I thought I'd take a quick flick through the technician tip competition entries, just in case there were a couple of things that I could share with our technician - and nearly an hour later I'm still looking at it! Please do encourage your technicians to have a look through - even very experienced technicians might find one or two that they haven't come across before. The competition thread is here.
Here are a few that I think are great, but there are a number of other really useful tips too in the competition thread that could save time, or frustration.
Colour coded reagent bottles - this was mentioned a few times - either colour-coded writing on labels (eg red for acids, blue for alkalis), or the bottles / lids themselves. Tom suggested using vape bottles (~£6 for 200) as they come in different colours and can be used to colour-code reagents. Valerie said she simply coloured in the lids using a sharpie.
Laura reminded us that Google Lens can really help when it comes to working out what those bits of old equipment at the back of the store room are actually for.
Fred recommended collecting cardboard from the kitchen to use for hands-on activities - loved the cardboard car!
Jake suggested using the small plastic droppers from any unused Covid testing kits. This could be great for your micro-scale experiments, eg food tests in a dimple tray.
Gill showed how she sets up components for circuits so that they are easily identified and handled. 
Sarah's retractable splint holder is a great idea!
If you haven't seen it, Zoe showed the use of thermochromic paint or tape as an alternative to the fiddly drawing pins and vaseline for the conduction practical is great way for students to see the conductivities of different metals. As Zoe also suggested, we've used temperature changing nail varnish on our metal rods. Simply add boiling water from a kettle to the beaker - a quick and safe alternative.
Anna's tip for separating metal filings from non-magnetic substances, eg flour is great. No more trying to brush the metal filings off the class set of magnets - see the image.
Peter's suggestion about how to use a soda stream machine to make small quantities of dry ice is inspired - I've always shied away from using the fire extinguisher method, but I think I'd try this if I can lay my hands on a soda stream machine.
Peter did submit a number of tips - however I am also going to try using spider plantlets for the root tip squash practical for mitosis - especially if students get results like this one below!
