Association of

Laboratory Managers

This workshop presents the analytical process and the analytical enterprise along with ways to improve the quality, performance and evaluation of the laboratory. This workshop is for new managers and for present managers and supervisors who want a fresh look at ways to manage the chemical analysis support laboratory.

Key topics include:

• Laboratory mission and functions
• Aligning lab with business
• Ways to organize/restructure
• Laboratory design and work flow
• Selection of costly instruments
• Good laboratory operations
• Ways to avoid crises and handle complaints
• Recognition and rewards
• Manager’s leadership style
• Network with other laboratory managers

Workshop Leader: Dr. Claude Lucchesi has had 14 years of management experience with Shell, Sherwin-Williams and Mobil Chemical. Dr. Lucchesi was a cofounder of ALMA and served as its first President. He was the first recipient of the ALMA Distinguished Service Award in Laboratory Management Sponsored by Agilent Technologies. ⇑

This one-day workshop examines the financial issues facing the laboratory manager to discover options for solving problems and to review key basic financial concepts. Experiences will be shared to provide insight into the obstacles and expected outcomes for the various approaches for managing laboratory budgets.

Key topics include:

• Overview
• Basic financial concepts
• The budget process
• Capital planning
• Procurement/supplier management
• Strategic planning
• Laboratory operational models
• Pricing laboratory services
• Outsourcing
• Managing laboratory maintenance
• Laboratory productivity
• Managing laboratory headcount
• Cost savings initiatives
• Open discussion

Practical details of financial management such as budgeting, cost reduction initiatives, and capital budget justification will be discussed with the emphasis on systems and tools as well as daily operational issues. Workshop participants are expected to share their ideas, experiences, and best practices.

This one-day workshop takes a strategic view of the laboratory system in the context of current quality philosophies to determine options for achieving best management practices. Experiences will be shared to provide insight into the obstacles and expected outcomes for the various management approaches.

Key topics include:

• The lab manager’s job
• Leadership
• Communication
• Organizational structure and operations
• Laboratory systems
• Management philosophies
• Laboratory quality measures
• Benchmarking
• The performance contract
• Laboratory culture
• Staff development
• Management information and reports
• The laboratory’s role in the business
• The future of the laboratory

Practical details of laboratory management such as leadership styles, managing performance, teams, and communication will be discussed with emphasis on systematic approaches and helpful tools. Workshop participants are expected to share their experiences and best practices.

Workshop Leader: Dr. Wayne Collins managed the laboratories of BP Solvay in Deer Park, Texas for 24 years prior to joining Thermo Electron Corporation in productivity services in 2005. He served as the President of ALMA for the year 2000, writes and publishes the ALMA e-News, and is the current Editor of Managing the Modern Laboratory. ⇑

This workshop is designed for those who either perform laboratory work or manage a laboratory that requires compliance with regulatory or quality system requirements. The course provides a broad overview of quality, standards, and compliance regulations in the laboratory, as well as a review of the laboratory system components that support compliance with quality system regulations as well as science based laboratory management.

Key topics include:

• Similarities and differences between cGMP, GLP, TQM, ISO 9001:2000, and Six Sigma quality.
• Successfully managing a quality system within an analytical laboratory environment.
• Laboratory organization, personnel, and analyst training and certification requirements.
• Laboratory certification and accreditation (ISO 17025).
• Calibration, qualification, and maintenance of laboratory equipment. Review of facility requirements.
• Laboratory deviations, failure investigations, and compliance with OOS requirements.
• Test method development, system suitability, and method verification and validation.
• Laboratory documentation, SOPs, project planning, reporting, record keeping, and management.
• Change control requirements for the laboratory and control systems for implementing change.
• Specification setting and sampling plans.
• Control of laboratory and reference standards
• Good laboratory practices for testing facility operations.
• Preparation and requirements for audits and laboratory inspections.
• Stability testing and product evaluations

Workshop Leader: Dr. Anthony J. Montana currently serves as Vice President of Analytical Development and Quality Control with Garden State Nutritionals in Fairfield, NJ. He has over 28 years experience in the areas of Laboratory and Quality Systems Management within the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Nutraceutical Industries. Dr. Montana is a past-President of ALMA. ⇑