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If you have cereal in the morning, the nutritional labeling you’re bound to see on the side of the box is due to the efforts of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is just one example of inter-agency cooperation. The USDA is made up of 29 agencies and offices with nearly 100,000 …

In an earlier article1, we looked at the role laboratory information management systems (LIMS) played in manufacturing/production operations, as well as their relationship to other control/database systems. This article is going to shift the focus to the source of those manufactured/production operations: research and development. Before we get into informatics, let’s look at the working environment. Figure 1 shows the …

Can a laboratory operate successfully without the use of laboratory informatics? To some, the answer is always “yes, informatics makes it easier, but it isn’t a requirement”, and that is true in a technical sense, but in reality, the practical answer is “not anymore”. The use of informatics in the environmental industry is an example we’ll be looking at in …

Cybercrime is so pervasive that new data breaches seem to scatter personal information across the internet every day. An attack can hit any organization at any time. Laboratories face a particular challenge as they balance security with collaboration. Should hackers breach a laboratory’s systems, the resulting data loss can have severe financial, legal, and reputational consequences. This guide provides an …

During the first week of August 2022, the Houston Astros played the Red Sox in Fenway Park (the Sox’s home field). Christian Vazquez had been a catcher playing on that field since 2014. On August 1, he found himself playing on the same field but in a different uniform, that of the Astros. He had been traded just as the …

The history of laboratory informatics began in earnest with the commercialization of instrument data systems and LIMS software, the latter having the larger impact since it could affect the entire lab’s productivity and benefit the organization it supports. That software found a home in both industrial Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Healthcare (clinical laboratories). In each of these situations, LIMS …

Analytical mistakes represent a shrinking share of errors in well-run laboratories. In multiple studies of clinical testing laboratories, more than 90% of errors occur before or after tests are performed. [1] Relatively error-free testing should not be surprising. After all, the bench is where laboratories can exert the most control using: Standards-based processes, Instrument maintenance and calibration, Professional certification, Proficiency …

There is a progression in technology utilization that many labs go through on their way to choosing LIMS software. A lot depends on the size of the organization, the resources it has available to it, and its experience in lab operations. Smaller groups in particular may begin with paper-based workflows and documentation (e.g., for test methods, etc.). As they tire …