Needs analysis: Does a LIMS make sense for your technical-physical laboratory?
Although there are typical processes in every technical-physical testing labs, the tasks are so varied that each laboratory is unique. This is also reflected in the organization of the processes: hand-knitted Excel lists are often the method of choice. That works well for a long time ... But in over 20 years as a software service provider for technical-physical labs, dacore CEO Werner Fink has learned when these solutions reach their limits and it is time to introduce a laboratory management system.
What challenges do your customers typically face?How do technical-physical labs realize that they need a LIMS?
Werner Fink: Some test laboratories have an important audit coming up and in the course of this they discover that there are no regulated, traceable processes. Or the company's IT department is pushing ahead with a digitalization project or certification that involves all departments and the labs have to look for a software solution.
Around a third of our inquiries are related to problems with scheduling and resource planning. Frequently, specific questions cannot be answered precisely with the existing lists, e.g. on measuring equipment management, order management when preparing test reports or billing for laboratory services.
Many customers also face the problem that the person who set up the Excel lists leaves the company and no one else is familiar with them in depth. This is often done by working students who are then no longer available at some point - or the experienced colleagues retire.
Laboratory management system guarantees traceability of laboratory processes
Why do Excel lists reach their limits at some point?
Fink: At some point, the Excel solutions are simply bursting at the seams. Joint processing is not possible, there are too many branches and data sources and traceability is no longer guaranteed. Often several Excel files have to be maintained in parallel, and at some point you simply lose the overview or the data no longer matches. We often find that laboratory managers are slowed down in their work because they don't have a quick overview of important key figures, different laboratory locations or the resource planning of various small specialist laboratories. These are usually the people who drive the introduction of a laboratory management system so that they get the figures they need.
Are there differences between in-house manufacturer labs and independent testing labs?
Fink: Yes, they do exist. In technical-physical manufacturer labs, cost calculation, quotation preparation and pricing do not play a role. However, they delve very deeply into the processes and can work with a high degree of automation because only a certain number of products are tested there and perhaps 30 to a maximum of 200 standards from this product range have to be taken into account.
The situation is completely different for independent labs. Automation plays a much smaller role here due to the large number of different products - they test a vacuum cleaner today and an airplane tomorrow. However, these technical-physical labs often have to be able to cover up to 5000 standards. And, of course, the commercial aspect - i.e. cost calculation, offer management and pricing - is much more central in this area.
In both types of labs there are areas in which the introduction of a laboratory management system means significant improvements in workflow and processes.
Moving away from the license model ensures full cost transparency
How do laboratory managers convince those responsible in their companies to introduce a laboratory management system?
Fink: When you work with us, one of the most important arguments is that we are familiar with technical-physical laboratories. We know the processes in detail and can use this as a basis for developing a customized solution. There is no need to explain to us how a technical-physical testing laboratory works. By working with us, our customers also gain an insight into solutions that we have implemented in other projects. The requirements are often similar and we can build on modules that have already been implemented. We even go so far as to establish contact between two customers so that they can discuss the possibilities of our software with each other. This makes it much easier to define the functionalities.
Another convincing feature is that we do not have a license model. This sets dacore apart from most other software providers. Customers are often surprised because this is unusual in the industry. Our model is particularly interesting for large companies because it is easy to calculate and pays for itself quickly if you have a lot of users and don't have to work with single user licenses. That convinces the purchasing department.
When it comes to interfaces, the IT managers in companies prick up their ears. They like the fact that we can program an interface for almost any existing software and thus create a smooth data exchange within the IT infrastructure of the entire company. This is important with regard to merchandise management systems or legally compliant documentation.
Overall, the complexity and number of inspection processes are increasing significantly, more and more interfaces to other systems are required and the demands on data management are growing.
In this dynamic environment, make the control of your testing processes future-proof and traceable with an integrated laboratory management system.