NRM is the UK’s leading independent provider of agronomic and environmental waste laboratory analysis for agriculture food and environmental sectors, recognised for their technical capability and value-added service to customers. NRM wanted to continue to provide as many customers as possible the results they need to yield the best crop results. Therefore, they required a way to eliminate human error and increase efficiency, freeing up team members to work on other areas of the job.
After working with a company in Newcastle for several years, NRM decided they needed a team closer to home, that could easily assist with servicing and repairs on any new systems. They reached out to the Labman team in Jealott’s Hill to provide new bespoke equipment.
Labman developed both the Liquid Transfer System, and the Liquid Dispense System for NRM. The systems work alongside each other to complete a dispensing and sub-sampling workflow. The systems can dispense an accurate measure into a sample, complete a filtration cycle, and take a specified amount of liquid to be transported for analysis.
The sample handling units NRM had received from their previous supplier were very difficult to maintain, and with travel costs, along with the supplier prioritising new contracts rather than servicing and maintenance, this became unfeasible. While developing the bespoke systems, we were able to develop a modification which allows them to complete full tube replacement with ease. This increases productivity flow, reduces down-time and the requirement for engineer intervention. We were also able to adapt the dispensers from their previous design to increase longevity and ensure full support with a design including easily replaceable parts. Troy tells us that “the ongoing support has been greatly appreciated from emails to call outs.”
The reliability of systems created at Labman is of top priority to us, and Troy reports “the dispensers Labman built for us are very reliable and so far, no major issues have occurred. Most of the normal wear and tear issues are easily maintained by myself and my staff. We had one issue with our non-return valve drawing solution back on one of our burettes. I chose to ask Jamie from Labman to look and he was with us within half an hour of my email being sent. Jamie identified the issue immediately and even came back several days later to change further valves to be sure we didn’t have this issue with any of the other 7 burettes.”
NRM’s goal is to replace their remaining old dispensers and sample handling units with the new Liquid transfer system, and Liquid dispense system, which will allow them to continue pushing the large soil numbers through.