7 Reasons to Have a LIMS

Discover 7 reasons why you should adopt a LIMS system in your quality control laboratory. 

Keeping a laboratory aligned with good practice guidelines and countless specifications is far from easy, especially when it’s done manually. But did you know there’s a way to automate your entire process and ensure your results are always correct?

The answer to that is LIMS, but that’s not the only reason to use this system. So in this article, you’ll learn 7 reasons to have a LIMS in your laboratory.

1. Automate the Workflow

One of the greatest strengths of LIMS is its ability to automate workflows within a laboratory. From sample intake to result release, the system can track every step the sample takes throughout the lab.

With this oversight, LIMS can not only document all information related to the sample, but also eliminate human error, making the handoff of information easier. 

In addition, this workflow automation can also reduce paper use within the laboratory, since it decreases the need for manual process tracking.

2. Reduce Errors

By automating workflows, LIMS can reduce and even eliminate the need to track samples on paper and in spreadsheets. This reduces human error, since there’s no need to cross-check scattered information.

By centralizing everything relevant to the sample in a single system, LIMS takes on the job of gathering and passing along all the data, confirming what’s needed without room for error.

Also watch: LIMS: What it is and how it works

3. Strengthen Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is crucial for any laboratory management, and it matters for the lab to be auditable and stay in compliance.

Many LIMS platforms have built-in quality assurance modules that track incidents, access events, broken samples, measurement errors and other information relevant to the laboratory’s workflow.

Since the system strengthens quality assurance, laboratory management can be confident that everything is running smoothly.

4. Simplify Reporting

Being able to issue customized, well-organized reports is essential for the laboratory. With a LIMS, it’s possible to develop a report format that meets your specific needs.

In other words, the system allows the report to be tailored so it fits the laboratory and conveys results clearly and objectively.

It’s also possible for reports to be issued automatically from the laboratory and made available for clients to view. This way, results go out faster and are easy to access.

5. Integrate with Other Systems

The laboratory is certainly not the only area of the company, and these areas often need to communicate with each other.

With LIMS, it’s possible for the system to be integrated with other management software across the company, making it easier to exchange information between interested areas.

In addition, integrations with other software used within the laboratory are also possible. 

These integrations can then optimize process automation, preserving the data and making it available to the entire laboratory and even the whole company.

6. Manage Instruments

Within the laboratory, it’s extremely important for instruments to remain in compliance, ensuring reliable results.

As such, managing not only the condition of the instruments but also their maintenance, calibration, and everything related to them proves to be not just a necessity, but also a challenge.

For this, LIMS has the ability to centralize this management, calibrating instruments and storing relevant information about them.

In addition, the system can interface directly with instruments, so that test results are automatically populated in the software, enabling even greater throughput.

Also read: How different industries are transforming their laboratories with Actiz LIMS 

7. Increase Efficiency

With the 6 reasons already covered, their outcome is clear: an even more efficient laboratory.

By allowing several obsolete steps to be removed from the laboratory’s process, and avoiding rework due to human error, LIMS directly impacts the volume of samples that can be tested, increasing throughput.

This means that the more components you automate, the greater the optimization possibilities LIMS offers.

Conclusion

As you’ve seen throughout this article, there are many reasons to have a LIMS in your laboratory, ranging from automation to reduced paper use.

In any case, adopting this system is a decision that can significantly influence a laboratory’s output, always with the assurance of correct, quality results.

If you want the assurance that your LIMS is working for you, Actiz is the right choice. Get in touch with us and find out how to optimize your laboratory in the best way possible.