Laboratory performance evaluation systems

Laboratory performance evaluation systems are being designed and developed (11) to help monitor and qualify the performance of laboratories in the CLP and to assist in the selection of... 

Homsher, M. T. Olivero, R. A. Robertson, G. L. Moore, J. M. Fisk, J. F., Development of an Expert System for the Analysis of Laboratory Performance Evaluation Data, In Proc. 3rd Annual Lockheed Artificial Intelligence and Strategic Computing Svmp.. Houston, Texas, 1987. 

In a cosmetic laboratory, a recirculating system would have been adequate except for one very special condition. The noses had to perform their fragrance evaluations in a clean atmosphere. This called for once-through ventilation and included placing drying ovens under a simple hood extending part way down from the ceiling. The result was excellent. 

FDA device regulation is focused on the device and the device manufacturer. CLIA, on the other hand, focuses on laboratory quality, including the quality of the laboratory test results provided by the devices used, whether developed in-house or as a test kit in commercial distribution to multiple laboratories. The programs differ substantially in approaches and in data requirements. FDA requires unique submissions for each test under its purview, evaluates both performance and labeling, and requires demonstration of analytical validity and clinical validity as appropriate. CLIA inspects laboratories using a system approach based on key probes of the operating system. CLIA requires a demonstration of analytical performance and quality control but does not require a showing of either clinical validity or clinical utility. 

Stoots, C.M. (2005), Engineering Process Model for High-temperature Electrolysis System Performance Evaluation, Idaho National Laboratory, June. 

The function of clinical chemistry in toxicology (as well as in human and veterinary medicine) is to provide, via laboratory analysis, evaluations of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of specific endogenous chemical components present in samples of blood, urine, feces, spinal fluid, and tissues. The purpose is to help identify abnormal or pathological changes in organ system functions. The most common specimens used in clinical chemistry are blood and urine, and many different tests exist to test for almost any type of chemical component in blood or urine for example, blood glucose, electrolytes, enzymes, hormones, lipids (fats), other metabolic substances, and proteins. The tests used were all initially applied to human clinical medicine, and may not possess the same utility when performed as part of nonclinical toxicity studies in a wide variety of other species. 

Klemm, D.J., Lobring, L.B. and Homing, W.H. (1990) Manual for the Evaluation of Laboratories Performing Aquatic Toxicity Tests, EPA/600/4-90/031, p. 109. USEPA Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH. 

Before participating in interlaboratory studies the laboratory must have set-up all adequate internal quality assurance and quality control systems [7]. This also means that all basic investigations have been performed for possible mistakes, that these have been noticed and corrected. In other words the laboratory has validated the method to be applied. For a laboratory performance study, this also implies that in the laboratory the method is under statistical control for a given type of matrix, that this control is monitored and that results are evaluated. 

To have a real impact on the quality of the laboratory performance the participation in interlaboratory performance studies should be done on a regular basis and should be an integral part of the laboratory quality assurance and quality control system. The common project of lUPAC/AOAC/ISO, leading to a harmonised protocol [3] gives several indications and recommendations on the organisation and evaluation of such interlaboratory studies. 

Experiments on a laboratory scale will serve to test different catalytic systems for the synthesis of alcohols, namely Cu/Zn-type and Cu/Co-type catalysts. Therefore, recycle reactors will be used in the laboratory to evaluate catalyst performance in terms of activity and selectivity. 

There is no substitute for hard work to survey the process systems and learn the pulp and papermaking process to understand potential incompatibilities and synergies with other wet-end additives and the process conditions, followed by laboratory studies evaluating different defoamer chemistries. Defoamers should be evaluated for their immediate effect to knock down surface foam and achieve longevity in performance, as well as impact entrained air. 

The importance of a careful evaluation of the performance characteristics of analytical procedures and adequate quality control against a laboratory s own requirements have been emphasized. However, it is extremely important to establish comparability between laboratories, i.e., the analytical result should be independent of the laboratory performing the analysis. An ongoing monitoring of the analytical performance against the norm of other laboratories is provided by external quality assurance systems. This external evaluation supplied by comparisons between analytical results of different laboratories estimates the between-laboratory differences. The main value of the external quality assurance systems is not only to highlight repeatability and reproducibility performance between laboratories but also to assess systematic errors. 

Movement of the electrolyte over a metal surface can cause erosion corrosion, impingement, or cavitation. The corrosiveness of the environment will accelerate the degree of corrosion. Standardized methods for evaluating erosion corrosion and cavitation involve immersion testing in the laboratory or operating system. Analysis is typically performed by visual examination and weight loss data. The following standards are commonly used to evaluate susceptibility to erosion corrosion and cavitation ... 

The laboratory fuel cell generates electricity at very low efficiency 18% with a 46% fuel utihzation factor. Those values are very impractical for power generation purposes, and adequate scaling up procedure is proposed to evaluate the hybrid system performances. The system evaluation is started from the SOFC-M as a stand-alone unit. The SOFC only represents a device which generates power by utilization of the SOFC stack only, without any additional devices. Next, a few... 

The SIMULAR, developed by Hazard Evaluation Laboratory Ltd., is a chemical reactor control and data acquisition system. It can also perform calorimetry measurements and be employed to investigate chemical reaction and unit operations such as mixing, blending, crystallization, and distillation. Ligure 12-24 shows a schematic detail of the SIMULAR, and Ligure 12-25 illustrates the SIMULAR reaction calorimeter with computer controlled solids addition. 

A small extraction system, consisting of a total of 18 cells, was used for laboratory evaluation of the process. The volumes of the mixer and settler were 10 ml and 30 ml, respectively. Production capacity of the system was 200-300 ml per hour. The cells were divided among the functions as follows extraction - 8 cells, washing - 3 cells, stripping - 8 cells. Several experiments were performed using the laboratory system. 

The laboratory area had no ventilation, and the system used elsewhere in the building was unable to handle the extra load. As a result, a separate system had to be installed. At the laboratory operator s insistence, this was to be a system -with no recirculation of ah . There was considerable resistance from management due to the higher cost for both installation and operation. To make matters more difficult, the heating engineer had never seen a need for such a system on previous jobs. One argument finally settled the situation. It was pointed out that fragrance evaluations would often have to be performed as part of product evaluation. This would be difficult if much of the air were recirculated. 

Finding 3 Many alternative chemical/biological detection technologies are being investigated in university, industry, and government laboratories, and various military prototype systems have been developed however, it is very difficult to independently evaluate all of the performance claims for these technologies. 

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