MANAGEMENT , MAINTENANCE AND

INSPECTION OF SCIENCE LABORATORY

ZAHOOR AHMADM.Sc (Chem) Ph.D (Scholar)

Vice Principal , IMCB,G-9/4 Islamabad

Management of science Lab is of vital importance require attention by all those who are using.

Good management of science Lab will help to ensure that the Lab achieve its intended purposes to enhance and consolidate the theoretical science in classrooms.

If science Lab is poorly managed, it not only will fail to achieve its intended purposes but will probably affect the students’ interest and enthusiasm in learning.

MANAGEMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY

Area of Lab. Management A systematic approach to Lab management

requires careful considerations of the following major and important aspects:

i. Staffing ii. Finance iii. Budgetingiv. Storagev. General maintenance vi. Specific maintenance

MANAGEMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY

1. Headmaster or Principal 2. Senior Science Teacher 3. Senior subject Teacher4. Science teachers 5. Laboratory assistant6. Laboratory attendant

STAFFING

Headmaster principal is responsible for overall supervision of laboratory management

His duties are to 1. See that lab is properly managed 2. Create conducive atmosphere for

teaching and learning of science 3. Make decisions on all matters connected

with the laboratories with senior Science Teachers

STAFFING

Senior Science teacher In-charge of Science Lab Right hand of Headmaster Give advice to headmaster in any decision

making Expert on all laboratory related matters Must know all instructions and rules issued

by the school administrations

STAFFING

Lab staff1. Lab Assistant2. Lab. Attendant Duties Cleanliness of the laboratory Supplying and setting of apparatus for

Practical Cleanliness of apparatus Duties assigned by Senior Teacher

STAFFING

For the operation of any enterprise, financial resources must be available to meet all the financial requirements.

The school science laboratories are of no exception.

The laboratories need financial aids or grants to meet all the operational costs involved in the management.

Science grants allotted by the governments are not enough to meet the rising prices for science equipment and apparatus.

FINANCE

The increasing emphasis on practical work in science teaching has increased the demand for more sets of equipment in the laboratories.

FINANCE

Science Funds

Government subsidy

School Private Funds

BUDGETING Budgeting is a process that involves

systematic planning of expenditure of a certain amount of allotted money.

It is a process that needs careful and serious considerations so that the allotted money is utilized to achieve maximum benefits.

Budgeting for science lab should always be done two or three months before the end of the school year so that sufficient time is given for preliminary considerations, deletions /additions, finalization, subsequent ordering and purchasing so that goods can be available in the begging of coming year for use in the laboratory.

Senior science teachers and subject teachers are responsible for preparing budget

Final decision will be in the hands of Headmaster or principals.

BUDGETING ---- How to Budget?

1. Check all the stocks in lab.2. With help of Lab staff the following information

can be obtained a. The annual consumption of all consumable

itemb. Period of the year consumable items are

requiredc. New apparatus that is required for coming

yeard. Items of equipment and apparatus that have

been damaged or stolen.

PROCESS OF BUDGETING

3. Projected enrolment 4. Check the remaining facilities like water

supply, electricity, gas pipes furniture and others.

5. Check the current prices of the items 6. After checking make list of goods

needed ,their quantity and expected value.

BUDGETING

The list of requirement should generally include the following

i. Consumable materialii. Capital materialsiii. Glassware, plastics ware and metal wareiv. Biological specimens and slidesv. Gas, water and electricityvi. Office equipmentvii. Furnitureviii. Science booksix. Workshop tools and equipment x. miscellaneous

LIST OF REQUIREMENT

a. Urgently needed itemb. Cheaper itemsc. Item can be replaced by unwanted items

from home, shop or schools. d. Maintainablee. Can be available by other school fund

GUIDELINES IN PREPARING LIST OF REQUIREMENT

Purchasing is handled by the head of institution or by any other senior teacher as duty assigned by the Head.

All correspondence including payment is signed by the head not by senior Teacher.

Must know the amount available at time of making purchase .

If purchase is over the amount of money approved then permission must be obtained from Head of institution.

ORDERING AND PURCHASING

Sure that item to be purchased is not in the list of government contract items.

In bulk items are cheaper . Time of Purchase of items. Some are used

fresh others can be stored. Items are usually more expensive when they

are purchased from companies that deal with scientific equipments.

Try to purchase from other shops like bearings from bicycle shop not scientific store.

ORDERING AND PURCHASING

Quotations Selection of suppliers Ordering Acknowledgement Delivery note Recipt of Goods Invoice

PROCEDURE OF PURCHASES

When certain items are not available from sources other than agent for scientific equipment, normal practice is to write to all the local agents for quotations of prices for the items required.

A sample of quotation is on next slide

QUOTATIONS

When all the quotations have been received, the next important is to select the supplier.

Usually different suppliers are selected for different items.

The price of an item is ,of course, the key factor in the selection of supplier.

Qualities of goods, reputation of supplier and after sale service are also important factor to considered.

Request can always be made to suppliers to send samples of items for careful inspection of quality.

All the quotations should be filed.

SELECTION OF SUPPLIERS

After the suppliers have been selected, order forms should be sent to them.

A carbon copy of every order form should be properly kept in record.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A company will send an acknowledgement

once it has received the order. This acknowledgement should be kept in record.

ORDERING

When the company is ready to deliver goods, a delivery note will be sent to the school stating the time and date the goods will be sent to the address as written in the order form.

The delivery note should be filed along with other documents.

DELIVERY NOTE

All the goods must be checked thoroughly against the original order form before endorsing the delivery notes.

In case of any anomaly in the goods supplied, the supplier should be first notified by phone and immediately followed with a letter.

Do not endorse the delivery notes until all the anomalies have been corrected.

RECEIPT

After delivery , supplier will sent an invoice for payment.

Before payment , match the invoice with the previous quotation from the supplier.

INVOICE

There are two types of stores 1. Main stores2. Dispensing stores Main stores are for science section .it

contains all kinds of chemicals and equipments.

Dispensing stores located at each alb, are set up mainly for the purpose of issuing out equipment and apparatus to students.

STORAGE

Quotations Orders Acknowledgement Delivery notes Invoices Instructional manuals Catalogues Pamphlets Stock cards Stock Registers Others

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN STORES

Stock registers are two types Stock register for consumable materials Stock Register for non-consumable

materials

STOCK REGISTERS

Chemicals Chemicals should be separated from apparatus

and equipments. Generally Chemicals are of two types Inorganic Chemicals Organic Chemicals Old stock should be used first then new stock

because chemicals deteriorate with age. Dangerous chemicals should be labeled and

stored in the lock and key in specials cupboards.

PRESERVATION AND STORAGE OF MATERIALS

These should be arranged under the name of the metals.

The shelves should be labelled accordingly. Double compounds like ammonium nickel

sulphate or ferrous ammonium sulphate can be placed according to labelling adopted by supplier.

The prefixes to the names of chemicals such as di, tri, ortho-, meta , are ignored for storage purposes and such chemicals are stored in the normal way under the name of metals.

INORGANIC CHEMICALS

Storage of organic chemicals is more difficult.

They can be arranged in classes like alcohol, ether, acids etc.

Organic chemicals should be kept alphabetical order in employing this system the prefixes such as o-,m-,and p- are ignored.

The prefixes such as di- and tri- should be taken into account for purposes of alphabetical location.

ORGANIC CHEMICALS

The size of items of glass apparatus stored should be standardized ass far as possible.

They should not be placed too high and mixed with heavy apparatus or metal articles.

Tall glass apparatus should be placed at the back of the shelves and smaller pieces in front.

Special pieces of glassware, for example Kipp’s apparatus ,are store as far as possible in their original packing and paper containers. Make sure packing are labeled.

GLASSWARE

All flasks should be stored separately according to size.

Flat bottom vessels may stand upright but round bottom vessels should be stored a bin with high front small glassware.

Petri dishes and microscopic slides are best kept in shelf trays.

Burettes require a long drawer or stand. All expensive glassware should be kept separately

packed in soft wadding. Thermometers should be kept in their cardboard

cases and stores according to type and range.

GLASSWARE

Horizontal storage is the best for glass tubing and rods.

The tubing must be supported along its length to prevent sagging .

Large diameter tubing must be plugged at the ends to keep out dust.

Soda glass and hard glass should be kept as far apart as possible.

Glass tubing should be stored by weight.

GLASS TUBING AND RODS

Plastics apparatus should be stored away from heat sources.

If it is brittle should not be stored with heavy apparatus.

METAL WARE: Metal wares such as clamps, boss

heads ,tripods stands, Bunsen burners should be stored together and they need periodic maintenance.

PLASTICS

The small items are usually kept in drawers or trays.

Optical items such as lenses, mirrors and prisms are kept in drawers with packet of silica get to maintain dryness.

Bigger apparatus are arranged in shelves. The Heavy ones are placed below and

lighter ones at the top of the shelves.

APPARATUS

Electrical equipments and apparatus should be stored in a group, away from fumes and chemicals.

Valves, transistors and other delicate items should be wrapped in cotton wool and placed in individual casings.

ELECTRICAL PARTS

The school laboratories house expensive science equipment and chemicals which could get damaged rapidly through dampness of ceiling and walls of store rooms.

Regular inspection on the la and equipment prevent this.

The senior science teacher can carry out regular inspection.

INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF LAB AND EQUIPMENTS

Inspection book: For each laboratory inspection a record must be made in the laboratory inspection book of repairs to done on items

1. Paint work 7. Water system2. Lighting 8. Water taps 3. Ventilation 9. Drains and pipes4. Windows 10. Waste sump 5. Gas taps 11. Gas system 6. Furniture 12. Gas Burner 13. Gas tanks

Lab inspection and maintenance

ELECTRICAL FITTINGS AND APPLIANCES1. Fuse Box2. Socket and plugs3. Wires4. Ovens 5. Refrigerators and freezers6. Distillators and deioniser

Lab inspection and maintenance

Laboratory Furniture Benches Stools Chalkboards/white boards Cupboards Display cupboards Notice Boards Curtains Shelves Reagents Racks Burette and Pipette racks

Lab inspection and maintenance

Equipment in physics Lab is general affected by high humidity and dust. Rusting poses an other problem. Therefore periodic inspection is needed.

1. Lead Accumulators 2. Alkaline Accumulator3. Battery Charger 4. Ammeters and voltmeters5. Galvanometers6. Wheatstone Bridges7. Resistance Boxes magnets8. Lenses and prisms Thermometers9. Mercury 10. Vernier Calipers

Physics Lab Inspection and maintenance

THANKS

QUESTIONS ?