LIMS, ELN, & Lab Management FAQs

At its core, ISO 17025 (ISO/IEC 17025) is all about being a registered, genuine laboratory using valid test methods that produce verifiable, accurate results and the organization and documentation of all of it. It is the general laboratory equivalent of the medical laboratory standard ISO 15189. The latest iteration, ISO/IEC 17025:2017, extends into more detail about tools for a quality…

Most of us in the laboratory community have heard the term “LIMS,” though, in the healthcare arena, it’s probably “LIS.” And maybe we even have a vague notion of what the terms mean. But as technology becomes a bigger and bigger part of our world generally, and inevitably in the world of science and medicine, a vague notion just isn’t…

LabLynx has always championed cloud-hosted LIMS. In fact, company founder John Jones introduced the ELab LIMS as the world’s first cloud-hosted LIMS in 1997 – officially incorporating LabLynx as a company three years later to support, improve and refine the system. Back then there wasn’t actually any such thing as “the cloud,” it was simply an application and database that…

Testing in ISO/IEC 17025 laboratories The scope section of ISO/IEC 17025 indicates that the standard “is applicable to all organizations performing laboratory activities, regardless of the number of personnel.”[1] Further, in its terms and definitions section, the standard states that a laboratory—for the purposes of the document—is a “body that performs one or more of … testing, calibration, [and] sampling, associated…

Food safety laboratories play a critical role in protecting public health by ensuring that the food supply is free from contaminants, pathogens, and harmful substances. However, these labs must adhere to a complex framework of national and international standards, regulations, and guidelines to maintain compliance, ensure data integrity, and produce scientifically valid results. In this article, we explore the key…

By incorporating ISO 9001, ISO 17025, and FDA regulations into their operational frameworks, manufacturing-related laboratories elevate their practices to the highest quality, precision, and integrity standards. As these standards evolve, laboratories must remain vigilant, adapting and integrating new protocols to stay at the forefront of quality and compliance. Laboratories embracing these principles are more than merely meeting requirements. Clients place…

Laboratory informatics (LI) is the use of information technology to support a laboratory’s testing mission. At its most basic, LI consists of a centralized system for the secure collection, storage, and distribution of laboratory data. Modern informatics solutions go far beyond data management to support all aspects of lab operations. Trends shaping today’s laboratories Organizations at any scale in every…

In today’s digital age, laboratories are undergoing a profound transformation, fueled by technological advancements and the need for streamlined data management. As a result, Laboratory Informatics—the intersection of science, technology, and data—has emerged as a rewarding career path for science majors. If you have a background in biology, chemistry, physics, or any other scientific discipline, and you’re intrigued by the…

We’ve come a long way from the days of adulterated milk and frequently contaminated foodstuffs of the 1800s, with food and beverage safety and satisfaction high on the list of societal needs. Demand- and regulation-driven change (along with greater understanding of contamination types and sources) has gone some way towards improving the safety and quality of what we consume. But…

The microbiology laboratory associated with food and beverage manufacturing serves the important purpose of better ensuring the quality and safety of those who inevitably consume what’s produced. However, unlike a clinical microbiology lab, the food-safety-oriented microbiology lab has distinct sampling and analysis workflows that add challenges to any paper-based efforts to maintain compliance with those workflows to a high standard.…