Innovative Data Management Processes with Excellence Instruments and LabX

“Testing into compliance” is a practice that should not be adopted in any laboratory. In regulated environments, auditors may require companies to demonstrate how their processes ensure that this cannot be performed. METTLER TOLEDO’s laboratory management software LabX provides an infrangible solution to this problem with its guided workflow functionality and integrated audit trail. Management of lab data coming in from instruments such as balances, titrators, melting point systems, UV/Vis spectrometers, and pH meters from different laboratories and employees requires the integration of effective data management software with existing Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Lab Execution Systems (LES).?

Manual Data Management

The classic practices of manual transcription and printing data are a cumbersome and error-prone way of handling instrument and result data. Operators are often preoccupied with documentation and reporting of data, which prevents them from continuously performing analyses. This analogue way of data collection can therefore negatively impact an organization’s efficiency, especially concerning valuable personnel time, throughput and cost. In addition, processes may be carried out differently by each laboratory analyst and may contain errors with limited option of tracking data quality. The risk of “testing into compliance” cannot be ruled out.

Automatic Data Management

Electronic data capture is becoming the new standard in today’s laboratory. It provides the benefit of increased throughput, reduced per-sample costs and elimination of errors.

This best practice is already a reality at Roche in Switzerland – one of METTLER TOLEDO’s satisfied customers. At Roche, Mr. Markus Greiner leads a pioneering and comprehensive electronic data management project for Commercial Quality Control laboratories in Basel and Kaiseraugst. One of the key requirements was the integration of the new solution into the existing LIMS and LES systems. In the scope of the software roll-out, Mr. Greiner was also in charge of renewing the complete existing fleet of XP and XPE balances to METTLER TOLEDO’s most recent XPR balances, as they provide optimal conditions for data management and quality assurance in the modern laboratory.?

METTLER TOLEDO’s answer to the call for automatic documentation is the LabX software, in combination with Excellence laboratory instruments.?

Automatic Documentation and Reporting

Electronic documentation with LabX makes Roche’s commercial quality control laboratories even more efficient by eliminating the time previously spent manually noting results. For data interpretation, eg. customized reports can be automatically generated and reviewed at the end of each process.?

Seamless System Integration?

LabX can be easily integrated with LIMS or LES and other systems to gather and store error-free data obtained from up to 60 METTLER TOLEDO products, such as Roche’s newly installed fleet of XPR balances. Tasks generated in LES can be sent to LabX and the relevant analytical data pulled from the result set is sent back to LES.?

Effortless Compliance

Roche’s commercial QC laboratories can now directly review audit trail data and carry out its verification via the 4-eyes principle. LabX also effectively prevents “testing into compliance” by automating all calculations and making sure each operation step is recorded in an immutable audit trail. It supports the operators to perform tasks consistently, efficiently and in conformity with established quality standards by guiding them through the SOP workflows. Data integrity, security and traceability throughout the operation cycle are ensured by the ability to store data for an indefinite time.