LIMS OVER EXCEL

EXCEL OR LIMS? ADVANTAGES OF SWITCHING FROM EXCEL TO LIMS

STREAMLINE PROCESS

Laboratories often feel that they can manage their lab works with paper notebooks efficiently. While the laboratory processes become even more complex, paper becomes an increasing burden. Transcribing data by hand from instruments to notebook, calculations must be performed by hand or using excel spreadsheets, correlating analytical results against limits. Checking and approving entered data, the performed calculations to be done manually and will require further transcribing of data, providing the process to further potential errors.

A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) could streamline and automate many of these manual tasks by reducing time to release of results and improving the quality of those results. Rather chasing down notebooks for review, managers can log in from any location to review, validate and approve test results. Moreover, when using a LIMS all data is held within a single database the data from any sample or batch can be instantly recalled, rather than going through multiple notebooks or spreadsheets to find the data you need. Customers who move from Excel to LIMS often report that the time saving due to streamlined processes saves so much laboratory time and resources.

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

The scope and level of productivity in a laboratory is dependent on various factors. This could be from the number of trained analysts to the available equipment. One of the most important intention of the several Lab Managers is maximizing the use of the resources currently available. While spreadsheets are used to manage laboratory data, it can become extremely time consuming to manipulate the data, extracting the useful analytics and in finding the opportunity areas.

Using a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) automates the administrative work that supports sample analysis. Cases like allocating tests for batch release testing can easily be automated. By loading this information into your LIMS and validating this function, each time a sample is booked in for batch release testing of this product, you have confidence that the right tests are allocated reducing the administrative need to double check each time. The more administrative tasks you automate, the more time your analysts can spend on testing samples which in turn helps you increase overall productivity.

SECURITY AND TRACEABILITY

Documents in excel are not fully controlled. We can protect excel spreadsheets by locking and password. But when we committed on various people to input data, there is a possibility in corruption of lab data. When the data got corrupted in excel, there is no way to trace that when the corruptions done and which user did it. Enforcing a lock in excel spreadsheets also makes frustration as a single user editing.

Using a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) takes the total frustrations aside. Login authentication using a Two Factor Authentication process of passwords and OTPs. Data is accessed only by authorized personnel. Data is backed up for protection against thefts and physical damages. The servers on which the data is stored has firewalls, intruder detection, and has encryption to protect data in case of a breach. You know who, when the modifications and deletions in the audit trail are done. With permissions, you can control the level of access to the system for each users.

Conclusion

An Excel Spreadsheet was not designed to act as a LIMS and is not a good long-term solution to manage your entire lab operations. If you recognize the issues of working in a paper-based laboratory or using spreadsheets, laboratory with LIMS equivalent as Revol LIMS stays ahead of its competition by performing efficiently, more reliably and accurately, and fulfilling all local and state regulatory requirements as well.