Instrumentation/control systems information management

Beyond simple data storage and instrument control, modern data systems provide extensive data analysis capabilities, including fitted baselines, peak start and stop tic marks, named components, retention times, timed events and baseline subtraction. Further, they provide advanced capabilities, such as multiple calibration techniques, user-customizable information and reports and collation of multiple reports. If a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is available, the chromatographic data system should be able to directly transfer data files and reports to the LIMS without user intervention. The chapter by McDowall provides a terse but thorough description of the... 

Computers were first used in laboratories to calculate results and generate reports, often from an individual instrument. As automated analysers were developed, so the level of computerization increased and computers now play a major role in the modem laboratory. They are associated with both the analytical and organizational aspects and the term Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is often used to describe this overall function. Such systems are available that link the various operations associated with the production of a validated test result, from the receipt of the sample to the electronic transmission of the report to the initiator of the request, who may be at a site removed from the laboratory. Other uses include stock control, human resource management and budgets. 

HasweU and Barclay [3] have described a microwave system coupled to an atomic absorption detection system for the analysis of sludges and soils. A major constraint at the present time is that the preferred operation of these types of systems is for sample matrices to be closely matched. A widely varying sample, which exhibits different heating characteristics, wiU either show up as an invaHd result or the time required to cope with this procedure for aU the samples wiU greatly extend the on-Hne analyses time scales. As more of these instrumental systems become Hnked to laboratory information management systems, it wiU become feasible to interact between the control database and the instrumentation so that each sample is treated in an appropriate manner and the optimum time frame is selected for each sample type. When new samples are analysed, the steps could be monitored so that the required time scales are obtained and then stored for future reference. 

The trend towards more online applications will surely continue for the next few years. If the proper online instrumentation is not available, existing laboratory instrumentation will be converted to do the job. Open-architecture instrumentation will become necessary, enabling systems to be connected remotely to a central chromatographic information-management system that will handle all the real-time data acquisition, control, and troubleshooting. 

It has been mentioned already that there are different levels of sophistication with regard to the involvement of computer applications in GLP studies and test facilities. These levels may range from the complex problems involved in the GLP compliant management of computer networks and of laboratory information management systems (LIMS) to the question of whether a simple instrument controlled by a built-in, pre-programmed chip should be treated in the same, extensive way with regard to software validation . It is certainly self-evident, as these two examples demonstrate, that not all types of IT applications have to be considered as equal with regard to GLP compliance it may indeed be impossible to do so. As it is commonplace nowadays that the silicon chip penetrates the operation of practically all kinds of work, the elucidation of its involvement in the operations of test facilities becomes an essential part of the implementation of GLP. 

The management system model can also be characterized as a feedback or closed-loop control system. In this version, the management team is the controller (who), the process is the system being controlled (what), and the instrumentation (how) monitors the system states and feeds these back to the controller so that deviations between the actual and the desired states can be nulled. The interfaces between each of the elements also represent the management process. Between the what and the how elements is the measurement-to-data interface. Between the how and who elements is the information portrayal/information perception interface. And between the who and the what elements is the decision-to-action interface. Viewed from the perspective of this model, the management of a function would entail ... 

See also Quality Assurance Quality Control Instrument Calibration Interlaboratory Studies Reference Materials Production of Reference Materials Laboratory Information Management Systems. 

Basic plant control system (BPCS) and safety instrumentation system (SIS) integration in a common bus. (A) Open bus integration, (B) common bus integration. HMI, human—machine interface LAN, local area network MIS, management information system PU, processing unit. 

Centralized control approach. DCS, distributed control system ESD, emergency shutdown system HMJ, human—machine interface MIS, management information system PU, pro cessing unit SIL, safety integrity level SIS, safety instrumentation system. 

Many software tools have been developed in the context of the local needs of large-scale projects. These include software for instrument control (data acquisition and signal processing), laboratory information-management systems, and local data-handling schemes. The development of process... 

Ever since computers became of a practical size to fit in a spectroscopy laboratory, they have had an ever more intimate relationship with the spectrometers themselves. Spectrometer vendors have applied them to instrument control, data collection, library searching and information management. The information management functions of these systems could be considered a LIMS with a focus limited to a particular type of testing. With the exception of chromatography, these systems are limited in scope and do not interface well with laboratory-wide LIMS. Vendors... 

Computers have been used in laboratories since the mid-1960 s for administrative and managerial support tasks. Recent developments have emphasised the direct interfacing of computers with laboratory instruments and the automatic performance of clerical tasks. In a recent survey of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) in use in the UK [ISC92], 78% of respondents stated that instruments had been interfaced with computers in their laboratories. A breakdown by analyser and computer type is shown in Table 1. Improvement in laboratory efficiency and saving of staff time were perceived as major benefits. Efficient data retrieval, improved quality control and a greater availability of information for administrative and management purposes are major facilities provided by LIMS. 

The following quality control loop is set up to use the information about the customer satisfaction (Figure 5). Input for the process are the 5 M man, machine, material, method and management. The processes are the controlled system. The output of the processes are services, e.g. research results. The service quality can be determined by questionnaires or interviews. The instrument customer survey can help to detect where the institutes and chairs failed to meet the customer requirements and to satisfy their customers. The institutes and chairs must define areas for improvement as well as suitable measures for improvements. The aim is to prevent deviation and customer dissatisfaction in the future. 

A computerized laboratory can utilize a software package called a laboratory information and management system (LIMS) to carry out or control all of these requirements provided that computerized instrumentation, computer terminals, printers and plotters, disk drives etc. are linked together in a local... 

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