Lab equipment validation technicians are professionals who specialize in pre-testing and testing equipment and systems for product manufacturing. The work of validation technicians entails inspecting, testing, and calibrating instruments, analyzing, measuring, and auditing procedures, equipment, and industrial machines. When validating the equipment or machines, validation technicians prepare documented evidence proving that they produce consistent, defect-free, and highest quality results according to the manufacturer’s specifications. In regulated and sensitive industries such as medical and pharmaceutical equipment manufacturing, validation technicians plan, monitor, and implement the set validation strategies. Biotechnical Services Inc. has fully certified validation technicians for all types of lab equipment in Los Angeles and its environs.
Some of The Varied Names of Validation Technicians
- Validation scientist
- Senior validation technician
- Quality assurance technician
- Quality and validation technician
- CQV technician
- C & Q technician
What Is Validation?
Validation refers to generating documented evidence to prove that equipment, a procedure, or a system is functioning as expected. Validation is conducted by maintaining strict compliance throughout the production process and ensuring consistency in the results.
What is The Work of a Validation Technician?
A lab equipment validation technician follows a validation master plan. The master plan is a document generated at every validation risk assessment, with specified validation procedures in a system or during a manufacturing period. During the process of validation, a technician follows an equipment validation protocol.
Equipment validation protocol is a technician’s plan when validating equipment, processes, or systems. It contains test parameters, production equipment, characteristics, decision points, and acceptable validation results. Each process has its validation protocol which outlines the required measurements, steps to be followed, the required proof, and the expected outcome. A deviation from a validation protocol requires instant action to correct it.
The general duties of a lab validation technician include:
- Completing all lead validation projects and generating the required documentation
- Coordination and managing master plan execution by the technical team
- Support the audits and submission of such audits to an auditor and ensures they meet regulatory body demands
- Generating equipment validation protocols documents and running test protocols
- Ensure the safety of production by managing environmental, construction, and health precautions
- Designing qualification and validation documents using the required templates and standards
- Troubleshooting problems arising from the production process
- Supervise junior technical staff in the validation department
Types of Validation and Technician’s Roles
Validation technicians have different roles in each manufacturing process within an industry with specific validation specialization. Biotechnical Services Inc. has a team of specialized technicians that can handle the validation of any lab equipment in Los Angeles.
Here are the types of validations:
Process Validation
It provides evidence that a system has a consistent production or results. Process validation entails prospective, retrospective, and concurrent validations. It requires in-depth validation knowledge, relevant experience in the transfer and design, and downstream and upstream manufacturing processes.
Equipment Validation
It proves that the equipment and the whole facility or industry are functioning properly according to the set requirements by the regulatory authorities. Equipment validation follows the Installation, Operational, and Performance Validation Protocols (IQ OQ PQ). The technicians in this department are tasked with testing the equipment and verifying that they indeed meet the expected specifications.
Cleaning Validation
Validation technicians in this field provide an outline to follow when cleaning manufacturing equipment and new products. Other tasks of cleaning validation technicians include investigation, analyzing, and troubleshooting deviations in unvalidated cleaning processes.
Computer Systems Validation
Validation technicians in this department ensure that GxP computer systems process data and information the way they were programmed and that no deviation occurs. When conducting computer system validation, a CSV process is initiated to ensure that the whole system runs accurately, is robust, and has no tampering or software intrusion.
Skills Possessed By Validation Technicians
- Strong documentation knowledge for effective management of SOPs
- Paying attention to details during the test measurements and results
- Analytical thinking and problem solving
- Well written communication skills for proper documentation of validation documents
- Mathematics and Computer skills for data interpretation and computations
- Good technical skills and deep understanding of various functions of equipment or a system
Conclusion
Lab equipment validation technicians play a significant role in ensuring that your equipment, process, or facility is accurately validated according to the relevant protocols. Validation ensures that various devices and systems run and produce the expected results. For this reason, validation technicians must have the technical background and relevant experience in a specific validation field. Biotechnical Services Inc. has specialized validation technicians who can handle any of your system, process, or lab equipment in Los Angeles.