An Exploratory Study into the Multidimensional Nature of Quality in Analytical Laboratories: Managerial Implications

Abstract

The management of quality in analytical laboratories is heavily biased toward assuring the quality of the data produced by laboratories, with little or no attention being given to the way in which customers are served. To investigate the nature of laboratory quality, a modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to determine the expectations of laboratory staff members, and internal and external clients at the Council for Geoscience Laboratory in South Africa. The results suggest that laboratory quality is dichotomous in nature, consisting of aspects related to both technical and functional quality. Although technical quality is regarded as more important by the customers and laboratory staff members surveyed than functional quality, the latter is also very important to customers when deciding which laboratory to employ. This has important implications for the management of quality in laboratories, where technically trained personnel may have to be sensitized to the functional quality needs of their customers. Conflicts of interest that may arise when trying to meet both functional and technical quality expectations of customers need to be identified by laboratory managers and managed accordingly.