Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies a multi-facet classification system for mobile laboratories. It also provides a coding method for mobile laboratories based on the classification system.

This document is applicable to designers, manufacturers, operators, users and regulators of mobile laboratories on planning, design, manufacture, transportation, deployment, utilization, management and other activities on diverse types of mobile laboratories.

Purpose

Mobile laboratories are special laboratories which can enable laboratory functions, e.g., testing, research, education, etc, by rapidly and conveniently deployment in special environments or in moving status to provide extensive public services or scientific research support capabilities.

Based on the social and economic effects of mobile laboratories, there are abundant global market needs in developing and utilizing various mobile laboratories. They play important roles in public health, environmental monitoring, agriculture, education and many other sectors. For instance, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), which has responded to over 175 public health emergencies in 114 countries, established a RRML (Rapid response mobile laboratory) network for achieving rapid response capabilities in public health and other emergent scenarios; as a mobile laboratory in space environment, the International Space Station (ISS) has been active in the orbit for nearly 30 years and conducted over 3000 scientific experimental studies. The stakeholders of relevant products and services of mobile laboratories are plentiful and diversified. Mobile laboratories are often designed and construct for applications which cannot be satisfied by fixed laboratories. Efforts in miniaturization, energy conservation, safety, mobility support of mobile laboratories are needed in the design process, therefore there are many specific providers concentrates on mobile laboratory devices, systems and modular besides ordinary providers. The investors and operators of mobile laboratories can be governments, enterprises and academic organizations. The user base of mobile laboratories is more extensive than of fixed laboratories, which encompasses more public users in using mobile laboratories such as education& training mobile laboratories and RRML.

The complexity of working environments of mobile laboratories leads to obvious diversity of their designs, which brings indistinction and confusion in the boundary of mobile laboratory products. It makes it difficult to identify and manage mobile laboratories, and also brings obstacles for design, manufacturing and usage of different kinds of mobile laboratories. The common characteristics and requirements of mobile laboratories in many sectors demonstrates that it’s necessary and beneficial to share their knowledge and experience on the design of their mobile laboratories, but it’s observed that practices and cognitions on concept of mobile laboratory are currently separated across different sectors.

Standards can be an effective way for settling all these issues. In order to study the standardization needs in mobile laboratories, ISO/TC 336 has set up a Study Group on mobile laboratories, SG 3. Since its establishment, the group has attracted many experts in mobile laboratories from various sectors, and the necessity of developing international standards in this subject was raised and discussed. However, the lack of consensus at the global level on basic concepts and description framework for different types of mobile laboratories is an obvious issue. Thus it can be a good basis for further standardization work if a consensus on the intension and extension of the relevant concepts and types of mobile laboratories could be reached at first.

This proposed technical specification is focused on normalizing the classification method of mobile laboratories. It will provide a classification system from different parallel facets, based on which it will also give a coding method for mobile laboratories. The classification system can facilitate designers, providers, manufacturers, operators and users of mobile laboratories to establish a common understanding about mobile laboratories classification, types and relevant terms. It can help identifying and coding different types of mobile laboratories, and providing better communication basis by avoiding inconsistence of usage of relevant terms. It can also be a basis for proposal and development of further standards both in general standards for all kinds of mobile laboratories and possible specific mobilelaboratories. Furthermore, the establishment of classification method can also improve knowledge sharing across different sectors and different products, and thus can promote upgrade of design and technology applications.