Joining the laboratory in 2009 was a career change for Fabien. Having once handled formwork¹ as a team leader in the construction industry, his new job involved managing laboratory supplies. He had come across a job ad for an inventory manager by chance and went to the interview without really knowing what the position involved, but won the hiring manager over with his enthusiasm.
The lab was just starting to take shape, and efforts were being made to optimize order management. Nic Lindley, head of the Biological Systems and Process Engineering Laboratory (LISBP, now TBI) at the time, decided to put his faith in him, laying claim to a conference room and giving Fabien free rein to build a real “storeroom” for the laboratory’s consumables. It remains his most vivid memory: “They trusted me and gave me the resources I needed, and I’m so grateful.”
Fabien was plunged into a new and somewhat complex professional world, but a former manager of his, Nathalie Doubrovine, helped smooth the transition. He created an essential service by developing an organizational system and catalogue to help users. Its one goal is “to meet everyone’s needs as quickly as possible”. Fabien’s job is to manage an inventory of laboratory consumables, health and safety supplies, and office supplies, and his duties include placing orders, taking receipt of deliveries and preparing internal orders. Vigilance is a must, as are regular visual inventories, accurate records and a service-oriented approach.
In his spare time, Fabien plays drums in a rock band and spends time with his children.
- Formwork is used to build walls. It is a temporary mould into which concrete or rammed earth is poured. These moulds can be made of metal, wood or composite materials.
