Lately, This iPhone issue with the antenna has me thinking more about technology and its impact on customer service. I have been evaluating my shopping and dining experiences where new technology has been introduced to enhance the transaction customers experience. Most times the technology is a blessing and I welcome it if it speeds up and adds to my impression of the brand. Unfortunately, not all technology upgrades represent the best interest of the customer or the desired loyalty building final transition experience. Here are three examples within the last year where the portable hand held credit card swipes that derailed expectations and shopping experience.            

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This week I met with the health and safety officer of a major pharmaceutical company and we discussed the items that keep him up at night.  The conversation had the typical issues regarding clean and dirty space in the lab, chemical storage and proper chemical usage, egress, ventilation requirements, but the one that caught me off guard was the use of lab personal protective equipment (PPE) and our short conversation regarding the LAB COAT.  

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One solution to getting the opporator further away from the potent compound, providing a safer work environment, is to use isolator technology.  These are leak tight, negative pressure barrier isolator that allows for the handling of hazardous pharmaceutical compounds. This containment chamber creates a unidirectional HEPA-filtered airflow of better than ISO Class 5 (Class 100) air cleanliness conditions within the negative pressure chamber to prevent migration of hazardous contaminants to the outside and to minimize cross contamination across the direct compounding area.

This technology holds the promise of freeing the building envelope and its occupants from the many protocols that are found in a regulated manufacturing environment.  Fundamentally changing design, energy consumption and gowning protocols in a cGMP spaces.

On a recent business trip to the University of Chicago, I took the opportunity while on campus to visit with Judith Nadler, Dean of University Libraries at UoC. We had a wonderful discussion about the evolving role of the library. Judi shared a fascinating diagram along with her thoughts on the degrees of change occurring within the library.

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The NIH last week has released a YouTube video on how the NIH reviews the over 80,000 grant application each year. “The video provides an inside look at the dynamic way reviewers evaluate NIH grant applications,” said CSR Director Dr. Toni Scarpa. “You’ll see the rigor and integrity of their efforts, which have enabled NIH to identify ground-breaking research year after year.”

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