How far ahead do I need to book a laboratory relocation?

This is somewhat difficult to answer because it depends on a number of factors. This can include if any OEM requirement is needed, if chemical relocation is needed, the size and scale of the relocation, if any phasing is required and of course our own resources.

The majority of small relocations are generally booked 4-6 weeks prior to the relocation. Small can be classed as under 25 assets (this is a loose figure). For anything over the above it can depend on other factors such as if the client is moving into a new build lab and if building work is still ongoing and when the handover date is. For these types of moves (anything over 25 assets) they are generally booked between 2-3 months prior to the relocation. This enables us to secure the resources for your relocation.

If aport is looking after engineering requirements (pre / post move testing) or looking after OEM requirements for decommissioning / recommissioning tier 2 / tier 3 instrumentation then timescales matter. Depending on the equipment manufacturer, the lead time for booking engineers can range from 1 month – 3/4 months (again no hard and fast rule with this). On these occasions it is important to give us as much notice as possible to ensure we can secure the resources from the correct instrument manufacturers.

On a final note there is no hard and fast rule regarding ‘booking’ your relocation however, aport will always try and assist you and work around complications.