Labs

A lab in Lab Belay is a named physical space within a location — a room, suite, or designated area where research takes place. Labs are the primary container for chemicals, equipment, and benches.

Lab details

Each lab has a detail page showing:

• Name and location — which facility the lab belongs to
• Description and contact information — optional fields set by an administrator
• Chemical and equipment counts — total resources assigned to the lab (directly or via benches)
• Aggregate safety ratings — NFPA 704 health, fire, and reactivity values calculated from the lab's chemicals
• Chemical and equipment lists — browse or search everything in the lab
• Event history — a log of changes to the lab's contents and configuration

Aggregate safety ratings

As chemicals are assigned to a lab, Lab Belay continuously recalculates the lab's overall hazard profile using worst-case aggregation:

• Health hazard — the highest health rating among all chemicals in the lab
• Fire hazard — the highest flammability rating
• Reactivity — the highest instability/reactivity rating
• Special hazards — any special hazard flags present (oxidizers, water-reactive materials, etc.)

Ratings update immediately when chemicals are added or removed. The lab's rating accounts for all chemicals on benches within it, plus any chemicals assigned directly to the lab.

QR codes

Every lab has a unique QR code accessible from its detail page. Printing and posting it at the lab entrance lets anyone scan it to view:

• The lab's current chemical inventory and safety ratings
• Emergency response information
• Contact details for the lab supervisor

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) reports

From a lab's detail page, you can generate a PDF safety report containing:

• The full chemical inventory with NFPA 704 ratings for each substance
• Aggregate hazard ratings for the space
• Storage and handling requirements

These reports are suitable for regulatory inspections, emergency planning, and internal audits.

Creating and editing a lab

Go to Labs in the sidebar and click New Lab. Required fields are name and location. Optional fields include a description and contact information.

To edit an existing lab, open its detail page and click Edit. You can update the name, description, contact information, and location assignment.

Beaker AI

Beaker can answer questions about a specific lab's contents and safety data:

"What chemicals are in the Synthesis Lab?"

"What is the NFPA fire rating for Lab 3?"

"Generate a safety report for the Biochemistry Lab."

Beaker can also search across labs to find where a specific chemical or piece of equipment is located.

Related

• Benches — organizing workstations within a lab
• Locations — the facility structure that contains labs
• Safety & Compliance — how safety ratings are calculated