The excitement levels have been cranking up in our lab with the recent installation of the Kiestra Total Lab Automation system. Although we are not yet putting “live” samples through it I have been very impressed with what I have seen so far. It has exceeded my expectations and it clearly offers huge potential in terms of quality and efficiency improvements.
And I am not just saying that. If it was terrible I would say so….
I have just finished my initial basic training on the system and there are a few take home messages I have picked up from the course.
- It is a sophisticated product already, but there is clearly more to come…. See this article
- The more you know about the system and how it works, the more you will be able to configure it to maximise efficiency. Even though as a clinical microbiologist I won’t have too much day to day hands on involvement with the system, I fully intend to know it “inside out”
- The better you maintain and look after it, the better it will perform, and the less likely it is to break down.
Sure it is nice to be the first microbiology lab in New Zealand to have such a system in place, but I am aware of the fact that such systems will be commonplace throughout the country in a few years time.
I feel that if as a microbiologist, you are not excited by such a system and the potential it provides, you are probably in the wrong profession.
If you have any specific questions on installing a Kiestra, just let me know and I will try and answer.
More to come on this topic!
Michael
It’s always great to read your opinions on the many topics you have covered – your progressive ideas are very welcome, insightful and reassuring in a sense because we try to do similar things at my workplace.
Also, we had the pleasure of demonstrating Kiestra to some of your Key Users here in Melbourne – they must be just as excited to have the system there now! You’re right about the take home messages in your article too..
Good luck with the implementation Michael.
Thanks for your comments Nahim. Yes, the Key Users enjoyed their trip to Melbourne!
Exciting for microbiologists but I wonder if it’s threatening to technical assistants?
True, like most of these things, it is a double edged sword… Thanks for your comment. Michael