I’m not allowed to do any work in my lab! My CTO is a used-car salesman, and all that matters is that the showroom is always clean and shiny.

I’m amazed how in less than 10 minutes an electronics bench can look like a deathmatch between an octopus of cables and an alligator of circuit boards! In a R&D lab, every test is a new test, and every setup is “temporary”. One of my techs quipped “all prototypes end up in the dumpster . . . eventually”.

The first key to balancing productivity with an organized appearance is to constantly watch for temporary setups. They often become part of a calcified mess. I will never fault an engineer for using alligator clips held by a scrap of wire used as a twist tie to take a measurement without breaking their train of thought. Run a test - learn something – that is why we have labs. But, when you come back tomorrow, ask yourself “Do I still need that setup”? If you are done, then put the probes and wire away. Toss the wire scraps. If you still need the setup, then spend 20 minutes building a proper wire harness, add a few tie wraps, and make a more permanent setup. Continuous, small effort will prevent the panic of “The big boss is coming! Hide everything in the cupboard of doom!” (you know the one). Worse yet, avoid the unproductivity of spending a day to debug the roach clip that popped off your circuit board hidden under half a dozen instruments.

Buying an assortment of short power, Ethernet, USB and HDMI cords is inexpensive and an easy way to reduce clutter. Instead of trying to coil up excess cords with wire ties or tubing, an order from Monoprice or Amazon for 18” cords with and without right-angle options makes a remarkable improvement in both organization and appearance. Spend a few dollars on a good power strip with plenty of outlets.

Pay attention to the lab consumables and accessories you use routinely. Put a whiteboard on the lab wall and every time you wish you had a specific adapter or a certain size of heat shrink, write it on the board. If you need four BNC to SMA adapters, order a 10-pack, put 5 in your bench drawer and get a bin with room for 20 more adapters. Start building out the common lab supplies the whole team uses every day. Lab supplies are relatively inexpensive compared to your salary and equipment. If you spend 1% of your lab budget on supplies, you can easily increase productivity by 5% - a 3-month ROI!

If you do have an opportunity to build a lab from scratch and are responsible for a CapEx budget, I have found engineers consistently fail to budget for demolition, paint, and utilities. Most of my career was in an R&D center that was older than I was. Every lab had seen at least half a dozen product lines before I moved in. Your sexy new technology has a budget. The obsolete technology from the dying product you took the lab from has no budget to remove their old setup. Looking in the ceiling and seeing all the old coax networks, the crisscross of pneumatics, and unused electrical disconnects is shocking (sorry, bad pun). You probably need 5% to 10% of your overall CapEx budget to get facilities and the trades for removing all the old junk that is no longer needed while you wait for your equipment to arrive.

When I was site-responsible person for electrical safety I wrote into the building policy – the new lab tenant IS responsible for removing old equipment. From an arc-flash safety standpoint, I would not allow decades of forgotten infrastructure to rust in the ceiling waiting to be core drilled by the next installation. Speaking of ceilings – ceiling tiles and new LED lighting are not expensive. If you have dirty, stained ceiling tiles and yellow lights full of bugs, budget for a ceiling replacement as well.

Finally – I am amazed how a coat of paint and a new white board can turn an old welding lab into a state-of-the-art power electronics center of excellence. With a small but continuous effort, a bit of pride, and a touch of budget, you will have a lab you want to work in, show off to your friends, and have the money-boss brag to customers. Next time you ask for CapEx, your budget will be approved when the rest of the building gripes, “We never get money to buy anything!”

I hope this wasn’t Too Much Information - Sincerely, Tom