How far should you automate?

How far should you automate?

From manual pipetting to fully integrated workflows

Nowadays, laboratories can choose from an ever-wider range of fluid handling solutions: from hand pipettes and benchtop models for dispensing to advanced robotic workstations and fully integrated automated workflows. As a laboratory's needs change, the optimal level of automation often changes as well. But how do you determine when it is time for the next step?

In this presentation, we discuss the development of fluid handling technologies and the practical considerations that play a role in automation choices. We compare different approaches to fluid handling, discuss their strengths and limitations, and show for which applications each solution is best suited.

Using practical examples, you will discover how laboratories typically evolve from manual processes to increasingly sophisticated automated workflows. We also discuss which operational, technical, and business factors indicate when it is time to upgrade to a higher level of automation. Additionally, we examine how new developments in fluid handling technologies ensure increased capacity, reproducibility, traceability, and unmanned automation within various laboratory applications.

Whether you are considering your first automation project, evaluating a new fluid handling system, or planning the next step in your laboratory's automation strategy, this session offers practical insights to align automation investments with both current needs and future growth.

Hamilton