Pre-registration Required

Tuesday, July 22, 2008       Time: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

#14 Building the Case For a New Lab

Faculty

Gwen K. Chouinard, BA Crime Lab Design 1620 Fifth Avenue, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92101	Ken Mohr, BS Crime Lab Design 14 North Newstead St. Louis, MO 63108-2208
Laurie Sperling, MA Crime Lab Design 14 North Newstead St. Louis, MO 63108-2208	Lou Hartman, BSME Crime Lab Design 26913 Northwestern Highway Southfield, MI 48033
Jon Kokanovich, BS, MA Crime Lab Design 3515 East Kristal Way Phoenix, AZ 85050

Restricted Audience Size: 25

Who Should Attend?
The targeted audience is crime lab directors and/or user representative “champions” involved in the early stages of planning new or renovated laboratories. To ensure interactive participation, we suggest up to 25 workshop attendees.

Learning Objectives Crime Lab Design professionals demonstrate a practical approach to help crime lab directors build the case for a new or renovated lab. By attending this workshop, they will:

1. Gain a basic understanding of current issues and trends in forensic science,
2. Learn how to assess the effectiveness of their existing labs and
3. Develop planning strategies and methodologies for building support and obtaining financial resources for a new or renovated forensic facility and improving processes.

Relevance
Many laboratories across the country are under funded, are located in inadequate facilities, don’t have the latest computer and equipment, and have ever-increasing demands for their services. This workshop provides attendees with the tools and methodologies to help them quantify, justify, and build support for capital investment in their forensic facilities.

Course Content
The course content includes a combination of electronic presentations plus other collateral material, together with open discussion and group planning exercises. These illustrate issues and trends in the design of forensic facilities, assessing existing facilities and processes, determining whether to renovate or build new, planning methodologies for sizing, scheduling and costing a project.

Each participant receives bound course materials that include copies of the presentation and other useful support materials such as sample needs assessment questionnaire, situational matrix, process mapping flow diagram, budget spreadsheet, milestone schedule, equipment matrix, chemical inventory, reference bibliography, and case study.

The workshop is divided into four sections approximately 45 minutes in duration with 10-minute breaks between sections. There is a fifth section (summary conclusion) lasting about 20 minutes. Questions are welcome throughout the presentation.

Prerequisites
Each participant is encouraged to bring and share specific metrics about their existing lab, operations, staffing, and funding. A short questionnaire will be provided online or on-site to gather this information before the workshop.

Presenters’ Qualifications
Within the last 9 years, Crime Lab Design presenters have helped 38 clients in 32 cities across the U.S. with forensic planning and design services. Crime Lab Design is an alliance between HERA and Harley Ellis Devereaux. They have broad experience working with forensic scientists, administration, municipal, and state officials to program, plan, and design forensic facilities for ASCLD/LAB accreditation. These facilities have included high-sensitivity and mitochondrial DNA labs, in-situ/genetics labs, and toxicology labs for drugs and alcohol, together with firing ranges, vehicle inspection bays and evidence receipt and storage facilities, to name a few.

Workshop Outline
This half-day workshop has been organized to encourage individual group participation and to provide flexibility for special areas of interest that may result from open discussion. The following is a basic course area, learning format, and estimated durations.

Course Description:
This workshop is designed for forensic professionals who believe that they need a new lab but just don’t know where to start. Tools and methodologies will be provided to attendees to help quantify, justify, and build support for capital investment in their forensic facilities. The course content will include issues and trends in the design of forensic facilities; assessing existing facilities and processes; determining whether to renovate or build new; and methodologies for sizing, scheduling, and costing a project. This workshop will be very participatory so attendees should come prepared to roll up their sleeves and try their hands at designing a lab.