Tick what you have actually done at the bench, press Calculate, and you get a completion percentage, a time estimate, and a list of whatever is still outstanding. It is meant to run in the last few minutes of a session, before you have pulled your gloves off and talked yourself into believing the sink was fine.
Eight tasks come written in and all of them start unticked. Everything happens in your own browser and nothing is stored anywhere, so Reset clears every box and the next person picking up the bench starts from the same blank list you did.
Work through this checklist to leave your lab bench clean and safe for the next user. Check off each task as you complete it.
What it checks and how it scores
The eight tasks cover the whole shutdown: clear your own gear off the bench, get waste into the right bin, wipe the surface with disinfectant, return shared equipment, wash the glassware, switch off burners and stirrers, check the sink for leftovers, then gloves off and hands washed. Tick what you have done and press Calculate.
It divides what you ticked by eight and rounds to a whole percent, then applies a flat three minutes to every task. A full list therefore always quotes 24 minutes as the total, and each box you leave behind costs you three. Three statuses come back. At 100% you get Bench Cleanup Complete with a note that the bench is ready for the next user. At 60% or above you get Partially Complete plus the minutes still needed. Below that you get Cleanup Incomplete along with the line “Do not leave until cleanup is done.” Anything unticked is repeated under a Remaining tasks list, so there is nothing to interpret.
A worked example
End of session. You have cleared your equipment, wiped the surface, washed the glassware, turned off the stirrer and washed your hands: five boxes out of eight. The panel reads 63%, because five eighths is 62.5 and the tool rounds it up, the status comes back Partially Complete, and the estimate says 9 minutes to finish since three tasks remain at three minutes each. The remaining list names the waste bins, the shared equipment and the sink.
Leave only three of the eight ticked and the same arithmetic gives 38%, which lands in Cleanup Incomplete with 15 minutes of work spelled out and a warning not to walk away. Tick the lot and it flips to Bench Cleanup Complete at 100%, with the total cleanup time still reported as 24 minutes either way. That is the only heading that comes with a clean bill: the bench is ready for the next user, and you can walk out without going back to check the sink a second time.
Honest caveats
- Three minutes a task is a fixed guess sitting in the code, not a measurement. A sink full of yesterday’s glassware is not a three minute job, and an empty bench will be quicker than that. Treat it as an order of magnitude.
- Halfway is not enough. Four of eight boxes is 50% and still reads Cleanup Incomplete, because the middle status starts at 60%. You need five of eight to climb out of that one.
- The score is arithmetic and nothing else. It cannot tell whether you used the right disinfectant, whether the sharps went in the correct container, or whether the sink was rinsed properly. It counts ticks.
- Nothing is saved. Refresh the page and the list starts blank, so this is a tool for right now rather than a record you can hand to a supervisor later.
- This is a prompt, not policy. Your institution’s standard operating procedures, the safety data sheets for the chemicals you used, and your supervisor all outrank a checklist on a website. If a line here disagrees with your lab rules, follow your lab rules.
Other tools
- Chore Chart – the household version of the same idea, with names on it
- Chore Chart PDF – printable, for a fridge or a cupboard door
- Cleaning Checklist – rooms rather than benches, no lab required
Frequently asked questions
Where do the three minutes per task come from?
They are hard coded as a rough estimate, and the tool applies the same three minutes to every one of the eight tasks. Nothing is timed and nothing is measured, so use the figure to compare runs rather than to plan a shift.
Why did 4 out of 8 come back as incomplete?
Because 4 of 8 is 50% and the middle status only starts at 60%, which takes five boxes. The gap between the two is one task, and the tool tells you plainly what is left instead of rounding your effort upward.
Can I add my own tasks to the list?
No. The eight are fixed, so anything specific to your bench has to be tracked somewhere else. The chore chart lets you write jobs in by hand if you need something beyond this list.
Is this a replacement for my lab’s procedures?
Not remotely. It is a reminder for the last few minutes of a session. Your lab’s written procedures, your chemical safety data sheets and your supervisor are the authority on how a bench in your building gets cleaned.
Does it keep a record of what I finished?
No, it does not store anything and nothing is sent anywhere. Close the tab and the ticks are gone, which is fine for a personal prompt and useless as documentation.