The Way of the Technician

Gxp audits

2009-11-23T22:57:00.004Z

When meeting with auditors, a technician should remain calm but mentally alert. A technician must remember that he or she knows what is done in a process/test etc, and how it is done. Though the tendency is to direct auditors toward paperwork and procedures, if they aren't familiar with one's particular plant or site in general, they may well like to get a feel for how tasks are actually performed.

It's very important for a technician to not allow day to day tasks to fluster themselves, and display poor courtesy toward an auditor. I've come across rushed and almost rude with auditors in the past, which sets a bad mood and paves the way for more findings. Such lessons are quickly learnt.

A technician is not an expert, despite training and education he or she might have. The answer to a why question is little more than 'because it works' in the mind of the technician. More advanced questioning beyond the what and how should be referred to those paid to live and breathe such experience and knowledge.

Settle plates

2009-07-23T23:48:00.002+01:00

Closing settle plates after they've had their hour of exposure is like approaching a dangerous, twitchy animal.
Approach them slowly, with smooth movements, to avoid wafting air across them. They should never know your existence, sine you are often testing the room and not the person.
As if approaching from downwind, be careful not to breath on the exposed agar.
Closing the lid is like collecting a loaded trap, until taped it is not yet secure.

Meetings

2009-07-23T23:47:00.001+01:00

Always bring a pen and paper to meetings. One should look to come away with their own actions to complete. To end a meeting and not have a designated task to follow up on is truly a waste of time.

tea breaks

2009-06-21T23:40:00.001+01:00

Line managers sometimes shun team tea breaks. This is short sighted thinking. If a team of technicians or other lab staff spend most of their day separately, on their own preps/tests etc, there may be little chance to talk about non-work topics and gel as a group.
When a team are given the free choice to break when it's convenient for them and allow breaks to run on when they feel they need to, they'll be more likely to volunteer to stay late and get the job done when the work requires it.
Technicians are employed and paid for the process/prep/test, and as long as it gets done well and timely, there should be some give.

stock control

2009-06-18T19:53:00.000+01:00

Often a technician will collect the items they need for a prep/process/test from a store, and shy away to small minded thinking when an item is nearly out of stock.

If supplies of an item are running low, the designated purchaser should be immediately informed, such that a mad flap over pieces of plastic is not necessary in a few days or weeks. The problem is mainly solved by vigilant operators.

A minor consumable, if out of stock, can suspend a process or more, and cause untold financial damage if a product cannot be made, both in sales and reputation.

Stock management is of little interest to the technician. It is a thankless task, is boring and requires an unnaturally anal and methodical mind to be effected well.
Poor stock management can cause a whole department to grind to a halt.

Expired reagents

2009-06-14T10:46:00.002+01:00

Once a reagent expires, it should be quarantined immediately. It should be disposed of as soon as possible, to prevent it being used and causing a failed stock or process.
To simply make a mental not that it should no longer be used, without making it obvious to other operators, is less than acceptable.
Though one person knows not to use it, the next person to pick up the bottle may well be a different operator.
A physical barrier will prevent it from being used.

the wider view

2009-06-01T00:15:00.000+01:00

A technician may become closed minded and think only of the processes he/she regularly does. The big picture can be left in ignorance and a blinkered view is formed. Though this encourages focus on the task at hand, and productivity in the selfish sense, it can be detrimental to the greater good of the department and company.
Even if a particular process is performing well, if the overall flow is impeded the work is for nothing.

problem solving

2009-06-01T00:11:00.001+01:00

Problem solving is part of the core of a technicians job. A smooth process, task or test is what most wish for at the start of the working day. Complications and unavoidable plant failures will crop up and trample on this smoothness from time to time, and the lessons learnt during these times are what differentiates a good technician from an average one.
Over time, failures such as leakage in vacuum systems will occur and a technician builds up a repertoire of problems with associated solutions.
A great technician learns to apply the strategies and methods of problem solving to analogous problems, within the constraints of GxP and compliance with applicable regulations.

the fundamental reason for it

2009-05-29T20:09:00.000+01:00

Arriving late for a delivery, I passed the patients sat in the waiting room, turning up for their appointments early whilst I swanned in fifteen minutes later than agreed with the hospital unit.
After dropping off the days doses, I waited for the blood to be ready to collect and bring back for labelling, and saw the hospital specialist struggling to withdraw it from an frail elderly lady into a large looking 60ml syringe.

Always important to remember who the job is for.

Initial ponderings

2009-05-28T23:22:00.000+01:00

A technician is just a lab lackey. No matter which important job a technician has done in the past, or whatever importance they may rise to, the task/process/test at hand is their primary focus.