LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems) help organize your lab. They help centralize your information, yield higher quality in your lab, automate reporting, speed up retrieval of data, reduce errors, and reduce your costs. What steps should you take to find the LIMS for you?
1) First you should determine the requirements needed in the LIMS.
- LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems) help organize your lab. They help centralize your information, yield higher quality in your lab, automate reporting, speed up retrieval of data, reduce errors, and reduce your costs. What steps should you take to find the LIMS for you?
- How many users (e.g. lab techs, engineers, administrators) will be accessing the LIMS at the same time?
- How many instruments will be interfaced for automated data acquisition?
- Are there any digitized systems (e.g. ERP) to interface to?
- Do you need round the clock support (365 x 24)?
- What are the primary goals of this project?
- What are the Business Requirements of this project?
- What is the broad scope of information that will be captured in the LIMS?
- Examples:
- Raw Material Testing
- In Process Testing
- Finished Goods Testing
- R&D Analytical Testing
- Instrument Standards
- Waste Water Testing
2) Determine a scope of work from the list of requirements.
3) Finally, find the LIMS vendors that work for your industry. Contact those LIMS vendors to get information and to determine whether they have the required features you’ve determined that you need. Set up demos with those LIMS vendors. Try to include at least one of your lab staff in the demos since they will be using the LIMS. They may not make the final decision on the LIMS, but their input will be beneficial. Be sure to ask about the LIMS’ customer support policies. Send the scope of work to the LIMS vendor and request a proposal based on the scope.
