Quartzy Collects $4M To Help Scientists Manage Lab Inventory
blogs.wsj.com
blogs.wsj.com
In terms of freezer boxes, my lab used to have a web based system once upon a time ago but people would forget to update it after they took out the samples so we switched to a binder tied to the freezer, that worked a lot better with pages of grids.
I personally like this but I feel as though it might be one of those products that is attractive while its still new but people will become lazy and stop using it.
It's easy to forget to update something on the computer when you're busy doing long experiments.
Do you collect usage stats? It would be interesting to see how usage varies from a single research group over time and whether or not this decline happens.
Afterthought Edit: I can see how large groups ( > 25 grad students / post-docs) might be forced into using a computer based solution for scheduling and ordering as it's not feasible to use that much paper but is there really an advantage for small groups (3-8 members) which comprise the majority of research groups?
To me this is like using Sharepoint to manage documents for a group consisting of two people, a dropbox or email would be just as effective.
I'm about to start a lab (at UCLA), I'm trying to figure out how best to begin making such a culture... but it is an interesting problem that does need a solution.
In my opinion lab environments aren't really like start ups in terms of culture, students have their own way of doing things and trying to force them to do things a particular way is detrimental to their performance and attitude. Since students are around for at least 6-7 years there is not really the issue of turnover and the necessity of keeping things uniform so that a replacement can pick up work right away. Whatever system you use a new student will still need several months to adjust and learn the basic skills necessary for research, during that time they can develop a system of their own so it's not really downtime. As a student I think trying to force such a culture is a mistake, you'll develop a reputation if you hardball it. Most PIs take the attitude of we don't care as long as the job gets done and things are labelled for safety sake. That seems to work quite well.
http://support.quartzy.com/kb/inventory-module/managing-loca...
This is what I meant when I said in my original comment that I think this problem is a difficult one, because so many different scientists are using so many different types of inventory. But I'm sure it's possible, and I wish you luck :)
[1] e.g. http://scienceservices.eu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/imag...