Exploring the Technical Issues Affecting Engineering Laboratories Design in Saudi Arabia

Well designing of laboratories will encourage industries to collaborate with the institute. Taking into consideration the requirements of the users and the lab administrators, this paper will explore the technical issues that affect designing a quality laboratory facility for an engineering faculty. Many technical factors on which customized engineering laboratories design pertinent to the needs and requirements of the end users and lab administrators are thoroughly assessed and analyzed before proposing an action plan to construct or develop a laboratory for the Faculties of Engineering. A consensus by the members of the research committee, after thorough considerations and analysis of the type of problem in hand, is met, wherein it is agreed upon that despite differences in individual lab projects, certain commonalities do exist in successful laboratory establishment. Among the critical ingredients are the right personnel and their continuity; a thorough, thoughtful, and clearly defined course of action; and a broad understanding of the pertinent issues at hand. Among the various issues of importance, technical issues - is considered common to most types of laboratory facilities. Technical issues, despite appearing to be common sense, bear great importance to the proper management of any establishment process and hence need due consideration. This study serves as a guide to the scientific community, lab administrators, researchers etc. interested in establishing engineering laboratories according to their requirements particularly in Saudi Arabia but can be extended to be followed elsewhere.