The Role of LIMS in Streamlined Sample Tracking
Here’s a simple question with a potentially confusing set of answers: Do you know which lab samples are being tested and where every sample is in the testing process?
If you conduct complex sample testing, chances are you don’t know – through no fault of your workflow.
Sample tracking presents a delicate balancing act where you play the dual roles of real-time barcode label traffic cop and scientist. Usually, the same person (you) coordinates laboratory operations, sample management (which could consist of spreadsheets), and tests the samples. Keeping tracking sheets up-to-date—those messy Excel or Google Sheets files—is nearly impossible.
If you’re not using a high-quality Lab Information Management System (LIMS) as automated sample tracking software, keeping a handle on your samples is an enormous challenge. Sample tracking ends up distracting you and causing problems throughout the testing lifecycle.
Consider the conditions and complexities of today’s sample testing:
- A single sample may take days to test, with multiple people processing each sample (challenging to follow the chain of custody).
- An end-to-end testing process may include a dozen complex processes and procedures for any given sample and sample type (and most labs don’t have an effective tracking solution).
- Multiple batches of samples are commonly tested in a lab at any given moment (and may lack the proper identifiers to track each laboratory sample batch).
- Sample integrity and data quality are at stake if a sample is not processed within an appropriate timeframe (all processes, from sample collection to processing of test results impact data quality and metrics).
- Sample sheets (Excel or other spreadsheet documents) are usually out of date—forcing your team to lean on an inconsistent source for sample tracking (and a much better data management system is required for the modern, organized lab).
How a LIMS Remedies Sample Tracking Headaches
Implementing a LIMS software solution for your sample tracking processes is like tagging each sample with a reliable GPS. That’s the purpose of LIMS sample management software—to precisely track samples and manage all the information about them that you need to know. What capabilities should you look for in a LIMS?
First and foremost, a LIMS should quickly and easily tell you where every sample is in your testing process. A queue-based tracking system is the key to knowing the whereabouts of all your samples. A high-quality LIMS places each sample on a different sample queue appropriate to its place in the testing process. This lets you know exactly where each sample is in your process, across queues.
Without this structured format and automation for sample tracking, a sample may sit untested or partially tested—forgotten until you find it again and try to test it. Queue-based sample tracking prevents this, helping any lab eliminate the chance of samples slipping through the cracks.
What is Queue-Based Sample Tracking?
To understand how queue-based sample tracking systems can help your lab, it’s helpful to know how they work.
Each sample has a unique identifiable tracking number and a current status. The tracking number tells you which sample is which— and this is necessary because all tubes and plates look the same. The status is a simple, relatively descriptive term that makes it easy for anyone to know where the sample is in the process quickly. Some examples of status terms are: “Released for Testing,” “In Sequencing,” “Testing Complete,” or “Re-Testing Needed.”
Your LIMS provides an individual queue for each significant step in your sample testing process. Samples are listed on an appropriate queue based on their status. As you complete one portion of testing and are ready to move on to the next, the LIMS automatically updates the status of every relevant sample. For instance, a status may change from “In Sequencing” to “Testing Complete.”
You can also display additional sample tracking data in the queue, such as receipt dates, to help prioritize which samples to test first. For example, you can quickly see which samples are the oldest and might be a higher priority to process first.
Most importantly, there are essential fail-safe functions every queue-based sample tracking system should have. First, the system should not allow anyone to enter a sample into the LIMS without assigning it a status. If every sample has a status, no sample will ever be lost. Second, as testing continues, every sample remains in a queue until its testing is fully complete. Finally, the LIMS should automatically update the status of the samples in each queue. This is a critical step in preventing errors that surface when users manually adjust sample status.
With these built-in functions to help track samples, the days of worrying about forgotten samples are over.
Summary: Queue-Based Sample Tracking Benefits
Here’s a quick recap of the advantages of using a LIMS that employs a queue-based approach to sample tracking—and why it’s a must-have for your lab:
- Accuracy: A LIMS that automatically updates sample status will deliver significantly more accurate statuses across your processes. If you rely on manual data entry to update every sample’s status, errors will consistently occur. Someone on your team will eventually update the wrong sample or forget to edit a sample status.
- Precision: With queue-based sample tracking, no sample will ever remain overlooked, untested, or forgotten halfway through testing. Any LIMS or sample tracking software not using queue-based sample tracking will have samples that aren’t tested promptly.
- Efficiency: Everyone in the lab can quickly identify which samples need to be processed and the next steps for any sample being tested. You’ll save time for your lab managers, supervisors, and technicians and can devote fewer full-time staff hours to playing sample management traffic cop.
- Speed: Sample turnaround time can improve, without confusion regarding which samples need which type of processing and when. An automated sample tracking method keeps you on track, on time, and continuously productive.
Contact us and book a demo to see how Lockbox LIMS can bring clear, accurate, and efficient sample tracking to your lab. We’ll be happy to show you how it works.