Standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be written for each instrumentation present in lab and represent guidelines to work with. From calibration to final cleaning, terms of use of an instrument are well described in order to guarantee firstly that instrument is correctly used, secondarily that everyone in lab uses machine in the same manner: this is a crucial point to allow comparison of results produced in lab. A training has to be done before using an instrument, at least the first time with a manufacturer’s specialist and then by the most expert person in lab. Each instrument has a responsible that takes care of management and maintenance. Ideally, in this way measurements obtained from an instrument by all users are comparable and consistent and standard deviation between repeated experiments should decrease. SOPs are not applied only to instruments use, but can also describe other important actions, normally performed in lab. For instance, when data management has well defined rules, it’s easier and faster to retrieve information. Whatever kind of data elaborated in files –texts, tables, pictures, graphs- should be classified and named with a code that, for instance, contains project number, operator, day, kind of file: so just reading the name, it should be possible to understand if we have found what we are looking for. Standardization of data management is crucial when there are a lot of people in lab or there is a quick turnover, indeed these are common cases in which some data could be lost. Writing a notebook is another part of scientific work that is essential for scientist and also this aspect has to be standardized. Indeed, in notebook protocols are usually described, raw data collected, first observations noted and each scientist tends to personalize his book.
A standardized manner of writing notebook is important to make easier sharing protocols and ideas between group members. Last but not least, all reagents from salts to enzymes, from culture media to animals, have to be registered in terms of availability, arrival date, expiration date in a common repository accessible to all people working. In this way, scientists can quickly check to have all reagents for their experiment before starting and don’t waste time and, more important, they don’t waste money to buy reagents maybe already available in lab, but hidden in some dark corner. Software is available to correctly manage all kind of scientific repository, from freezers to nitrogen tank to collect cells. In conclusion, following GLP makes experimental work more efficient and less expensive.