laboratory informatics


their laboratory processes in-house, many still outsource their samples to contract laboratories, and so don’t view testing as key activities that need to be central to their informatics infrastructure. ‘Te laboratory is also not a profit centre, so investing in specialist soſtware to manage testing processes may not have been a priority. But with increasing regulatory oversight and requirements throughout the food and beverage sector, including breweries, the industry is now starting to consider how best to manage, streamline and provide transparency for their laboratory functions.’ Autoscribe’s Matrix Gemini LIMS can


be easily configured as a fully functioning brewery management solution that can also manage all the brewery’s testing and other quality-related activities, Boother states. ‘We have had increasing interest from the industry and have configured Matrix Gemini for brewery clients. Although the soſtware is aimed foremost at laboratory management it can easily extend out into other areas of process management. ‘Matrix Gemini can link into a dedicated


CRM, and interface with accounting packages. Functions such as cask tracking and management can also easily be configured within the inventory control functionality within the LIMS. Importantly, we change the look and feel of our soſtware and how it works, to meet the customer processes. Te system is highly configurable, so we sit down with the brewery and map their requirements into Matrix Gemini so that the soſtware fits their requirements, workflows and processes.’


K&G Data Solutions has developed Brew-Q


to address the brewery industry’s call for a user-friendly, easily configurable soſtware for collecting, analysing and reporting on everyday quality data, tests and results. A cloud-based, monthly subscription service, Brew-Q is a stand-alone platform on which breweries can collect and collate all their quality-related data, view and report data using a range of text and graphical formats,


LAB TECHNICIANS


CARRY OUT THE ANALYSES ON BEER SAMPLES AND INPUT THE DATA DIRECTLY INTO THE LIMS


and meet regulatory reporting requirements. ‘We found that many breweries, including,


perhaps surprisingly, some of the larger companies, were still using excel sheets for managing and reporting their quality data,’ explains Fletcher Keil, co-founder at K&G Data Solutions. ‘However, reporting using Excel or similar document-based approaches, offers no traceability. We developed Brew-Q as user-friendly soſtware that would provide breweries with a platform on which they could log, analyse, report and trace all their quality-related information.’ Brew-Q isn’t a LIMS or all-in-one brewery


management soſtware, Keil stresses: ‘Some of the breweries that already have a deployed LIMS were telling us that they were having


to pigeonhole brewery-specific requirements into informatics platforms that weren’t developed for their needs, and were very hard to customise. On the other hand, some of the smaller, craſt brewers just wanted a soſtware through which they could capture, report, trace and compare day-to-day quality-related activities and tests.’ Ease of use and flexibility are key


features of Brew-Q, and the soſtware can be installed and configured within a day, Keil stresses. ‘Customers can easily create their own Brew-Q database and customised functionality. User-specific, customiseable dashboards make Brew-Q inherently user- friendly and easy to fine tune for different brewery departments. Quality data can be entered using a mobile or tablet.’ Te ability to add, remove and edit


different brews and brands in production, adjust and set alerts for test result and limits at different brewing stages, means that the soſtware can also easily keep up with multiple, or changing processes, and ensure that anomalous data and results are flagged up automatically. ‘Te Reporting module then makes it easy for users to create detailed reports and charts, including fermentation graphs, pH logs and sampling, either using a template within Brew-Q, or by creating their own,’ Keil adds.


More functionality Launched about 14 months ago aſter three to four years of development, Brew-Q is constantly evolving. ‘We have developed the soſtware entirely on the back of requests from breweries, including large, industrial-scale operations and small, craſt brewers. We are pushing out updates every two weeks or so, all of which we are developing in response to customers’ needs.’ Customers are also requesting additional


functionality within Brew-Q, Keil states. ‘Our customers really like the user interface, and the ease of customisation of Brew-Q, and they are asking to expand application of Brew-Q into other areas of the brewery. Some customers want to keep their quality, production and accounting processes separate, but others are more interested in having all this information in one place. So we are developing optional modules that can manage things like inventory and recipe tracking, and production planning, which are outside of quality testing. We are also expanding reporting capabilities.’ Brew-Q doesn’t connect with analytical


A Charles Wells lab technician using LabWare LIMS www.scientific-computing.com l @scwmagazine


instrumentation, because that’s not what customers have been asking for, at least not so far, Keil continues. ‘We are certainly


APRIL/MAY 2017 19 ➤


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