ARIOSA MODULAR LAB BENCH CASE STUDY
DOWNLOAD CASE STUDYPROJECT SCOPE DETAILS
| END USER | Ariosa, a Roche Diagnostics Company |
| PROJECT SIZE | $2 Million |
| LAB SIZE | 276 Various Lab Benches for 13 Different Labs |
Molecular Diagnostics Test Service Provider
Housed in a Santa-Clara incubator, Ariosa’s founding team called Formaspace to create a unique table to support DNA sequencing. When Ariosa expanded from 1 test a day to 20 tests per day, we completed a $250,000 project primarily based on the original design. When they recently expanded 20 tests a day to 20,000 tests a day, we partnered with Ariosa again to help the company work through some of the problems created by growth exceeding 1000% per year.
PROBLEM
Explosive growth is exciting but comes with its own set of problems. It is relatively easy to test one person’s DNA, and it’s easy to dispose of one person’s waste. You’re not likely to have any problems losing or mixing up one blood sample a day, or creating accurate results, or keeping the sequencer clean, and there is not likely to be any cross-contamination. You don’t worry a whole lot about the process flow because it’s all done by one person. However, with explosive growth
SOLUTION
Formaspace built modular benches for total flexibility, solving for every problem inherent in high volume DNA testing labs. We created high weight capacity benches on casters for mobility. There are continuous grommets towards the back of the surface so that power, data, and effluent can be placed anywhere. We used phenolic surfaces for ease of cleaning and added cabinets for accessible storage. We also designed a custom cart so that lab techs could easily dispose of the waste without creating a potential for mess or disease.
RESULTS
We helped Ariosa massively reduce its labor cost from handling liquid waste. Our solution also significantly
decreased turnover of lab personnel as Ariosa became one of the best places to work in the valley. We helped the
company support massive growth, while still maintaining test quality.