Transcat Pipettes: Complete On-site Pipette Asset Management Case Study

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Managing Thousands of Scheduled Pipette Calibrations while Staying Compliant to FDA Requirements

Managing a large inventory of pipettes posed a significant logistical challenge that hindered laboratory efficiency. With limited support staff capacity, scientists were understandably reluctant to part with their instruments for routine maintenance, knowing they would not expect a swift service. The current pipette provider delivered a poor quality service than expected, and turnaround was long. OOT rates were high, and the FDA would conduct audits with little notice, often asking for pipette certificates during audit. Certificates must be up to date and available. These factors led to an initiative to discover a company that would provide comprehensive pipette calibration and repair service, but assist with the logistics involved with sending hundreds of instruments to a calibration lab.

To address this issue, Transcat Pipettes introduced a tailored service solution that met and exceeded the complex internal processes of the pharmaceutical company. Transcat’s Full Time Pipette Program Management Solution provided direct pickup from individual labs, triage, order creation, and seamless and secure shipping to the nearby calibration lab for service. Pipettes are then received back from service with minimal downtime; just a couple of days. Certs were reviewed and uploaded to the customer CMMS system by Transcat. Adding to the service, Transcat’s full time dedicated resource provided regular reporting, OOT investigation assistance for the Quality department, and end user training and communications for anything pipette related. For more than 15 years now, Transcat Pipettes has partnered with this company to take this burden off their scientists, providing trusted and reliable asset management support.

Current State: Complete Onsite Custom Management of the Entire Pipette Program
Transcat Pipettes Pipette Management Service provides a reliable daily presence onsite where all pipettes are managed.

• Completely Delegated: Transcat’s full time resource, under customer supervision, and having built the necessary trust with the client, deals with all requirements of the complex pipette program on a daily basis.
• Customer Facing: Coordinating submission reminders, internal documentation, and pickup and delivery from labs allow scientists to spend time doing science, not maintaining their equipment.
• Regular Reporting: Transcat’s resource provides data such as Tracking OOT’s, closing out work orders, and dealing with the Quality Department’s pipette questions and requirements.
• • Professional Resource: The Onsite Program Manager assists various departments with OOT investigations, user trainings, and documentation requirements.

Key Project Details

Letting Scientists be Scientists, Pipettes are Outsourced to a Trusted Provider going on 15 years.

• Freedom: Company management was free to focus on larger projects.
• Availability: Scientific staff has a place and person to go for their pipette service needs.
• Level Loading: Fewer instruments are out for service at one time, eliminating lab disruptions.
• Fewer OOT Occurrences: Improvements in the program, instrumentation, user training has led to fewer Out of Tolerance events, lowering investigation costs.
• Compliance: Instruments are managed, counted, and calibrated on time.
• Cost Control: Pipette inventory, once managed, was reduced to the essential instruments only.
• Enhanced Productivity: As a result, various lab groups experience smoother operations, reduced downtime, and improved compliance with calibration standards—enhancing overall productivity.