How to Transform Raw Data into Strategic Indicators for Quality Management?

In the dynamic, precision-driven environment of laboratories, the importance of monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) cannot be overstated.  

If you’re a manager at a service laboratory or run the operation of an industrial quality control laboratory, you know that KPIs are essential for clearly and objectively assessing how your team and processes are actually performing. 

Indicators can’t just be cold numbers; correctly interpreting data and information enables precise adjustments, waste reduction, and continuous optimization of the operation. 

Whether in an industrial laboratory or a service unit, KPIs show exactly where you’re getting it right – and where you need to improve. 

They provide real data on turnaround times, accuracy, nonconformance management, regulatory compliance, and even cost management. But that’s not all: they’re also a map that reveals where improvement is possible, guiding strategic decisions and helping build a culture of continuous improvement. In other words, they’re the key to steady, sustainable growth. 

For any laboratory that wants to maintain a high standard of quality and safety, measuring KPIs in real time and monitoring performance isn’t just useful – it’s indispensable.

How do LIMS systems help build and track key performance indicators (KPIs) in laboratories? 

Modern laboratories run on data – from sample tracking and equipment calibration to test results and quality control. 

Nearly every operation depends on accurate, up-to-date information. However, given the sheer volume of data generated, without a tool to properly organize and analyze it, these numbers can get lost. 

That’s why it’s essential to structure all data and information in an organized way on a single platform, so it can be easily accessed and analyzed. 

That’s where Laboratory Information Management Systems – LIMS come in.  

A modern LIMS doesn’t just organize and store data – it also provides powerful analytical tools that turn raw data into valuable insights.  

With features like interactive panels and dashboards, a LIMS goes beyond being a simple management system – it becomes an essential tool for more informed, strategic decision-making. 

A KPI dashboard within a LIMS is a user-friendly interface that displays key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and other critical information in real time.  

In Actiz LIMS, for example, these dashboards are customizable, allowing laboratory managers to focus on the specific data points that matter most to their operations. Whether it’s sample status, pending tests, or compliance thresholds, the dashboard provides a centralized, personalized place to monitor laboratory activity in real time.

So, what are the most important indicators for laboratories to track?

Tracking the right KPIs ensures your laboratory runs smoothly, that instruments are properly calibrated, and that test results are accurate.

Below is a list of the main KPIs that should be monitored in a laboratory, along with a look at how they’re displayed in Actiz LIMS.

Business Indicators

For service laboratories, these indicators are extremely important, since they allow owners and managers of these labs to assess and plan service demand, monitor financial performance, and track customer retention.

Among the main business indicators are:

• Number of quotes/proposals
• Number of work orders
• Quote acceptance rate
• Cost per test and per sample
• Customer retention

How to view these metrics in Actiz:

See also: Quality indicators in the laboratory: how to measure and improve your results

Operational Indicators

An efficient laboratory is one that wastes little time and gets more done. The metrics below are the main operational indicators that an efficient laboratory tracks:

• Laboratory productivity
• Seasonality (identifies which days of the week or months of the year see increased demand within the laboratory)
• Number of tests/assays
• Number of samples
• Overall and stage-by-stage laboratory turnaround time
• Number of samples rejected at intake

How to view these metrics in Actiz:

Quality Control Indicators

Quality assurance and quality control help ensure that your laboratory’s results are accurate and reproducible, and demonstrate that the laboratory complies with applicable regulations.

The main quality control indicators are:

• Precision and accuracy rate
• Control sample test results
• Downtime and turnaround times
• Error rate
• Error reduction rate
• Test reproducibility

Supplies and Inventory Indicators

Continuous monitoring of laboratory supplies is an essential practice for ensuring smooth operations, preventing waste, and avoiding unnecessary costs.

In addition, efficient supply management contributes to regulatory compliance and adherence to safety requirements.

Some of the most important indicators every laboratory should track are:

• Tracking quantities received versus quantities used
• Tracking critical and safety-stock quantities

• Expiration date control
• Tracking and control of proper disposal (e.g., substances that must be reported to the relevant government authority – in Brazil, for instance, to the Federal Police or the Army).

How to view these metrics in Actiz:

Equipment Management Indicators

Analytical equipment and instruments represent one of a laboratory’s most valuable assets, both financially and operationally.

Effective management of these resources is essential for ensuring process continuity, the reliability of analytical results, and compliance with normative and regulatory requirements.

The main equipment management indicators are:

• Maintenance tracking (preventive and corrective)
• Equipment utilization rate – reflects how much an instrument is being used relative to its available capacity.
• Equipment availability – measures the percentage of time an instrument is available for use, accounting for both planned and unplanned downtime.

Nonconformance and Action Plan Indicators

A laboratory committed to quality quickly identifies failures and acts effectively to correct them.

The indicators below help monitor nonconformances, assess their root causes, and track execution of corrective and preventive action plans:

• Tracking of nonconformances and action plans
• Action plan effectiveness rate
• Action plan response time

How to view these metrics in Actiz:

Training Indicators

Ongoing staff training is essential to ensuring the quality of laboratory processes.

The indicators below make it possible to track training progress, identify knowledge gaps, and ensure that every team member is prepared to perform efficiently and in compliance with requirements.

• Pending training vs. completed training
• Training history for users and analysts

Productivity and Efficiency Indicators

Productivity is a fundamental pillar of an effective, efficient laboratory. While many labs agree they’d like to be more productive, it’s hard to quantify (or improve) productivity without tracking the following metrics:

• Automation efficiency
• Number of tests performed per staff member
• Instrument utilization rate
• Efficiency in reagent and supply usage
• Cost per test
• Operational downtime
• Work order cycle time

Conclusion

In today’s landscape of digital transformation, data-driven laboratories hold a significant competitive advantage. Adopting tools such as interactive dashboards and analytical visualization integrated into a LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) not only simplifies the analysis of large volumes of data, but also enables faster, better-informed, more strategic decision-making.

These capabilities are essential for:

• Increasing operational efficiency
• Ensuring traceability and compliance with regulatory standards
• Reducing failures and rework
• Prioritizing actions based on real evidence

By directing effort toward critical assets that are underperforming, laboratories make their routines more focused, productive, and geared toward continuous improvement. Analytical intelligence, when properly applied, turns data into decisions – and smart decisions are what drive modern laboratories toward excellence.