Summer 2008 Issue

By Jeff Viney, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Problem
A pharmaceutical company required relocation services to move a drug discovery and development laboratory. The project required the relocation of the entire lab operation to a different facility within the organization. This included reinstallation of instrumentation, verification of performance and operation after the installation, and requalification to maintain compliance. When the lab manager contacted a Thermo Fisher Scientific Field Service Engineer (FSE) to inquire about relocating a Thermo Scientific LTQ mass spectrometer, the FSE not only discussed the move requirements for the scientific instrument but also inquired about the scope of the overall project. The customer expressed frustration with the process of contacting each individual vendor, some of which no longer existed; further, the estimated cost of the project was quickly multiplying.

Solution:
The FSE provided the lab manager with an overview of the Thermo Scientific LIFECYCLE Enterprise Solutions portfolio that contains all of the services necessary to manage his entire project. Relieved, the lab manager contacted the LIFECYCLE Enterprise Solutions team to conduct a full assessment for the project.

The assessment revealed the following list of multi-vendor instrumentation:

1. 1 Finnigan LTQ w/ Surveyor HPLC
2. 2 Finnigan LCQ Deca XP MAX w/ Surveyor HPLC’s
3. 5 Waters HPLC’s
4. 6 Hanson Research dissolution baths
5. 1 Perkin Elmer FT-IR

Further, there were two critical time requirements for the project. First, the instrumentation needed to be relocated within one day after completion of the new lab and, two, all the instrumentation needed to be requalified within three weeks after the move.

Another critical factor was the budget allocated for the project; the initial quotations and timing provided by the OEM vendors confirmed significant costs as well as schedule conflicts. Proposed services from only two of the vendors would consume almost half the budget. The OEM quotations to move the Waters HPLC and six Hanson Dissolution baths came to $28,500. This included timing two weeks past the new lab startup date.

Another critical factor was the limited budget available for the project; the initial quotations and timing provided by Waters and Hanson confirmed significant costs as well as schedule conflicts. Their proposals to move the HPLC and dissolution instruments alone came to $28,500, with delivery scheduling well beyond the target date.

With an initial comparison, Thermo Fisher was able to quote the same service within the required timeline at $29,150, with projected savings of $9,350. This was followed by a comprehensive Relocation Plan quotation that demonstrated significant cost savings with coordinated timing. The plan included:

1. Certified Thermo Fisher FSEs relocating the instrumentation in the specified time period with no risk for further down time.
2. Performance and operation verification immediately following installation.
3. Requalification of all instrumentation performed to maintain compliance.

By partnering with Thermo Fisher to manage the entire multi-vendor project, this organization saved more than $15,000 and minimized the downtime for the entire lab. A well-established asset and service management provider can work with organizations to identify effective strategies for all their instrumentation to help minimize costs and maximize uptime.

For additional information about relocation services, call 1-800 532 4752 or click here to request more information: http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/contactus/home/1,3139,C,00.html.