GUIDE · EXISTING EQUIPMENT
Reviewing the equipment you already own.
The cheapest purchase is the one you don't need to make. Before ordering for a new term, check what the lab already has, what condition it's in, and what has quietly expired. The result is a count of usable stock you can trust when you plan what to buy.
This is a planning aid. Questions of safety, servicing and certification belong to your institution's environmental health and safety (EHS) or biosafety staff, and to the equipment manufacturer. Don't use equipment you suspect is faulty. How we work.
1. Make the list
Walk the lab, prep room and storage with the worksheet below. For each item, note where it is, how many there are, the make and model, and roughly when it was bought. Include equipment that is rarely used: it is often the thing nobody remembers until a lab needs it.
If your department already keeps an asset register, start from that and check it against what is actually on the shelves.
2. Check condition
A quick look catches most problems. These are common checks for teaching-lab equipment; follow the manufacturer's instructions and your institution's procedures for anything more.
| Equipment | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Microscopes | Clean optics without haze or residue; smooth focus that holds position; working light; stage controls that move freely; all objectives present. The microscope guide lists the specification a teaching microscope needs. |
| Incubators | Holds the set temperature: check against a separate thermometer over a day. Door seals intact. |
| Autoclaves | Service and inspection records up to date, and the cycle verification your institution requires. Ask EHS what applies; autoclaves are pressure vessels. |
| Biological safety cabinets | Date of last certification, and whether it is still current under your institution's schedule. Don't rely on a cabinet whose certification has lapsed. |
| Pipettes | Date of last calibration or check; no leaks or damaged tip cones. |
| Balances | Calibration date; level; reads correctly with a check weight. |
| Water baths, hot plates, heat blocks | Reach and hold temperature; cords and plugs undamaged. |
| Centrifuges | Lid lock works; rotor and buckets undamaged; service date. |
| Glassware | No chips, cracks or star fractures, especially on items that will be autoclaved or heated. |
3. Sort everything into usable, repair or retire
- Usable: works, meets the course's needs, and is within any required service or certification date. Only these count as usable stock in the item planner.
- Repair: worth fixing. Get a repair quote and compare it with the cost of replacing, using the quote comparison guide. Note how long the repair will take.
- Retire: unsafe, beyond economic repair, or no longer suitable. Follow your institution's disposal or surplus process, which may require decontamination first.
4. Check consumables and dates
- Expiry dates on media, stains, reagents, antibiotic discs and test kits. Note anything expiring before or during the term.
- Storage conditions: items that should be refrigerated or kept dark, and whether they have been.
- Opened containers that may have a shorter life once opened.
- Stock rotation: put newer stock behind older stock so the older is used first.
- Expired chemicals and reagents go through your institution's chemical disposal process, not the bin or the drain.
5. Compare against what the course needs
For each item, compare the usable count with how many the course needs at the same time (for equipment) or in total across the term (for consumables). The difference is your shortfall. Enter it in the item planner to see how many packs to order, and put the cost in the semester budget.
6. Printable worksheet
Print this page (Ctrl+P or ⌘P) and take it round the lab. Choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog to keep a digital copy.
| Item and model | Location | Qty | Usable / repair / retire | Last service, calibration or expiry | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last updated 9 October 2026.