Revol LIMS Implementation at HINDALCO’s Renukoot Plant

March 10, 2022

Implementation at HINDALCO’s Renukoot Plant

A female quality control lab technician inspecting food quality at lab with microscope

Abstract

Hindalco’s Renukoot plant was commissioned in 1962 with one plotline and a smelter of 20,000 tpa capacity. Over the years the plant has increased its capacity through various brownfield expansions and asset-sweating measures.

Today Hindalco, at Renukoot, having smelting capacity of 4,10,000 tpa at present, operates across the aluminum value chain from bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum smelting to downstream rolling and extrusions. The integrated facility houses an alumina refinery and smelter along with facilities for production of semi-fabricated products namely conductor redraw rods, sheet and extrusions.

Renukoot has earned the Integrated Management System (IMS) certification combining quality, environment and occupational health and safety into one business excellence model. The unit has been a recipient of several national and international awards in quality, environment management, and energy conservation, among others.

An image illustrating the list of instruments integrated with Revol LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) in HINDALCO.

Business And Operational Challenges

Hindalco wanted to automate their workflows and further streamline their highly complex sample management processes. Some of the challenges faced by the company include:

Assigning role-based access rights to staff

Managing all types of samples and associated metadata efficiently

Tracking and locating stored samples in their repository with ease

Generating comprehensive and personalized storage and sample reports

Managing shipment of incoming and outgoing samples

Managing customer information and associating samples with customer records

Automatic scheduling of Sample

Sample data Security beyond controlled network

Pre-Planning the Sampling activities

Producing Plant specific customized report based on requirement

The Solution

Investing in a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which is light and easy to adopt is the key to address the challenges facing laboratories.

Key Benefits of Revol LIMS are:

Maintain data integrity and reducing data redundancies across multiple systems

Facilitate data transfer in the laboratory and information sharing throughout the enterprise

Increase operating productivity with efficient analytical and resource planning data handling

Enhance overall competitiveness through improved collaboration and information management

Better error handling

Better controls over the flow of each task and much more

The LIMS implementation process follows four steps:

1. Data Population:
There are two common ways in which laboratory data and required fields are populated into the system. The user can choose to manually populate all of the data in the system, which is often a tedious tasks. If you implement LIMS, users supply master data to the solution's administrators, who use pre-configured templates to easily and rapidly populate required fields.

2. Training:
Every staff member will need training to properly use the LIMS. Training is commonly conducted through completing self-paced guides and reading reference materials on the functions that will help their day-to-day responsibilities.

3. Validation:
Validation is a critical in any LIMS system. Some LIMS solutions offer extensive customization options which requires validation for the entire system for the final implementation, which can take extra time and money. With a Revol LIMS solution, the system is pre-validated, and provides administrators with validation packages, which they can accept depending on the risk tolerance of the lab.

4. Implementation:
Once validation is completed, the LIMS is ready to go live. Laboratories can start testing their samples, generating data, and automatically tracking results.

HIL REVOL LIMS Connectivity Diagram

Why Hindalco chose Revol LIMS

To overcome data management and operational challenges, HIL decided to upgrade its sample management system. Revol LIMS team preconfigured the product in line with the required workflows and demonstrated the product. HIL zeroed in on Revol LIMS, a cloud-based LIMS, to overcome their data management and operational challenges. The Revol LIMS team conducted multiple training sessions to accelerate the process. Revol LIMS supports HIL in the following ways.

Compliance Management

Revol LIMS enables compliance with ISO 17025.

Role of Revol LIMS in ISO 17025 Compliance:

Sample handling

Managing and maintaining SOPs (standard operating procedures)

Managing all test methods, and all documents pertaining to quality

Instrument maintenance and calibration

Quality assurance of test results

COAs (Certificate of Analysis)

Data integrity audits

Secure File Transfer

Files/ Data transferring happen over a computer network through SFTP and Firewall. It ensures data security in Cloud Computing.

Reduces Manual Work and Time

Reduce the paper based documentation resulting in saving time and supporting more environment friendly solutions

Sample will be logged automatically via Revol LIMS- Sample Scheduler

Customer can place the test requests through portal so that team can preplan the sampling activities

25 Instruments are integrated with Revol LIMS; Sample results will be transferred from instrument to LIMS through instrument integration. It reduces the manual effort and time

Revol LIMS helps Hindalco to quickly trace samples stored anywhere in their repository in a few clicks, saving time and effort

Role and User based Permissions

With Revol LIMS Hindalco is able to assign role-and user based access rights to employees and customers, safeguarding confidential data

Powerful Scheduler Engine

Automatically register more than 2000 pre-planned samples on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual and cycle basis using Revol- sample scheduler.

Effective Sample Management

Hindalco is able to more efficiently manage customer information and associate samples with the customers who provided the samples, ensuring the right samples are associated with the right customers

Hindalco is able to mirror their storage inventory using virtual storage units in LIMS, record storage specifications received from their customers, and locate samples stored in storage units with ease

Manage and track samples more efficiently, capture all necessary data, and generate barcodes

Hindalco is able to register 2000 samples and validate 8000 to 10000 parameters per day

Revol LIMS helps Hindalco to quickly trace samples stored anywhere in their repository in a few clicks

Sample Flow

An image illustrating the workflow of Revol LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System).

Inventory Management

Manage stocks

Reorder thresholds are set for each item and when these are reached an e-mail notification is sent to the appropriate individual for reorder

Placing Material requests

Internal Delivery

Placing PO requests

Receiving Goods

Quickly trace samples stored anywhere in their repository in a few clicks, saving time and effort

Instrument Management

Instrument Data File configuration

Parameter Instrument Field mapping

File Result transfer testing

Sample results will be transferred from instrument to LIMS through instrument integration

Customized Test Reports

Hindalco is now able to offer more comprehensive and personalized storage and sample reports to its customers

More complex reports can also be generated with Revol LIMS- Custom Report

Customer can able to download the reports directly from portal

Benefits Gained By HINDACLO

After Revol LIMS installation, lab process is completely digitalized. Hindalco is now able to streamline their sample management processes, and follow best practices for sample management, assuring high-quality services to their customers. Additionally, they are able to enhance the data security. Revol LIMS enabled Hindalco to log more number of samples automatically using sample scheduler, pre-plan their sampling activities and generating customer specific reports. They have achieved a faster turnaround in testing samples. It is also reduced paper usage by digitizing processes, thereby turning more eco-friendly.

Revol LIMS also helped to Hindalco in reducing operational cost.