INFORMATICS | LABORATORY INFORMATICS GUIDE 2014
an individual to ferry documentation from one department to another. Data entry was manual and labour-intensive, and, from a quality point of view, relatively high risk with the potential for errors, or information loss, which was far from ideal in a GMP- and GLP- compliant environment.’ Butterworth had very specific requirements
for its LIMS, in that the system would have to demonstrate significant flexibility due to complex technical specifications. ‘We tend to do the kinds of testing that our clients can’t, or don’t want to do in-house, which means each request is highly specific in terms of
the type and breadth of analyses, as well as the sample type,’ Hawkins points out. ‘We don’t have a standard series of preconfigured analyses, such as those that would typically be run on finished pharmaceutical products, for example, or on wastewater or clean water samples for the utilities industry. We also send each client raw analytical data along with the certificate of analysis, so we needed the LIMS to interface with the electronic documentation system that we use to scan in and store each printout of raw results.’ The degree of flexibility and the ability to configure all aspects of the Autoscribe system
has allowed Butterworth to use the LIMS as its default system for functions including data mining, generating management reports, and reagent inventory. ‘From a management perspective, we can even use the system to monitor and track the usage of each type of instrumentation and hardware, and calculate, for example, how much a particular technique has earned in a given time period,’ Hawkins adds. ‘Ultimately, the system has vastly improved efficiency, reduced the potential for errors, and provided business management and administrative benefits over and above its LIMS capabilities.’
Lloyd Colegrove, director of fundamental problem solving, statistics and modelling, Dow Chemical Company
D
ow Chemical Company manufactures 5,000 products at 188 sites in 36 countries, and
operates globally through six business segments; electronic and functional materials, coatings and infrastructure solutions, agricultural sciences, performance materials, performance plastics, and feedstocks and energy. Within its manufacturing operations,
the firm applies LIMS at a fairly basic level, to collect analytical data, carry out some basic data analytics inherent in the system, and communicate with the product-release process to confirm that the product meets specifications and allow product release, explains Lloyd Colegrove, director of fundamental problem solving, statistics and modelling. ‘The Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS receives and stores data from our chromatography data systems (CDS) and other instrumentation, and from there the data is used for laboratory management and quality systems functions. However, we really don’t use the platform to its full capability. It has many capabilities that we just haven’t tapped into. As one production manager once pointed out to me, we’ve got a 747 that we use as a crop duster.’ There are a variety of issues that have
held back implementation of the LIMS platform to its full potential, Colegrove explains. ‘LIMS is just one of a number of informatics systems that all have to talk with each other across Dow, and
getting these systems to interface reliably is enough of a headache,’ Dow’s specialist LIMS team provides 24/7 support 365 days a year, but there just aren’t the resources available to make major improvements to how the organisation maximises use of the platform. ‘We also don’t necessarily run the latest version, and I’ve recently been in discussions with Thermo Fisher about upgrading,’ he adds. ‘Also, LIMS sits within a global IT infrastructure that includes multiple informatics systems and databases, including those inherited through mergers and buyouts. That global IT infrastructure is constantly changing, and requires regular customisation of the LIMS platform just to keep the interface
There are a variety of issues
that have held back implementation of the LIMS platform to its full potential
working. This will be especially relevant as Dow moves beyond running SAP R/3 to the next level, NEA, with which LIMS will also have to communicate.’ Training LIMS users is another issue that
holds back any incentive to use the LIMS to its full potential, he continues. ‘You have to ensure that expertise gained by one person who uses the system is passed on when new people are brought in.’ To this end, individuals within Dow’s larger sites are appointed and trained as experts in particular aspects of LIMS implementation,
Bahía Blanca, Argentina – one of 36 countries in which Dow operates
so they can support other users and pass on that knowledge. ‘We have also reached out to Thermo Fisher to provide a training curriculum that we can implement.’ Dow’s relationship with Thermo Fisher
spans some 20 years, but the company probably hasn’t tapped into the expertise of its LIMS provider as far as it should or could have, which is not all that unusual. ‘I don’t necessarily want LIMS to do any more than it does already for us, even though I appreciate that we don’t exploit its capabilities fully. However, what I do want is for LIMS to be an easier solution to install and operate within the corporate system. We need to show Thermo Fisher exactly what we need and provide them with an understanding of how we use the platform, so they can build us a system that is suited to our particular workflows and processes, and show us how to make its implementation, customisation, and ongoing improvement less complex and more efficient.’
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