October 22, 2013 from 8:30am to 5:00pm
Pre-Conference Workshop: Fundamentals of Lab Management for New Managers
Presented by Claude Lucchesi, Northwestern University
"Learn to do more with less"
Who Should Attend
New laboratory managers, experienced managers with new responsibility, and present managers, supervisors,
and project leaders who wish a fresh look at ways to manage a laboratory.
Key Topics You’ll Learn About
The practical aspects of managing a laboratory will be presented, including ways to organize the lab and ways to
evaluate performance. Focus will be on customer satisfaction. The guiding principle for a modern laboratory—
indeed for any enterprise—is to add value to the customer. Successful laboratories have always appreciated this
principle. However, only recently—perhaps because of reengineering and downsizing—have some managers
begun to recognize that customer satisfaction is the ultimate measure of performance.
Cost avoidance, turn-around-time, and other measures may be short-term measures of success, but the only true
measure of long-term success is customer satisfaction. Laboratory policies, practices, and procedures will be
discussed to suggest improvements in the labs of short course participants.
You will learn about:
Laboratory mission and functions
Alignment of the lab with the business
Ways to organize/restructure
Negotiation for contingent staff
Laboratory design and work flow
Selection of costly instruments
Good laboratory operations
Evaluation of laboratory performance
Ways to avoid crises and handle complaints
Recognition and rewards
Manager’s leadership style
Networking with other lab managers
You will learn how to communicate and listen, select and motivate staff, negotiate for contingent staff, give
performance reviews, buy instruments, objectively evaluate laboratory performance, manage change and plan for
the future, and network with other laboratory managers. Suggestions on how to improve your laboratory when
you return home will round out the workshop.
How You’ll Benefit from This Course
 Get solutions to your management problems from a leading authority
 Be able to define and focus on the lab mission
 Know how to organize to meet the requirements of a mission
 Improve your abilities to listen and communicate
 Understand how to motivate and build teams
 Understand the manager’s job
 Know how to evaluate lab performance
 Learn how to avoid crises and handle complaints successfully
 Be able to manage change and plan for the future
 Develop a network with other managers with common experiences
About the Instructor
Claude A. Lucchesi is a recognized leader in analytical support laboratory management, with 14 years of
experience in industry and 25 years experience in a university environment. His management experience includes
positions as Spectroscopy Group Leader at Shell Development, Director of the Analytical Research Department at
Sherwin-Williams, and Manager of the Analytical and Physical Chemistry Department at ExxonMobil Chemical Co.
At present, he is the Consulting Director of the Analytical Services Laboratory of the Chemistry Department at
Northwestern University and Senior Lecturer Emeritus. Dr. Lucchesi is the founding editor of Managing the
Modern Laboratory, has been a contributing editor for Analytical Chemistry and was the originator of the
"Analytical Approach," a journal feature which deals with problem solving. He is the co-founder and first president
of ALMA (Association of Laboratory Managers). In the winter quarter of 2007, he taught a new ten-week course
(Practical Laboratory Management) in Northwestern University’s School of Continuing Studies as part of a new
Master’s Degree Program on Quality Assurance and Regulatory Science (MQARS) as one of the ten courses
required to earn the MQARS degree. Dr. Lucchesi has consulted for more than 40 companies and universities in
the areas of technical problem solving, strategic planning, and laboratory organization and evaluation. He has
more than 80 publications on analytical chemistry, applied spectroscopy, polymers and coatings, and lab
management. He received the ALMA Award for Distinguished Service to Laboratory Management.
Program Agenda
Check-in will begin at 8:10 a.m. the first day. The course will be taught from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. If you have
technical questions about the course, contact Dr. Lucchesi at clucchesi@northwestern.edu.
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Approach to Leading the Short Course
Mission of the Support Laboratory
Activities of Support Lab Professionals
Analytical Support Enterprise
Objective and purpose
Alignment with the business
Customer/client
Products of the lab
Support Lab Organization
Specific mission of lab
Organization by product line, function,
technique
Self-service/open access/community lab
Staffing the Laboratory
Modern Workforce
Contingent Staff Negotiation
Selection process
Indicators for specific qualities
Decision-making pitfalls
Communications
Communication Pyramid
Listening for Managers
Effective staff meetings
Electronic communication
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Expectations
Buying Costly Instruments
Total cost of ownership
Important dates for purchase
Rental, leasing, outside labs
Managing and Leadership
Situational leadership
One-style managers
Common pitfalls of mangers
Managing/Operating the Lab
Manager’s time and responsibility
Subsystems of laboratory
Measurement skills roster
Quality Assurance and Regulations
Quality concepts
cGLP and more
Quality management standards
Lab Performance Evaluation
Sample turnaround time
Customer perception/satisfaction
Staff competence/improvement
Future Trends
Forces driving change
Managing rapid change
“Even old-timers can learn when exposed to the latest ideas. This course should be a prerequisite before getting
the manager’s job. Great experience!”
A. McFarland
Manager
Elf Attochem
“The value of networking alone can justify attendance.”
Ken Stockwell
Eastman Gelatine Corp.
“Overall, this was an excellent course. There is a great deal of this material that I will be able to put to use
immediately.”
Matt Mullaney
Staff Chemist
Merck & Company