union is a registered charity and is completely separate from the Cambridge University Students’ Union.

The Cambridge Union Debating Society hosts its events primarily on Thursdays during the academic term at the University of Cambridge. Their flagship events include:

Thursday Night Debates: Held weekly in the Debating Chamber, these are the highlight of the Union’s schedule, featuring prominent speakers and students debating topical issues. Debates typically start at 8:00 PM, but exact times may vary, and some are livestreamed on platforms like YouTube.

Keynote Speaker Events: These occur approximately twice a week, involving interviews and Q&A sessions with notable figures. Timing varies but often aligns with evening slots to accommodate student schedules.

Social and Special Events: Events like balls, workshops, or themed nights (e.g., Zumba, Eurovision parties) are scattered throughout the term, often on weekends or evenings. These may be free or discounted for members.

Competitive Debating Events: The Union organizes competitions like the Cambridge Schools Debating Competition, with regional rounds typically between January and March and Finals Day on a Saturday or Sunday in spring.

Specific dates and times are detailed in the Union’s termcard, published each term (Michaelmas, Lent, Easter) on their website (cus.org) or platforms like Issuu. For precise schedules, check the Cambridge Union’s official website or contact them at info@cus.org, as their membership portal occasionally undergoes maintenance, which may delay updates.

Events are generally held at their Bridge Street premises, with some open to the public or livestreamed. Membership provides access to exclusive events and discounts.

BSI Group

Wood-Fired Pizza

March 26, 2025
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Dickinson College Financial Statement 2022: $873.4M

Dickinson College | Cumberland County Pennsylvania

Every week, patrons of Farmers on the Square can count on locating the Dickinson College Farm’s wood-fired pizza oven right at the heart of the square. Our handmade and fresh-baked pizzas reflect the seasonal fluctuations on our farm in addition to quality ingredients grown within the Cumberland Valley. In addition to wood-fired pizzas, our stand features seasonal organic vegetables, fresh salad dressings, refreshing popsicles and “our farm in a jar” through canned soups, pickled favorites, salsa, hot sauce and more!”

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Sausage

March 26, 2025
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