LIMS Blog

Your lab equipment and instrumentation are probably the single largest investment you have made in your laboratory. Managing that investment should be one of your lab’s highest priorities. However, keeping on top of your equipment can sometimes take a back seat to other high-priority tasks. It’s easy to forget preventative maintenance. But neglecting your equipment...

Does your lab have the best laboratory information management system (LIMS)?  Watch now: Essential LIMS Features With newer features and capabilities, a comprehensive LIMS or laboratory management solution (also sometimes called a lab informatics platform or lab information system (LIS) ) can now help you update and streamline your workflow management, workflow automation, and overall...

Accessioning samples is one of the most time-consuming and error-prone processes in a clinical lab or research lab. Because the process is often manual, it becomes one of the biggest bottlenecks in specimen collection and laboratory testing. A modern, well-designed laboratory information management system (LIMS) – also called a laboratory information system – can significantly...

Running a laboratory is a considerable challenge simply because there is so much information to track. That is why many labs use a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). This lab management tool helps organize all the samples, equipment, reagents, and workflows in your lab. Lockbox LIMS by Third Wave Analytics is one of the highest...

It can be difficult to determine the most important features when evaluating which Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is best for your laboratory’s reagent management and consumable lab inventory management. The information that is essential for managing reagent usage is specific and different than the information for managing samples. As such, a general sample management...

Laboratory issues such as lost samples, data entry errors, and improper care of lab equipment are an everyday struggle for some labs. In an effort to prevent these lab issues and better manage samples and complicated workflows, many labs employ a lab management systems or a LIMS. Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) help manage complex...

Summary CAP/CLIA laboratories follow United States federal regulatory standards set by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA). This applies to laboratories performing diagnostic tests on human samples in the United States. European laboratories often follow ISO15189, which incorporates several elements of CAP/CLIA but is not a substitute. This...

Summary An NGS laboratory has unique needs for LIMS integration. Here, we discuss how a modern NGS LIMS meets those requirements – and note which integrations are useful in NGS lab scenarios and workflows.  Lockbox LIMS integration features facilitate communication between Lockbox, lab instruments, and third-party applications. We’ll review printer integrations, automatic sample sheet generation,...

Summary There are many options when integrating business applications and devices with Lockbox LIMS. Options include simple configuration to cross-cloud software development tooling for more sophisticated integrations.  Organizations with custom, non-standard software can use Lockbox custom APIs (Application Programming Interface) to connect to specialized software and hardware. Lockbox can be configured to use other APIs,...

When working with clinical laboratories that must follow healthcare compliance and public health regulations, lab managers and laboratory operations experts often ask us if Lockbox LIMS can meet the stringent requirements of their laboratory compliance programs. What you will learn: How Lockbox meets regulatory compliance standards To which privacy standards does Lockbox adhere Audit preparation...