Can Your LIMS Actually "Talk" to Your Customer Service Software?

Can Your LIMS Actually "Talk" to Your Customer Service Software?

This section describes and details the integration between LabLite CS and LabLite SQL (LIMS).  It explains not only the user interface but also how it can easily be configured and reconfigured to fit your needs.

The following areas will be discussed:

1. Automatic login of samples into LIMS.
2. Availability of Action numbers in LIMS.
3. Ability to do searches on both Complaint and Action numbers.
4. Automated closure of Actions from LIMS.
5. Configuration.

1.0   Automatic Login of Samples into LIMS

LabLite CS can be configured to automatically login the appropriate samples into the LIMS system when certain actions are added to complaints.  This feature is completely configurable in the LIMS by any one who has administrative rights

In the following example we will create a complaint that will have 4 actions assigned to it.  The 4 actions will be:

Flush Lines,

Get Sample Rusty,

Get Sample Smell,

Get Sample Taste

Currently the system is configured to only do automatic login of samples into the LIMS for 2 of these actions:  ‘Get Sample Rusty’ and ‘Get Sample Taste’.  The ‘Get Sample Smell’ action has not been configured for auto-login yet, but will be in a later example.  In a real world application, the ‘Flush Lines’ action would obviously never be configured for auto-login just by the nature of that type of action.  Notice below that the 4 actions discussed have been selected and attached to the complaint:

Here is what the actions look like in the grid on the actions tab:

Note: The grid settings have been temporarily altered to illustrate the fields that are pertinent to this discussion.  You will see that all 4 actions are open, there are as of yet no closing comments, and of course the end dates and end times are null. 

Now we will take a look at the LIMS system.  Below is a search for the current day in the Client Status module:

Notice that in the illustration directly above that only actions CSR-0028-2 (Get Sample Rusty) and CSR-0028-4 (Get Sample Taste) had associated samples that were automatically logged into the LIMS.  Again, this is because only those two action types have been configured in the LIMS to automatically login samples.  The other two, CSR-0028-1 (Flush Lines) and CSR-0028-3 (Get Sample Smell) have no association with the LIMS.

1.1 Availability of Action Numbers in LIMS

In this section we will illustrate the availability of the LabLite CS Action Numbers in the LIMS system.  The following illustration is a repeat of the one in the previous section:

Notice that in the left most column that the ‘Action Number’ is displayed.  This is the ‘Action Number’ generated by LabLite CS. 

1.2 Ability to do searches on both Action and Complaint numbers

The Client Status module can be enhanced to allow searches on both LabLite CS Complaint numbers and LabLite CS Action numbers.

To search on either of these criteria, simply click the property dropdown to the right of the screen:

First we will select the ‘Action Number’ option and then we will enter the value ‘CSR-0028-2’, after which we will click the Enter key:

As you can see, only the one action number is returned.  Conversely we could enter the value ‘CSR-0028-4’ and then we would retrieve the sibling action record:

While this feature is great for a single Action Number, it may become impractical, in a real world implementation, for those complaints that have several auto-login sample actions attached to them.  For these scenarios we can also do searches for the entire Complaint number as illustrated below:

As you can see, both Action numbers are returned from the search.

1.3 Automated closure of Actions from LIMS

When all results for a specific ‘Action’ have been completed in the LIMS then the corresponding Action will automatically be closed in the Customer Service application.  First we must select an action (sample) from the Client Status screen:

Then we need to ‘drag’ it into the Lab Notebook module:

Then we need to add results to all tests (in this case, 2) and then save:

Now that all tests are completed the associated action (CSR-0028-2) will automatically be closed in LabLite CS.  If we go back to the LabLite CS app we will not automatically see the changes:

This is because the current actions view needs to be refreshed.  If we click the ‘Search’ button then we will see the updates to action CSR-0028-2:

As you can see, the Action Status has been updated from ‘Open Action’ to ‘Closed Action’.  Also, the End Date and End Time fields have been updated.  Also, the ‘Closing Comments’ field has been updated to ‘[Closed by LIMS]’ as there was not an opportunity to add closing notes in person. 

1.4 Configuration

In the previous examples we saw how we could auto-generate samples for certain actions.  But what if we need to alter the rules for which actions have auto-generation of samples?  This can be accomplished both quickly and easily through LabLite SQL’s admin interface.  In LabLite, click File>>Setup>>Setup Tables.  You will see the setup tables interface:

After selecting the ‘Groups’ option you will see the following screen:

Note: Your setup table data for the ‘Groups’ table is certain to vary from what you see displayed above. In this strictly textbook example there are only 2 entries.  We will now add a third to the list by first clicking the ‘Insert’ icon:

Notice below that we now have an empty row:

Your LabLite documentation will have comprehensive steps detailed for adding groups in this table.  As you can see, however, the Action Type is selectable via a dropdown, with values furnished from the LabLite CS application.  Notice, too, that there is a ‘(None)’ option.  This would only be for when you are creating a group that has no connection to LabLite CS. 

You must first create a record and then save it before you can attach analytes to it:

Now that the new group is created you must click any cell in the grid for that record, and then right click anywhere off of that cell to see the following popup menu:

Click ‘Analytes’.  Then you will see this interface:

In this example we will select Silver, Aluminum and Arsenic:

Finally we will select ‘Done’.  Then we will save our changes for our group, and then we are done.  To see the impact of our changes we will need to create a brand new complaint:

Notice that this complaint has all of the same actions as our other complaint detailed above in the section:

1.0 Automatic Login of Samples into LIMS.  What is different however is when we look at this complaint in LabLite SQL  (LIMS):

  

Notice that the previous Complaint, CSR-0028, is unchanged, and only has two actions that have been logged in.  That is because there were only 2 actions configured in LabLite when these actions were created. Now that we added a third group with an associated action, and then created the same list of four actions, the LIMS program was able to login a sample for the newly created group-action record, ‘New Test Group’.  Now let’s pull it into the Lab Notebook:

As you can see, our three analytes that were selected for our new grouping are present: Silver, Aluminum and Arsenic.  We can now follow all the steps outlined above in previous sections to add results and automatically close these actions directly through the LIMS system.

Communicating between LIMS and Process Control

If you have a LIMS software application and also a Process Control software application, can they communicate with each other for the sake of reporting and data collation?

Granted  a LIMS is very different type of software app from a Process control app, however many institutions rely on both. We are going to discuss this topic in quite some detail.

LIMS solutions often need to handle the import of data from external sources, like a custom written instrument interface file. This file might be in one of several formats: .XLS, .XLSX, .CSV or even plain .TXT (ascii). The LIMS may even offer to export data for the sake of a separate bookkeeping app, like producing a fully formatted .IIF file that needs to send invoice data over to Quick Books.

On the other hand, even the simplest Process Control app may need to import hordes of data from a SCADA interface.

In either case, both apps are usually robust enough to handle the producing of export files and/or the consuming of import files.

That being said, if your organization has both a professional LIMS package and a professional Process Control program, do they understand how to talk to each other?  They would if they came from the same software vendor.

Does your current LIMS software vendor also offer an OTF affordable Process Control software app? For that matter do they offer affordable LIMS software? If you are in the market right now for either a Process Control app or a LIMS, or both, shouldn't you investigate a complete solution for a single source? That is the only way to absolutely guarantee a successful integration between the two intiatives, especially when it comes to producing single reports that must read information from both sources.

It all boils down to how your lab will need to track the results of different items. Certain analytes may need to be tracked all across town, via samplers, like pH, temp etc, for water distribution points. many more (non field) tests will need to be done in the lab for the same samples. The water treatment results are a different story all together and usually need to be tracked (partly via SCADA interfacing, perhaps) in a nice juicy Process Control database. This is a totally different app, with possibly totally different folks doing the data entry, etc.

At some point however, like at the end of the month, you may need to take huge chunks of data from both programs and combine them into those really big reports (DMR, eDMR) that need to go to the state.

If you have to pull the data from two programs that cannot speak to each other then this must be done by hand, painfully, for hours, every month. Sound familiar? This can take some lab folks about 6 or more hours per month! Now, if you are looking for job security, and like to have that 6 hours to work on reports, I get that, but if you are looking for accuracy, productivity and automation, then you need to read on.