In this blog, we’ll discuss:
- The importance of efficient workflows in pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing
- How standard plates slow down handling and increase the potential for errors
- The benefits of locking plates in simplifying transport and storage
- How secure stacking improves space management and laboratory efficiency
- Cost considerations and long-term operational savings
Why Workflow Efficiency Matters in Environmental Monitoring
Pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing facilities operate under strict regulatory conditions, where efficiency is essential to maintaining productivity and compliance. Environmental monitoring is critical to contamination control, but inefficient workflows can lead to delays, errors, and increased costs.
Settle and contact plates play different roles within environmental monitoring protocols: settle plates are used for passive air sampling, typically left open in cleanrooms to collect airborne microorganisms over time; contact plates, by contrast, are used for surface monitoring, pressed directly onto worktops, equipment, and gloves to assess microbial contamination. Both contribute to compliance and contamination control.
Standard plates are familiar and widely used in both instances, but their design introduces risks that can compromise both sample integrity and operational efficiency. Standard contact plates may be even more vulnerable to disruption than standard settle plates, due to the physical nature of their use.
By switching to locking settle or contact plates such as Redipor® TwistLock, manufacturers can streamline environmental monitoring processes, improving efficiency, reliability, and overall lab productivity.
Handling Challenges with Standard Plates
One of the key workflow issues with standard plates is handling. This applies equally to settle plates and contact plates. While settle plates are typically left exposed to monitor airborne contamination and contact plates are pressed onto surfaces to assess microbial cleanliness, both require careful movement post-sampling – and their unsecured lids create a risk of disruption or contamination during transport. This has several implications:
- Slower processing times – lab personnel must take a high level of care when handling plates, which slows routine monitoring tasks
- Increased risk of contamination – a slightly misaligned lid can expose the sample to airborne contaminants
- Higher chance of human error – the lids of standard plates can be accidentally displaced, requiring costly resampling and additional quality checks
Contact plates, in particular, may be stacked or transported shortly after sampling, when the agar surface may be moist or uneven. A loose lid at this stage significantly increases the risk of accidental contamination or displacement.
Transporting standard plates between cleanroom zones, incubators, and storage areas is a delicate process, demanding careful handling to avoid disturbances. This not only adds time to workflows but also increases the likelihood of sample compromise.
How Locking Plates Improve Handling and Transport
Locking settle plates, such as Redipor TwistLock, are designed to overcome the inefficiencies of standard plates by ensuring a secure lid closure. 90mm TwistLock plates have two locking positions: “Vent” and “No Vent”. In the Vent position, the plate has enough ventilation during incubation, while the “No Vent” position forms a more secure seal.
TwistLock plates allow laboratory teams to handle, transport, and store plates without the risk of accidental exposure. Plates can be moved more confidently, quickly and easily between cleanroom zones, incubators, and storage areas without the concern of lids shifting.
In addition, locking plates feature GS1 DataMatrix codes positioned on the side, which makes scanning plates much faster: instead of having to lift each plate individually, lab personnel can quickly scan plates in a stack without having to handle each one. GS1 DataMatrix codes on the side of the plate also enable the use of automated colony counters, which both increases throughput and reduces the risk of human error in counting. This combination of factors reduces workflow interruptions, increases processing speed and boosts productivity.
The greater ease and speed of scanning TwistLock plates compared with standard plates is evident in our comparison video. The results highlight the significant time savings and reduction in handling errors when using side-labelled plates.
For contact plates, this added security is especially useful after sampling surfaces in critical areas. A TwistLock contact plate remains sealed during movement, avoiding disruption of the sample and maintaining the accuracy of surface monitoring results.
By reducing handling errors, laboratories spend less time on corrective actions such as re-sampling and investigations, allowing teams to focus on critical environmental monitoring tasks.
Stacking and Storage: Maximising Laboratory Space
Standard settle plates present a major challenge when it comes to stacking and storage. Since the lids sit loosely on top, plate stacks are inherently unstable and can easily shift, become misaligned or topple. This not only makes stacking more difficult but also increases the risk of potentially wasting valuable samples and requiring additional time spent on clean-up.
The instability of standard plates also means they take up more space, as laboratory staff must spread them out rather than risk unstable stacks.
TwistLock plates solve these problems with secure stacking that keeps plates aligned and firmly closed. This helps teams manage a range of plate types more safely and efficiently, and makes it easier to organise plates in incubators, cleanrooms, and storage trays without clutter or risk of accidental exposure.
Laboratories can store more plates in the same amount of space, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of sample loss. With better organisation and space utilisation, high-throughput labs can streamline workflows and maintain a tidier, more efficient working environment.
Reducing Waste and Long-Term Cost Savings
Inefficiencies in environmental monitoring don’t just slow down productivity – they also have a direct financial impact.
When plates are compromised, labs must re-sample and re-test, which increases workload and delays contamination assessments. Contaminated plates must also be disposed of, adding to waste disposal costs. In some cases, unnecessary investigations are required to determine the cause of contamination, further consuming valuable resources.
Standard plates introduce these inefficiencies due to their inherently greater risk of contamination, accidental exposure, and handling errors. Contact plates lost to misalignment, lid slippage, or physical damage during handling are a common source of waste – something that can be substantially reduced by using a locking design. By keeping plates securely closed, locking plates lower re-sampling rates, minimise product waste, and prevent time-consuming and costly workflow disruptions.
Although locking plates are more expensive than standard plates, they should be considered an investment. The benefits of plates such as Redipor TwistLock lead to long-term cost savings, fewer quality control issues, and a more reliable environmental monitoring process.
Enhancing Contamination Control with a Smarter Solution
Environmental monitoring is a critical safeguard in pharmaceutical manufacturing, ensuring cleanroom environments remain contamination-free and, ultimately, that the patient at the end of the line receives quality treatment.
Whether you’re using settle plates for air monitoring or contact plates for surface checks, locking plates such as Redipor TwistLock enhance the reliability and robustness of EM processes.
Locking plates provide a simple yet highly effective improvement over standard plates, offering:
- Faster, more efficient workflows – streamlining plate handling and transport
- Greater sample security – reducing the risk of accidental exposure
- Improved stacking and storage – making better use of laboratory space
- Lower costs over time – reducing the number of wasted plates and unnecessary investigations
With Redipor TwistLock, manufacturers can implement a smarter, more reliable approach to environmental monitoring, improving both regulatory compliance and contamination control. For more information on our TwistLock locking plates or Cherwell’s range of Redipor prepared media products, contact our team today.
