LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2015 | IMPLEMENTATION Johan Bonouvrie, Abbott S


everal years ago, the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health decided to implement a laboratory


information management system (LIMS) from Abbott to centralise data and streamline laboratory activities. With the institute analysing some 100,000


samples a year and having 15 different laboratory systems across multiple sites, covering a vast range of tests for food-borne pathogens, viral disease, medicines, and more, the task was daunting. Close supplier and client collaboration was going to be crucial. ‘The organisation wanted a flexible system,


with the ability to make adaptations in-house,’ explained Johan Bonouvrie, project leader for Abbott’s informatics solution, Starlims. ‘Any dependency on a supplier was to be avoided.’ The institute first provided a tender


document with a description of its lab processes and requirements. Next to standard LIMS functionality, these covered traceability of samples, integration with an enterprise resource planning system and lab instruments, compliance to ISO17025, ISO15189 and other regulations, instrument maintenance and data export to Excel for analysis and reporting. According to Bonouvrie, Abbott’s first


challenge was to obtain a good overview of the institute’s numerous departments and activities with extended GAP analysis providing insight to similarities and differences. ‘Analysis


revealed we could best group the labs into five phases based on commonalities,’ said Bonouvrie. ‘The first phase included the largest


laboratory and central dispatching department – sample receive – with processes including the entire lab flow from sample receiving, lab analysis, reporting and invoicing.’ In the next phase, functionality was added


to the implementation of the first phase, with each phase consisting of a phase-specific GAP analysis, configuration and implementation. Phases ran partially in parallel and, as


Bonouvrie added: ‘The complexity was in the diversity of the labs and workflows; it took more configuration to meet all requirements, but the flexibility of Starlims allowed for this.’


A factor critical to the success of any LIMS implementation is its acceptance by employees


A factor critical to the success of any LIMS


implementation is its acceptance by employees. With this in mind Bonouvrie identified the key users of the system from each lab, providing them with training in Starlims, including them in the main GAP analyses, and keeping them involved throughout system implementation. Each user served as the main point of


contact for all lab staff and trained their own teams, which Bonouvrie believes was critical to


team commitment: ‘Key users have very good knowledge about the system and can answer many questions themselves,’ he said. ‘The fact that end users are trained by colleagues also increases acceptance.’ So what have been the key benefits for


the institute since the implementation of the Starlims software? According to Bonouvrie, staff spend


less time on applications as all labs are now working from the same LIMS, while infrastructure and technical maintenance is easier as is compliance to ISO17025 and ISO15189. Traceability, efficiency and quality have also


improved, and interfaces with other systems reduce errors from re-entering data. ‘All departments have easier access to data


through a single system and standard working processes, such as finance and dispatching, lead to more centralised activities,’ he added. ‘And importantly, local LIMS teams can


make modifications, as required, to the Starlims.’ So is there anything that Bonouvrie would


do differently second time around? ‘I would involve more developers and


key users to increase turnaround time,’ he concluded. ‘And carry out more development onsite to


increase communication between developers and the Institute’s LIMS team.’


Starlims was used by the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health to manage lab processes across multiple sites


18 | www.scientific-computing.com/lig2015


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