ISO Technical Committee for Laboratory Design (ISO/TC 336)

The ISO/TC 336 for Laboratory Design was established in November 2021 and consists of 39 member countries, including 20 actively participating members. It plays a key role in creating global standards for laboratory design to ensure laboratories worldwide are high-quality, safe, and sustainable. The Technical Committee focuses on:

  • Ensuring laboratory designs are consistent and efficient.
  • Promoting safety, digitalization and sustainability.
  • Maintaining high-quality standards for laboratories worldwide, regardless of their location or purpose.

Currently, ISO/TC 336 is working on an ambitious three-year plan to develop a series of laboratory design standards. Key initiatives include:

  • 1. Laboratory Design Roadmap (ISO/TC 336/TF 1): Creating a clear and structured plan for future work on laboratory design standards .
  • 2. Laboratory Design Vocabulary: Focusing on standardizing terms and definitions to ensure clear and consistent communication across all ISO/TC 336 standards. It has been approved to move to the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) stage, with publication of the final International Standard expected by the end of December 2025.
  • 3. General Principles of Laboratory Design: Outlining fundamental concepts and best practices for laboratory design; approval as a New Work Item by 28 May 2025.
  • 4. General Requirements for Smart Laboratory Design: Developing comprehensive guidelines for efficient and technology-integrated laboratory designs.
  • 5. Smart Laboratory Design for Dairy Products: Establishing specific standards for laboratories focused on dairy product testing.
  • 6. Study Group on Mobile Laboratories: Reviewing information about mobile laboratories, explore their different types and uses, collect feedback on draft proposals, and identify areas where standards are needed and report its recommendations to ISO/TC 336.

These initiatives aim to enhance the efficiency, safety, and digitization of laboratories around the world. This is especially beneficial for developing countries as usually they face challenges in building and managing laboratory infrastructure in a sustainable way due to various policy, institutional, technical and financial constraints.

UNIDO joined the ISO/TC 336 for Laboratory Design as a Category A Liaison, and has been actively participating the TC discussions and standardization activities. This partnership aims to ensure that efforts in developing relevant international standards could have a broader engagement with the developing world and contribute to knowledge sharing and transfer for sustainable laboratory infrastructure development.