THE PRODUCT OF THE LABORATORY IS INFORMATION
                                       
                                      by
                                       
                              Dr. Lester C. Krogh
                                Vice President
                           Research and Development
                                      3M


Exactly what is the product of a laboratory?

     Viewed as part of a larger business unit, a laboratory, together
with all other parts of that organization, creates products. But if you
consider the laboratory by itself, it becomes clear that its product is
information, not new processes or new products. The following article
examines the role of an industrial laboratory in terms of its
information-generating responsibilities.

     A laboratory's effectiveness can be measured by the efficiency
with which it performs technology transfer. Technology transfer is that
activity which converts the scientific and engineering effort of a
laboratory into new manufacturing processes or into marketable new
products which provide a corporation with new sales and profit dollars.
It also refers to the process of transferring new scientific
information from universities to industry. Industry then further
develops that information by applying it to new processes and products.
Successful technology transfer is a key factor in a corporation's
ability to compete on a worldwide basis.

     What is involved in technology transfer? Let's examine the two
components of this term again. "Technology" refers to a body of
scientific or engineering knowledge which is sufficiently developed so
new products and processes can be derived from it. This body of
information can be recorded in reports, patents and publications, or it
can be contained in the working knowledge of R&D personnel. "Transfer"
means that the group which has developed that knowledge has
successfully passed it onto a manufacturing or marketing unit for
implementation.

     Since we've now defined the product of technology transfer as
information, it is logical to define the product of an industrial
laboratory as information.

     Why is it important to recognize that the product of a laboratory
is information? Because today it is commonly believed that the output
of a laboratory is a new product or process. But the laboratory neither
operates new processes nor makes or sells new products. When the
laboratory is helping to develop a new process, its contribution is to
transfer information defining that process to the manufacturing unit.
Manufacturing then implements the process, allowing existing products
to be made more efficiently or new products to be produced. When the
laboratory is involved in new product development, it creates the
specifications for those products, thus enabling the manufacturing unit
to produce them. It also develops information about the features,
advantages and benefits of the new products so that the Marketing
Department can develop programs to sell them to customers. In other
words, for a business unit to introduce new products, laboratory
information must be transferred to both marketing and manufacturing
functions. The success of a new product is highly dependent on the
quality of that information and the effectiveness with which it is
transferred.

     There are advantages to defining a laboratory's product as
information. For example, this approach makes it easier to measure the
output of the laboratory and, therefore, to rate its efficiency or
improve its productivity. We can think of the laboratory as being
charged with developing the intellectual property of an industrial
concern. Intellectual property can be measured in terms of patents or
copyrights, internal reports, and external publications or
presentations. That is, intellectual property is any information
concerning technology under development, and it is quantifiable.
     
     In addition, when the product of the laboratory is considered to
be information, it is much easier to build a quality program. For
example, manufacturing's quality slogan frequently is "do it right the
first time." This is a phrase which confounds laboratory people
because, in R&D, it is very difficult to "do it right the first time"
when you don't know what the "right way" is the first time. A better
slogan for laboratories is "do it the right way the first time." In
effect, this means making proper use of the scientific method in
setting up experiments to yield the maximum amount of information.
Proper experimental design and the subsequent recording and reporting
of experimental data have always been cornerstones of the scientific
method in academia. Why should it be different an industrial
laboratory?

     It is important, as well, to realize that the laboratory
information product can be no better than the knowledge base from which
it is drawn. Therefore, improving the laboratory's supplies of
information will tend to improve the laboratory's effectiveness. For
example, providing the laboratory with more extensive knowledge of
customer requirements (e.g., via close laboratory/marketing and
laboratory/marketplace relationships) makes it more likely that a
"marketable" new product will emerge. Similarly, a more
"manufacturable" new product with a higher probability of ultimate
success is likely to result from increases in the laboratory's basic
understanding of a technology area (e.g., via fundamental research). It
follows, then, that another cornerstone to quality laboratory opera-
tions is an information service which effectively accesses the open
literature (e.g., patents, industry reports. etc.) .

     At 3M, we are finding that having a "quality information" emphasis
in our laboratories expedites our technology transfer process. For
example, it allows our manufacturing units to make products according
to specifications with fewer experimental runs. It also increases the
effectiveness of our marketing personnel, as they can feel more
confident that our products will conform to the specifications
published.

     In summary, we believe that, when seeking to measure or improve
the effectiveness of an R&D organization, it is important to realize
that the product of the laboratory is information. Traditional measures
of R&D productivity (e.g., new products introduced, new product
profitability, cost savings from new processes) are actually indirect
indicators of how well the laboratory's information product has been
transferred. We also contend that the quality of laboratory information
can be improved by bolstering the knowledge base from which it is
derived (e.g., via emphasis on the scientific method;
laboratory/marketing interactions; and fundamental understanding, based
on effective searching of the open literature).

[This text is contained in a brochure issued by 3M in the late 1980's]