Reducing Manual Steps in Automated Lab Workflows
The liquid handling platform is in place, but the workflow still requires operators at too many points: opening lids, transferring plates, recovering from interruptions, manually pipetting steps the instrument should handle. The automation runs, but it doesn't run unattended.
Why Manual Steps Keep Showing Up
Manual steps in automated lab workflows rarely appear by accident. They accumulate. Each one made sense at the time: a workaround for a protocol that wasn't quite compatible, a caution-based design choice made early in development, an inherited step from a previous platform that no one questioned because it was already there.
Each decision looks reasonable in isolation. Together, they produce a workflow that nominally automates the process but operationally still depends on people being present.
The Fix: Lab Automation Workflow Redesign
The first question isn't how to optimize the existing workflow. It's whether the workflow structure can support walkaway automation at all.
Achieving true unattended execution means auditing every manual intervention against what the assay actually requires, then removing the ones that exist because of how the workflow was assembled. The result is a liquid handling workflow designed for walkaway execution at production scale, with operator involvement limited to steps that genuinely need it.
Blanchard Strategic's Approach:
The work starts by mapping every manual intervention in the liquid handling workflow against what the assay actually requires. Many of those steps exist because of design history, not assay science. Identifying which is which creates the space to remove them and redesign the workflow to reduce user interactions, setup time, deck movement, and flyover risk.
End-to-end workflow mapping to identify every manual step, its origin, and whether the assay requires it.
Distinguishing caution-based design choices from true assay and chemistry requirements.
Consolidating consumables, simplifying deck layout, and reducing liquid handler movement and contamination risk.
Restructuring operator interaction so human involvement is reserved for steps with real decision requirements.
Aligning assay, automation, and software teams around a shared workflow architecture built for unattended execution.
When This Work Is Useful
This engagement fits programs where a liquid handling platform is in place but the workflow wasn't designed to take full advantage of it.
