Sample Login (Sample-Based, Project-Based, Case-Based, Study-based) Accessioning etc. - The ELab LIMS suite offers very user-friendly and flexible ways to log in samples. You can associate any number or kinds of other data or entities with each, as well as assigning tests/processes/paths to match your work flow. And grouping is easy, according to whatever criteria you specify, reducing drastically the time spent in logging, receiving and approving samples and their results. Our Scheduler tool also lets you set regular occurrences so you're always on top of your workload. Variations for cases (Forensics), projects (R&D, Commercial) etc. and sample points & PIMS functionalities (Water/Wastewater) are all included in ELab 's vast repertoire.

Batching - ELab allows you to create batches for both samples and results, and receive, set tests/paths and/or edit or approve results at that level, removing much of the time-consuming practices suffered by many laboratories. This process, along with scheduling and associating a wide range of data or entities with each, improves productivity significantly.

Barcoding -  ELab fully supports Barcoding, and can generate labels either automatically/scheduled or on a sample by sample basis. The reading of barcodes by a scanner enables you to track inventory, samples, etc.in ELab . And it simplifies sample login, speeding up all of these processes while ensuring accurate data transfer.

RFID - Radio frequency identification protocols are also fully supported as a means of data upload in ELab . The use of these technologies helps to guarantee accurate data transcription and simpler and faster processing.

Handheld & Tablet Device Integration - As above, these devices, whether transmitted or wired, are fully supported in the ELAB LIMS suite. ELab's ability to support various means of data transfer help you comply with GAMP and other standards and regulations. Your data will always be transcribed accurately and speedily, either directly to the server or anywhere there is internet access.

Case Management - In forensic and other types of labs, your work flow is characterized by the management of cases, which need to encompass a variety of associated data. ELab contains a forensic module which has been designed and optimized for this type of laboratory information management, so that your LIMS fits your work flow -- you don't have to change your practices to fit the software.

Work Load Management - Assign workloads according to criteria you define. You can designate responsibility for any samples, batches or other items based on location, qualification or other criteria, so that workloads are managed sensibly by ELab .

Workflow - Configure your LIMS to fit the workflow of your laboratory, not the other way around. You can configure virtually everything, from locations/departments, to test processes and which are included on which tests, which analyst(s), areas and/or samples or suppliers they are assigned to, and much more. One of ELab's major strengths is its high degree of user-configurability.

Scheduling - The Scheduler tool in ELab allows you to define regular intervals for anything, including sample/batch receipt, instrument calibration and maintenance, training courses, shelf life and many other items. It includes the capacity for defining holidays and time off to factor into any given schedule.

Multi-Location Support - ELAB's design allows you to share data among multiple locations yet have each exist as a separate entity with the appearance of a dedicated LIMS on each site. Locations are defined, and users granted access to only the parts of the LIMS appropriate for their location - yet the power of the entire database is available and data are maintained centrally.  

Sample Analysis -

QA/QC - ELab supports all QA/QC functions. You can either create templates to apply as desired, or you can create QC samples on an ad hoc basis. When setting up the QC Tests and parameters, a formula may also be defined for results entered during actual Test processing.  The tools available to the user for building the formula are standard arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, Division) as well as Log base 10, Exponent, and Absolute Value.  Users are able to create the formulas that calculate any of their QC results automatically.

Instrument Interfacing - ELab readily interfaces with any instrument that produces a text file. See the short demo on this topic online.  The advantages of the ability to generate a run sequence for a given batch and receive results data directly from the instrument output file are clear: vast savings in time and elimination of the potential for error in transcription.

Sample Results Entry - This can be done either by instrument interface or manually, with definable limits, calculations, etc. Samples or batches can be retrieved according to the criteria you define -- Test type, Customer, Batch, etc. -- using ELab's ubiquitous filter tool, or by standard Analyst Worklist.

Calculations - Perform a variety of types of calculations in ELab , including standard arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) as well as Log base 10, Exponent, and Absolute Value. QC templates or ad hoc samples/batches may be created with calculations performed on standard QC types such as % Recovery of QC Spike, etc., in addition to the assigning of calculations to sample result data. Results from other tests may be included in calculations.

Sample Management and Tracking - LABLynx ’ ELab LIMS includes an Object Tracking Module which allows users to track the Check-in, Check-out, Transfer and Disposition of samples through the laboratory, documenting all movement, date and time, and the identity of the user performing the actions. ELab can easily be configured to track the exact path of any given samples or batches according to particular requirements.

Statistical Process Control - ELab can readily identify out-of-limits results according to your specifications, and you can trend those data and/or adjust the parameters as appropriate, exporting to Excel or another third-party application, generating reports or using the integrated Control Charting features.

Product Specification Management - Let ELab store all of your manufacturing laboratory product specs, and automatically compare them with your test results. It will flag any out-of-limits results and can be configured to generate an alert, email or other action based on your settings.

Electronic Laboratory Notebook - LABLynx knows you appreciate the ability to enter notes about samples, customers, results etc. in your LIMS. You can add notes to any result in the results data entry screen, and keep a running log of your observations.

Reporting - The Ad Hoc Reporting v2 tool in ELab makes generating a report in a hurry a snap. You can select exactly which information you would like to see and in what order, and any filtering criteria, all without any knowledge of SQL. Print it as is or export it as a .pdf, .rtf, excel file or text, or just view it. Your parameters can easily be saved to run the same query in the future as well. For more formal reports, use iStudio to create exactly the form you need.

Trending/Control Charting - Any data are easily exported to Excel for charting of trends, from QA/QC limit performance to Instrument maintenance history or personnel training data. Or you can use ELab's own integral control charting module, whichever suits your needs best!

Faxing & Emailing Reports - Any reports generated in ELAB may be printed out and faxed, or exported in any of a variety of formats for emailing or faxing using the relevant software, either through interface with that software directly during implementation, or manually. Additionally, regular or results-based events can be set to generate these actions.

Audit Trails - ELab provides audit trail capabilities to meet any security or regulatory standards. Should a user be provided with security privileges to gain access to the Edit Results area of ELab, any modifications made to information will be stamped with that user ’ s identification and the system level date and time.  The user will also be required to enter a reason for the change and the system will capture the newly entered result as well as capture the edited result.

This also applies to users with results approval permission.

All screens within LABLynx indicate who created the record and when, as well as the last person that edited the record and when.  This applies to records, documents, specifications, limits and electronic signatures.  Additionally, users must supply a password to enable or use a signature.

Chain of Custody - Chain of Custody is of course an essential part of many labs, and you depend on your LIMS to ensure COC is fully supported to NELAC/NELAP standards or to similar specs. LABLynx ’ ELab LIMS includes an Object Tracking Module which allows users to track the Check-in, Check-out, Transfer and Disposition of samples through the laboratory, documenting all movement, date and time, and the identity of the user performing the actions. ELab can easily be configured to track the exact path of any given samples or batches according to particular requirements. If bar code technology is desired, ELab will store and print out labels with selected relevant information

Stability Management - Using the many data tracking and scheduling functionalities of ELab, the testing and recording of substance stability data is enhanced. As results are entered, they may also be charted, and trends identified and compared.

Project Management - Define projects in ELab and track their progress with the Object Tracker. Define schedules, print reports at any stage and chart trends, email stakeholders...basically control any given project from planning to completion.

Document Management - The Document Manager functionality in ELab lets you upload and retrieve documents of any kind for associating with samples, results, personnel, customers, instrument maintenance tracking and a great many other things, or to print out as needed, export or email, etc. Versioning is forced where appropriate.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - ELab eases CRM by storing all your customers' info and linking it in ways that make sense for you, including any invoice history, sample data, labels, etc. Use our web functionality to offer online access to your customers according to permissions you designate.

Customer Support Tracking - Keep track of any and all issues that occur, how they are handled and their current status, using the ELab Customer Support component. Set it up so that customers can log on and see their own issues and status, and enter new items.

Invoicing - The Accounting module in ELab lets you post charges for tests and other services to invoices based on your set price catalog, and print, email or fax them to the appropriate parties.

Quoting - In the same way as Invoicing, above, ELab can display any number and kind of services and associated charges for quoting to potential customers.

Instrument Calibration and Maintenance - The Instruments area in ELab keeps track of all maintenance/calibration, including any uploaded receipts or other documents, and the scheduler tells you when these tasks are due to be performed. And the details defined in the Instrument information also include assigned tests, authorized analysts and the like.

Inventory Management - ELab helps you take care of inventory, recording any and all pertinent data regarding items, including manufacturer, dates, number on hand, where stored and much more either manually, by designated unit (box, case, each, etc.) and through the use of barcodes, and it lets you know when it's time to re-order.

Chemicals, Equipment, other consumables, tissues, samples, specimens, other various entities - You can organize and track each of these items, grouping them according to specific criteria (origin, supplier, assigned tests, expiry date, etc.) using one or more of ELab 's entity management functionalities, including the Inventory module, Object Tracker and others.

Storage Management - Keep track of each storage area. Know the type and level of any and all items held in each location, courtesy of the ELab Storage Locations module.

Freezer Management - You can perform Freezer Management using the Storage Locations module in ELab , by defining the location as a freezer and entering any associated details.

Facilities & Asset Management - Use ELab as a genuine ERP solution to manage any entities you choose to define using the Inventory Management module. It's just one of the many functions ELab performs as your complete, Ideal Solution!

ERP/Accounting Interfaces - Whether you use ELab's own accounting functions or we link to an existing or desired application in your environment, our system covers these elements of the LIMS ERP paradigm. ELab readily interfaces with any of the programs you may already be used to using for seamless data sharing.

Electronic Commerce - e-Commerce is enabled by the web-based nature of ELab . Customers can login and see status of their samples, invoices, charges for tests or other services, etc. Update accounts in our Accounting module and/or interface with payment applications or services to automate the ledger.

External Web Access - Being web browser-based itself, ELab is already constructed using SOA, and functions seamlessly in the web environment. This makes it perfect for providing customer access to services or their own sample data, with precise security defined by you.

Web Portal Functionality - Being first to introduce this functionality to a LIMS has ensured that LABLynx leads the industry in web-based technology. Apart from offering easy scalability and deployment, ELab 's web browser-based SOA design leverages the latest Web Services growing as part of the new Web 2.0 as we move into a new millennium technological age.

Training Tracking - The Training Tracking module in ELab makes sure you stay abreast of completed courses and certifications for all of your personnel, and alerts you when additional training is required to maintain certifications. Any associated documents may be uploaded into the system for easy access and organization.

Safety Tracking & Compliance - This functionality is accomplished in much the same fashion as Training Tracking, above. ELab helps you manage safety in your lab to the highest standards, in compliance with industry regulations and/or guidelines.

Complaints and Corrective Actions - Use ELab's Document Manager to organize these items in compliance with GMP and other regulations/standards, and print reports to specification as required or desired.

Event Driven Alerts - ELab supports any number of alert definitions, triggered according to your requirements. They may also trigger events such as emails based on user-defined criteria.

MSDS - Track these and print them out to regulatory standards in the ELab LIMS. Use ELab to attach them to particular samples or raw materials, aiding in laboratory safety standards and correct materials handling.

SCADA Interfacing - This is already an operational feature of the ELab LIMS in some of our customer water/wastewater implementations. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System interfacing is one of the many ELab features which contribute to the overall ERP-class performance of this state-of-the-art LIMS suite from LABLynx.

Multi-language Support  - LABLynx' ELab LIMS suite supports any language through its data-driven design, making it an ideal solution for multinational businesses. And time zone differences are no issue. ELab can be configured to support all of the facets of multinational deployment, or deployment in countries where languages other than English are used or more than one language is used.

Support for industry standard compliance initiatives - ASCLD, NELAC, 21CFR11, CLIA, GALP/GAMP, HL7, HIPAA, Section 508, ISO17025, ASTM, IEEE, ACS... ELab is currently deployed an many different laboratory environments, including governmental labs which involve sensitive data, like the US Customs Department, State Departments of Agriculture, Forensic labs and more. All known regulatory compliance standards are supported by the LABLynx ELab LIMS , including:

• HL7: For this standard we use a translation table that any data exported to HL7-specific entities must pass through. And the ELab LIMS is built around XML, leveraging it to embrace the technologies of the future now in a service-oriented architecture, or SOA. LABLynx was the very first true web browser based LIMS, and continues to lead the industry in technology.
• 21 CFR Part 11 and 40 CFR 3: LABLynx meets these FDA and EPA requirements, respectively, in that electronic signatures and documents are stored in the system database and only accessible by authorized personnel based on login. These data are securely and accurately transmitted to appropriate parties in whatever ways are mandated, including the interfacing to eLEXNET for reporting to the Agricultural Commissioner, FERN, other departments and federal agencies.
• Section 508: In the case of a federal agency needing to meet this regulation, the LABLynx LIMS offers the best disabled accessibility available since it is Windows browser based and thus configurable to the Microsoft Windows accessibility options native to that operating system.

• ISO/IEC 17025: Compliance with this laboratory management standard will also fulfill the more generic ISO 9001. The items for accreditation are both managerial and technical, and are aimed at traceability, standardization and consistency. The ELab LIMS supports these elements in all of the applicable areas, applying methodologies evenly across different procedures and tracking all data necessary to support the lab in meeting this standard.

Version Control of Tests, parameters, limits, reports, configuration changes, software upgrades, etc. - In compliance with GALP and other laboratory standards, ELab forces versioning on all relevant changes to information in the system. All changes are date time-stamped, and further information is captured as discussed in Audit Trails, above. All software upgrades are also version controlled and targeted to the COTS application so that custom laboratory modifications or additions are not affected.

User Configurable Database Tables, Fields and other DB objects, Screens, Calculations, Workflow, Business Logic, Reports, Charts, External System Interfaces Because of ELab's data-driven design, virtually every aspect of the application is user-configurable.  Using the Ad Hoc Query tool and ELab's native API database connection, you can query any table and bring back data filtered and sorted according to your requirements, whether you know SQL or not. These data can then be used to create a new view in the system from which to generate reports, export to Excel and perform further calculations and/or chart trends, etc. For interfacing with other systems, you can use ODBC (ADO) to configure whatever types of transactions are required.

Configurable Tests, parameters, limits, etc. - LABLynx has designed ELab to fit your workflow, rather than make you change your ways of doing things to suit the software. Only with ELab you can do more, and much more quickly and easily. Define processes, tests, sample or batch paths and all of the associated parameters/limits. And you can link them to particular customers, sample types, routes (water/wastewater) or any other entities that make sense for your operation. And once you do, feel free to change them anytime you like; they are not hard-coded.

Configurable Security - In any lab there will always be a need to control access to results data, tests, documents and many other items or procedures, and in some labs it's more critical than others. ELab allows you to configure your access and permissions from micro to macro level. From individual screens, tests or processes, to department or laboratory location, user access can be precisely defined -- which also means you can safely offer customer access to their own appropriate data and/or functions.

Data Mining and Data Warehouse - ELab contains a direct user access to the database for quick and easy retrieval of data from any table, and impromptu construction of views and reports based on that query. Records are stored automatically to appropriate tables and displayed according to user-specified criteria.

Electronic Data Exchange - This is supported in the LIMS in many forms, from instrument results upload to integration with third party software and electronic reporting to systems like eLexnet or other government-mandated protocols.

Knowledge Management - The ELab LIMS suite is really your way of storing and accessing all of the knowledge/information that exists in a laboratory today. Sample tracking is only one small part of its overall functionality. Results, reports, trending, emails, pricing, invoicing, observational and other general notes, training and instrument maintenance tracking... The list goes on, and represents the entirety of informatics in the laboratory.