Deviations are expensive. In pharma and biotech R&D, each incident can trigger a full deviation investigation, including root-cause analysis, documentation, approvals, and often repeat work on time-sensitive assays. Even when issues are minor, the investigation burden and deviation documentation burden add up across a portfolio.
Many so-called “lab deviations” are not just paperwork problems. They often arise from small differences in how a method is executed, such as pipetting angles, mixing order, incubation timing, or how staff interpret an SOP during a busy shift. In other words, technique variability in labs is a recurring source of risk. Prevention is more scalable than chasing every event through CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Actions).
This post looks at how visual, standardized method training can support deviation management in R&D labs: not by replacing SOPs, but by making execution clearer, more consistent, and easier to refresh across teams and sites.