International Forensic Facilities: A Question and Answer Session
I would like to better inform the forensic community just how important international forensic science facility projects are and how they can help grow the international forensic community.
A Bit About Taking a Byte Out of Digital Forensics Laboratories
Combating cybercrime is the purview of the digital forensics laboratory—a relative newcomer on the forensic scene. What are the requirements for designing laboratory spaces that best support this ever changing section?
The Goldilocks Principle: Getting Your Engineering Systems Just Right
Utility systems that support forensic science need to hit the mark and be, as Goldilocks said, just right. Skip the energy conserving features and you’ll spend more on utility bills indefinitely.
Laboratory Storage Solutions: Efficient Solutions to the Ever Present Issue of Stuff
What options exist to better store items that not only provide more storage but also provide an economy of space? Depending on what is being stored there are a number of products to help facilitate that need.
Move Management and Your Laboratory: You’ve Got to Move It, Move It!
One of the most difficult and time consuming portions of the construction of a new laboratory is preparing and orchestrating a move. With some organization and forethought you can make the best of an inevitable situation.
What’s Your Problem? A Continuing Dialogue with the Forensic Community
We’d like to challenge each one of you to define what your greatest forensic facility challenge is today. Here are some issues that we often hear about.
This article will discuss some of the pros and cons of leasing laboratory space and will ask some questions which can help you determine if it will work for you.
We were asked to evaluate a proposed forensic laboratory site in Morocco, develop a program for the agency, test-fit the program into the building’s floor plans, and make a recommendation as to the potential use of the proposed building as a crime lab.
Working Internationally Case Study: Lagos, Nigeria Forensic Complex
We were asked to prepare a facility needs assessment for Lagos, Nigeria as part of the country’s focused effort to improve the use of forensic science to support law enforcement, criminal investigation, and the judicial system of Lagos State.
Working Internationally Case Study: South America
The International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program of the United States Department of Justice, through Military Professional Resources, Inc. contracted us to conduct an on-site review of a recently partially remodeled lab in South America. The following issues were identified and documented.
Identification: Smarter Facilities Improve the Safety, Efficiency, and Security in Laboratories
Smart facilities, including laboratories, can save space and energy (and therefore money) compared to traditional facilities. One area in which facilities are becoming increasingly smart is user identification.
The Equipment Survey: Assuring A Strong Foundation For Integrated Laboratory Design
An equipment survey of existing instrumentation in the laboratory is a valuable tool that will be referenced countless times by the project team during the planning and design of a renovation project or new forensic facility.
Sharpening the Focus: Forensic Photography and Its Impact on Facility Design
The swing into the digital era has changed the face of photography and consequently the need for an updated perspective when planning facilities for a photography section.
Design Guidelines for Toxicology Laboratories
This article will provide design guidelines for toxicology laboratories that provide you with ideas on how you might better renovate your existing toxicology spaces or plan for these labs in a new space.
“Lift”-ing the Standards: Forensic Vehicle Bay Design
Forensic facilities often contain vehicle exam areas. A car may be dusted for fingerprints, paint from a hit and run may be sampled, or biological evidence may be collected. Vehicle exam spaces require planning and design to be most effective in supporting this collection of evidence.
Managing Your Laboratory Construction Project: I Didn't Sign Up for That!
When building a new facility, it’s important to know your limits and get help early rather than late.
Facing Today's DNA Lab Challenges
Making more office space, calculating the amount of DNA staff needed to work DNA backlogs, and creating more storage space are issues common to DNA labs today.
The Devil is in the Details: Making the Best Material Selections for Your Facility
This article will help guide you through some of the advantages and disadvantages of the options you have when making material selections for your facility.
Equipment Planning Meets Laboratory Design
This article will discuss how equipment can influence the design and infrastructural needs of two laboratory space types where the identification of evidence takes place.
Change Is in the Air: Safety and Design of Toxicology Laboratories
The proper design of a toxicology lab is more than process and people. There are significant strategies to consider in the design.
Answers to Facility Issues: The Three-Legged Stool of DNA
If we use the idea of a stool as a model of what is needed to support DNA analysis then there are three legs that should be equal—staff, equipment, and space.
Forensic Facilities: Strategies for Coping with an Uncertain Economy
With the current economic downturn that will continue for the foreseeable future, how can forensic facilities continue to make necessary changes and find strategies for not only thriving but even growing or improving?
Today’s Facility Design for Tomorrow’s Cyber Crime
If you are in search for what facility design criteria is specific to cyber science and other general design considerations for a forensic facility that includes a cyber crime lab, please continue.
Implementing LEED: A Case Study of the Scottsdale Forensic Facility
In order to produce a facility that is LEED certified, specific guidelines within the LEED rating system must be followed. Forensic facilities have a number of unique characteristics that differentiate them from other building types.
