REPORT ON THE COLLEGE OF BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES LABORATORY TECHNICIANS’ CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP (2022)
REPORT ON THE COLLEGE OF BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES LABORATORY TECHNICIANS’ CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP (2022)
Introduction
The College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS) through the Institute of Applied Science and Technology organized a workshop to provide theoretical and hands-on training on basic maintenance and repairs of common lab equipment such as microscopes, pH meters, centrifuges, and balances. The maiden workshop was held in 2018 as a result of a laboratory assessment conducted by the Institute in 2016. The study conducted by the Institute revealed that;
There was frequent breakdown of laboratory equipment and instruments.
Most of the equipment and instruments have been dysfunctional for a long time due to high cost of repair.
Some of these equipment and instruments only developed minor faults that could be fixed by laboratory technicians if given the necessary training.
Following the successful organization of the maiden workshop, and the subsequent feedback from participants, it became necessary to expand this capacity-building workshop and make it a regular event. The second edition of the workshop was therefore organized from the 30th of May to the 2nd of June, 2022 for 65 laboratory technicians who were divided into two cohorts due to space constraints and also for effective class management. The first cohort had their session on 30th and 31st May while the second cohort had their training on 1st and 2nd June, 2022. The training was delivered at multiple locations (University of Ghana Department of Chemistry Lab, University of Ghana School of Pharmacy Lab, and the MES Laboratory).
Opening session
Addressing the trainees at the opening session of the workshop, the Director of the Institute, Prof. George Oduro Nkansah stated that the capacity-building workshop was being organized with the aim of upgrading the technical skills of the University’s laboratory technicians. Prof. Nkansah added that there is a need for technicians to develop their skills in diagnostics, troubleshooting and maintenance procedures due to advancements in modern laboratory equipment. He stated that after the maiden workshop, the feedback was very positive and the Institute decided to make it an annual event. However, due to factors beyond its control including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute could not actualize this plan. Thankfully, with the support of the Provost, CBAS, the second capacity-building workshop is being organized.
Prof. Nkansah wished the technicians a fruitful training and expressed his hope that the training will have a positive impact on their job performance. He was also optimistic that with the support of the College the training could be held annually as a refresher training to upgrade the skills of technicians on routine repairs which would translate to less downtime for laboratory machines and a higher return on productivity for researchers. He also indicated that there are plans to secure funds to help sponsor some technicians to travel outside the country for similar workshops.
Training Sessions
Day 1: Theoretical Training
Session 1: Introduction to General Lab Equipment Troubleshooting
The first session of the training focused on troubleshooting lab equipment and was delivered by Engineer James Arthur at the Department of Chemistry Lab. In his presentation, he emphasized the need for lab technicians to possess basic knowledge of the principles of operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting approaches for every device they work with. According to him, this is crucial for technicians to easily detect the likely causes of a defect in a device or equipment.
Eng. Arthur noted that the problems with a machine could be hardware, software, or connection-related and outlined the steps for troubleshooting a machine. He advised the technicians to troubleshoot their equipment at least twice a year. Eng. Arthur also introduced the technicians to some specialized tools that are used for servicing and their functions – tools like the multimeter, soldering tool, screwdriver set, pliers, probe, standard weight, standard hex key, and syringe. He further cautioned that when dealing with complex circuit diagrams, it is advisable to take a picture of the system first before disassembling the parts.
Session 2: Basic Maintenance of Lab Equipment
The second presentation was on the basic maintenance of pH meters, autoclaves, lab ovens, and centrifuges which was also delivered by Eng. Arthur. He underscored the need for routine maintenance of laboratory equipment which he said was necessary to ensure that experiments are conducted efficiently, and without malfunctions. It will also save money by reducing expenditure on repairs.
The participants were introduced to some maintenance tips on the various equipment and the typical problems associated with them. Eng. Arthur noted that for ovens, the problem is often the inability to produce heat or inconsistent temperature levels. To check for this defect, the technician must check the system settings, the temperature probe, and the heating element. For pH meters, he indicated that care must be taken when preparing the buffer solutions, and also the electrode should be stored in a vertical position, within the specified temperature away from direct sunlight. Also, for a pH meter, the probe must always be kept in the buffer when not in use.
Regarding centrifuges, Eng. Arthur indicated that since centrifuges spin liquid at higher speeds, heat is generated by air friction and there is a necessity of maintaining samples at a given temperature. He added that to reduce the risk of rotor failures, technicians must ensure that rotors are regularly inspected and removed from service when they are past their expected lifetime.
Engineer Arthur, during his presentation
A picture of the participants
Session 3: High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
The last session on Day 1 of the workshop was a presentation on the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) delivered by Engineer Acquah. This session of the workshop was moved to the UG School of Pharmacy Laboratory where an HPLC had been recently installed. HPLC is a device that is used to separate a mixture of compounds in analytical chemistry and biochemistry to identify, quantify or purify the individual components of the mixture.
The technicians were taken through how to operate the HPLC and the functions of the various parts of the equipment. Technicians were also educated on the maintenance and some basic faults that the HPLC could develop. After the presentation, there was a practical session on HPLC where technicians were shown the various components of the HPLC device and the operating principles.
Eng. Acquah leading the team on the various components of the HPLC
Day 2: Practical Session
On the second day of the training, technicians were transported to MES Equipment Limited for the practical component of the training. Each cohort was further divided into two groups: one group was stationed at the service room and the other group at the instrument room. Afterward, the groups switched their stations to ensure they all benefited from all the practical sessions.
Instrument room
The facilitators for the group at the Instrument room were Eng. Arthur and Mr. Alifo. They introduced technicians to the Cary 3500 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer and the water flocculation system. The Cary 3500 UV-Vis Spectrophotometer is one of the modern brands of spectrophotometer – a device that measures the intensity of electromagnetic energy at each wavelength of light in a specified region.
Eng. Arthur demonstrated to the technicians the basic principle of operation of the Spectrophotometer and showed that the spectrophotometer consists of a light source, a way to focus light onto the sample, a method to collect the light from the sample, a monochromator to separate the light into its component wavelengths and a detector to measure the intensity of light at each wavelength. He stated that the Cary 3500 UV-Vis double beam spectrophotometer is a modern brand that offers new and unique measurement capabilities in ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy – for routine analysis and challenging measurements, including advanced data integrity in compliant environments. He added that the equipment measures up to four temperature experiments, across eight cuvette positions, simultaneously with air-cooled Peltier temperature control. He also noted that the system has a Workstation software for wavelength reads, scanning, concentration, kinetics, and temperature measurements.
Eng. Arthur led the technicians to practice the use of the device to determine the amount of light absorbed or transmitted as it passes through some caffeine samples.
The team at the Instrument room
On the jar test for water flocculation, Mr. Alifo informed technicians that there are seven processes involved in water treatment by the Ghana Water Company Limited to produce safe water. However, the jar test can perform three processes, which are precipitation, coagulation, and flocculation. He stated that precipitation is the chemical conversion of soluble substances (including metals) into insoluble particles in the water. Coagulation and flocculation cause a chemical reaction that promotes the formation, agglomeration, or clumping of such particles to facilitate their removal from the solution. He added that the process happens spontaneously with the help of chemical agents. He stated that it is a common method of stormwater treatment, wastewater treatment, and the purification of drinking water, however, the chemicals used are quite expensive. He added that the jar test is used to determine the optimum dosage of chemicals to use to obtain the desired results. Therefore, a starting point is determined and adjustments may be required to achieve the desired results. Mr. Alifo also took the technicians through the various processes of the system and made them try their hands on the equipment.
Service room
At the service room, Eng. Acquah led the technicians on the servicing of some faulty equipment such as microscopes, pH meters, centrifuges, and weighing scales just to mention a few. He stated that following the troubleshooting tutorials on the first day, technicians should be able to fix the basic faults of the devices. Technicians were further divided into 4 groups and offered tools to open the devices and to find and fix the faults if possible. The groups had the chance to work on each of the different devices, with each group detecting and fixing a different fault.
On the microscopes, the first group detected that the bulb of their microscope was faulty and had to replace it with a new bulb. Another group detected that there was no flow of electric charges from the main power to the board and this was because of a disjoined wire in the device. They joined the wire to the circuit board using a soldering iron and lead. The next group detected that there was only one fuse in the microscopes instead of two. Another fault that was detected was that the motherboard of the microscope was spoilt and needed to be replaced.
Working on the faulty analytical balances, the first group had weighing errors on their balance, so they had to calibrate their balance. Two groups detected that their balances had faulty sensors which caused the wrong readings. The last group observed that the screen display of their balance was very faint.
On the pH meters, the major fault that was detected was that the electrode was faulty. Other faults detected were calibration errors and insufficient power supply to power the device.
On the centrifuge, the first group observed that the safety switch has been disconnected so the centrifuge rotor wasn’t rotating. The second group also detected that the fuse of their centrifuge was spoilt so they replaced it. One group detected that the carbon brush in the centrifuge was missing causing it not to work. The last group detected that the carbon brush in the centrifuge was worn out and needed to be replaced.
After the practical session, Eng. Acquah congratulated the groups for identifying the faults and educated them on the possible causes of the detected faults and how they can be fixed. He also outlined some maintenance tips for the devices. He indicated that using appropriate cleaning materials, handling equipment the right way, calibrating their devices regularly, storing equipment in appropriate places, and covering equipment when not in use are very key maintenance practices. He added that failure to regularly calibrate equipment can lead to a lack of accuracy in data. He advised technicians to always read the user manual attached to any device they want to work on.
Some pictures taken during the practical session
Some pictures taken during the practical session
Closing
After the training, evaluation forms were completed by each of the 65 participants. This provided the Institute with concerns of technicians and suggestions on how to improve subsequent training.
The participants were awarded certificates of participation signed by the Director of IAST and Provost, CBAS. The technicians commended the Institute for the practical training they received and endorsed the suggestion that such programmes should be organized frequently to upgrade their skills.
Recommendations
During the feedback and interactive sessions, the technicians made some suggestions for consideration by the Institute:
1. The technicians recommended that the capacity-building workshop should be a week-long programme and organized at least every semester so that there will be enough time for the practical session.
2. The technicians requested for a tool bag with the necessary tools needed for the servicing and repairs work to be provided for every department to enable them to put the training into practice.
3. The technicians mentioned that their departments have some complex equipment and instruments that have broken down for a long time and would appeal to the facilitators to come and fix them if possible.
Kindly visit https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Nu_O8_V_mZ9xNK11QjEjSpM3H5pWCeLw... for more pictures on the workshop