Research equipment policy

This policy applies to the purchase, maintenance, testing, regulatory compliance, and disposal of research equipment (as defined below) at St George’s University of London (St George’s).

St George’s houses a substantial range of research equipment. The effective and correct management of these assets positively impacts research productivity by:

• facilitating access and collaborations;
• allowing the effective allocation of St George’s funds;
• ensuring regulatory compliance, protecting the University reputationally and legally.

Policy definitions

Contents

1.1 Equipment provided by the university

Equipment that is fully provided and maintained by St George’s includes:

• ultra-pure water system
• back up -80 freezers
• autoclaves
• glass washers
• drying cabinets
• preparative and ultra-centrifuges
• scintillation and gamma counters
• floor standing bacterial shakers/incubators
• oxygen depletion monitors
• CO2 monitors (in rooms using CO2 gas)
• gel documentation systems, PCR machines, Nanodrops, spectrophotometers, and other small pieces of equipment in communal laboratories (2.021, 2.120, 2.235, 2.236, etc.)
• cold rooms (managed by Research Operations and maintained by Estates and Facilities)
• -20 walk in freezer rooms (managed by Research Operations and maintained by Estates and Facilities)
• self-filling liquid nitrogen cryogenic storage (upon request for space)
• safety devices in the liquid nitrogen facility
• other chemical and gas detection equipment (e.g. formaldemeter, CO2 analysers, etc.)
• anemometers in CL3 facilities.

 The above listed equipment is available to all researchers without charge and is fully maintained by Research Operations’ staff. This list will be assessed periodically (every two years) by the Research Committee to ensure that the equipment required for the achievement of strategic research aims is fully supported. For a full list of equipment owned and maintained by Research Operations use the search tool in LabCup (Owner groups > Research Operations). Use of equipment managed by Research Operations is subject to completion of all necessary training.

To advance management, the usage of equipment will be monitored by log books or other methods. Researchers using communal equipment should make sure they fill in the log books.

Faults and malfunctions must be reported to labhelp@sgul.ac.uk.

1.2 Statutory compliance

It is the responsibility of the equipment’s owner to make sure that it complies with all regulatory and industry standards. Given the large number of Microbiological Safety Cabinets (MSCs) and autoclaves in the University and the high risk that the failure of this type of equipment may entail, Research Operations staff manage their statutory inspections. Researchers seeking to purchase MSCs or autoclaves (including small benchtop autoclaves) must consult with Research Operations staff. For Microbiological Safety cabinets, please refer to the policy Management of Microbiological Safety Cabinets.

If a piece of equipment fails its statutory compliance test and cannot be made to comply, that piece of equipment must be discarded. The cost of fixing or replacing the equipment will be covered by the owner.

1.3 Equipment in research facilities

Equipment in Imaging Resource Facility (IRF) can be accessed at a charge, however for externally funded research grants this charge will be determined by the funder’s eligibility criteria. Academic staff must check with both Research Operations staff and their JRES Research Funding Officer about the costs before applying for research funding.

1.4 Equipment not funded by the university

Equipment commonly used expected to be purchased via research grants or Research Institute’s funds includes, but is not limited to:

• benchtop centrifuges
• microbiological Safety Cabinets for individual use
• CO2 incubators for individual use
• fridges and freezers, including -80 freezers.
• other small equipment e.g. water baths, gel tanks, power packs etc.

Should staff purchase equipment that is under regulatory arrangements such as small autoclaves or microbiological safety cabinets, Research Operations staff must be notified, as such equipment must be included in the annual statutory servicing schedule.

1.5 Purchase of equipment

All equipment purchases must follow the university's procurement policy. Research Operations staff are available to help with this process, please contact labhelp@sgul.ac.uk.

Research Operations staff must be notified about purchases of large equipment requiring significant laboratory space, so that such equipment can be considered in space allocation.

It is important to note that not all funders will allow purchase of equipment, and academic staff must check the terms and conditions of their grant (or check with their JRES Research Funding Officer) about funding eligibility before purchasing equipment.

JRES staff are available to provide guidance and support in helping research staff to include equipment funding in grant applications.

1.6 Equipment servicing

Equipment provided by St George’s (see sections 1.1 and 1.2 above) will be fully serviced and maintained by St George’s.

Servicing of equipment purchased by research staff via research funding is the responsibility of the research staff for the duration of the research grant (exceptions include pressure vessel testing and microbiological safety cabinets servicing and testing).  As above, academic staff must check cost eligibility in the grant terms and conditions (or check with their JRES Research Funding Officer).

Academic staff are responsible for all aspects of equipment belonging to them that is not shared, equipment that is not grant funded or where grant funding has expired. Restrictions imposed by the funders may apply after the grant has expired and academic staff must check in the grant terms and conditions (or check with their JRES Research Funding Officer) for details.

Recurrent cost of servicing for any individual equipment beyond the life of the research grant on which the equipment has been purchased is not guaranteed by the University. If academic staff do not wish to keep such equipment or cannot afford the maintenance, the long-term use will be assessed and determined by Research Operations staff.

If academic staff are looking to buy any multi-user equipment, a discussion with Research Operations staff must take place at an early stage to arrange important aspects such as training, access, regulatory matters etc.

Research Operations staff aim to help with the service and maintenance of equipment owned by individual researchers. If they cannot solve the issue with a particular piece of equipment, on the request of the owner, they will try to contact third parties that can fix the problem. The cost for the call out of third-party technicians as well as the cost of the repairs will have to be covered by the owner of the equipment. All requests for help with equipment should be made via labhelp@sgul.ac.uk. 

1.7 Equipment database

All research equipment at St George’s, over a threshold value of £1000, must be entered into the LabCup database. The inclusion in the database is required for insurance purposes as well as to facilitate research collaborations.

Researchers can enter the equipment details in the database or can request this to be done for them via labhelp@sgul.ac.uk.

Curating the equipment database is the responsibility of Research Operations. Although all equipment is available to view via LabCup software, labelling will be clear about the access and booking of available equipment. Each item of equipment (where applicable) will have an instructions guide, records of calibration and service records. 

1.8 Equipment disposal

A WEEE waste form must be completed prior to the disposal of any electronic equipment. Research Operations staff will fill in the form and liaise with Estates for the removal of the equipment if requested via labhelp@sgul.ac.uk. It is the responsibility of the equipment’s owner to decontaminate the equipment appropriately before handing it over to Research Operations staff.

All WEEE wasted equipment must be removed from the LabCup database. Research Operations staff will do so if requested via labhelp@sgul.ac.uk.

Research Operations staff will periodically arrange for disposal of unwanted/unused equipment.

1.9 Equipment audits

Research Operation staff carry out rolling equipment audits in Jenner Wing to assess the robustness of the equipment database. Equipment is labelled with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag and linked to the RFID and LabCup equipment software. If the equipment has moved, then the new location will be recorded. If the equipment has been disposed/WEEE wasted, then this will also be recorded.