Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) UK News
This LIMS freeware site provides information and tools for the design and implementation of laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
It’s a it difficult to find out how up to date it is, so I’d be interested in feedback if anyone finds it useful.
It says it was last updated on the 26th January 2006.
The May issue of Pharmaceutical Technology Europe has a special feature on LIMS. Published on May 15th, it will also be avaiable digitally.
You can order your digital copy direct from the site.
Laboratorytalk has a host of different LIMS companies all posting their latest product news and application stories.
Updated daily, it’s a great source of information for LIMS equipment.
This LIMS software article discusses how to meet an individual customer’s requirements when many commercial laboratory information management systems are sold as off-the-shelf software.
The approach taken is to allow the user rather than a programmer to generate and modify the sequence of events needed for a sample or group of samples.
LIMSFInder claims to be the most comprehensive directory of LIMS, but when I go there it talks about a bunch of other stuff as well and actually says that it is the best resource for information technology in the laboratory.
The key to a successful LIMS implementation is the design of the sample registration screens.
All registration screens should be configured to suit individual user requirements. Multiple registration screens can be designed for different purposes within one system. For example, a laboratory dealing only with a small range of finished products will probably only require one sample registration screen.
Laboratories dealing with raw materials, intermediates, complaint samples and competitor’s samples, as well as finished products, will require a set of registration screens to provide the users with the most appropriate interface.
This approach avoids screen design compromises and optional fields which can be very confusing.
Production laboratories differ widely in the way they are organised depending on the industry involved and the test routines employed. For process industries such as petroleum and petro-chemical sectors, plants run continuously 24 hours per day, seven days per week, each week of the year unless shutdown for maintenance. In such laboratories, there is a high degree of automation possible, as many tests utilise gas or liquid chromatography.
The analytical system often uses gas sampling valves or automatic samplers on the GC’s, automatic data handling via a chromatography data system (CDS) and links to LIMS or other plant control system which may be uni-directional or bi-directional. In addition, most commonly, GCs or LCs are dedicated to one specific analysis thus increasing throughput and simplifying operations by eliminating the need for changing chromatographic conditions and columns.
Given this level of automation, many companies use shift workers to load routine samples onto the appropriate GC rather than have laboratory chemists or technicians employed for the task. Chemists’ time is spent investigating results that may indicate a problem or an out of specification condition, which improves the allocation of manpower and resources.
Despite this, CDS user interfaces in practice can be somewhat daunting to non-chemists since most commercial systems must support a variety of applications found in many industries including the needs of method development and research departments. For example, a method development laboratory will need to investigate the use of different method parameters including adjusting the quantitative aspects of peak measurement. This is not ideal for a production laboratory, since methods typically remain unchanged for several months and even years. The CDS must take account of both of these two extremes.
The user interface can also define a back-up chromatograph if the normal system becomes unavailable for any reason, e.g. scheduled maintenance. System preparation allows the definition of chromatographs, methods, tests, samples and the combination of these that are routine in nature.
On completion of the run, the user interface transfers the final results back to the LIMS or plant control system.
Besides the automation of routine samples, the user interface is able to create and run ad-hoc samples when required, using the Sample Generation screen. This enables non-routine samples to be entered and placed into the appropriate sample queues without having to change any of the routine methods and conditions. This eliminates the need to edit existing methods on a frequent basis, thus saving time and aiding throughput.
As can be seen, a minimum of operator knowledge is required for this operation and hence training times are reduced and many costly errors are avoided. Chemists need only spend time investigating and resolving problems rather than running routine samples.
Production laboratories need to maximise automation and minimise the interaction of the user with potentially complex software. The running of 24/7 operations creates high- demands on data processing. Therefore a system that returns results to plant controllers quickly helps maintain production at desired yields with high quality and will benefit the entire organisation.
A user interface such as the one described must be suitable for non-expert users of a CDS with little training required.
Consequently the automatic operation of chromatographic systems involving queuing, prioritising and running of samples is now more practical than before and offers significant time and cost saving benefits. This may be further augmented by bi-directional links to external systems such as a LIMS, which has a positive impact on data integrity and further time saving benefits.
Today’s laboratories are streamlined environments where sample and data processing are organised in accordance with strict approved standard operating procedures. A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) software package is the life blood of any laboratory operation, and recent advances have extended their reach to a wider group of users, regardless of any previous experience or training.
By its very nature, LIMS is designed to handle information throughout the laboratory, so it must be clear and straightforward to use, from correct data entry in sample reception to analysing and reporting results. With data handling comes security, therefore password controlled zones are needed to give only authorised personnel access to sensitive functionality and information. The knock on effect is better resource allocation in the laboratory, and greater customer assurances over data management and integrity.
The criteria for any organisation when considering to purchase a LIMS package should include the level of flexibility, configurability, security, ease of use and cost. The system must be flexible enough to handle a wide range of requests, but also easy to configure to meet the precise needs of the laboratory and its customers.
A few LIMS suppliers have taken advantage of the recent advances in programming and computer processing to develop configuration tools that allow the creation of clear and straightforward user interfaces that everyone in the organisation is able to access and operate with minimal training.
© In Press 2007
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