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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
It happens in any and every lab. No matter who you are or where you are. Sooner or later, you will fall victim to this dreaded phenomenon. Just when everything looks perfect, woe shall befall you.
Picture this. You're a lab technician working hard on a very important experiment. You've weighed everything out just right. Cultures are optimal. Everything is validated. Everything has its proper paperwork. You'll have it all finished before long.
Oops! You're out of serum. No matter. You'll just call up your friendly vendor and order some more. It'll arrive tomorrow.
Or so you think! For what awaits you once you're on the phone with the sales rep?
"I'm sorry. That item is on...
Backorder! Is there a more dreadful word for the unsuspecting lab tech? Well, perhaps "power failure" but, well, that's TWO words and beside the point.
Why do these things happen? Lab work is going along so smoothly, only to be stuck waiting for weeks and weeks for an essential item to be dropped in your facility in a taped up package, complete with styrofoam container and dry ice. But no. You're all out of serum, and the new batch will not be ready for a while.
It goes on. For who knows why the item was delayed in the first place? Why, it's not only suppliers for research labs that have backordered items. Ever hear of pharmacists telling you your medicine is backordered? Yup. Happens. Wonder why? Could it be the medicine's manufacturers' lab could not keep churning out the pills due to, say, a backordered essential item? You never know!
Then the manufacturer of that item was backordered for a reason. Could be a continuous line of backordered essential items feeding into more backordered essential items. Or maybe another thing occurred. Perhaps missing staff. A very important staff member could not be present in the lab to keep things running. Perhaps he/she was ill? Illness attributed to, say, not having medication because the medication was on backorder?
Oh, dear, we have ourselves a vicious cycle!
So be warned. Who knows what will be on backorder next? Will it be your culture flasks? Your 96-well plates? Maybe some reagent won't be available again for six months. You never know. It can and will happen to YOU!
This has been yet another chilling installment of... Science Village Tales of Horror!!!!
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