January 3, 2025 · Author: Third Wave Analytics

Choosing The Right QMS for Your Laboratory: Essential Features and Vendor Comparison

QMS Features Your Lab Needs To Thrive

In today’s fast-paced and competitive environment, a modern QMS needs to be digitized. By moving away from paper-based or spreadsheet-based systems, laboratories save time and optimize efficiency, preventing the scramble to find current documents for an audit or wondering if there is an updated SOP to use.

Your laboratory needs a QMS that:

• Is user-friendly and customized to match your workflow, ensuring you don’t have to change your processes to fit the software
• Supports your laboratory’s regulatory compliance goals and is audit-ready
• Contains all of the essential laboratory QMS features (discussed below) 
• Has enhanced reporting features allowing users to optimize reporting efficiency

The Lockbox Advantage

Lockbox has many distinctive features compared to other vendors in the market. These features provide your laboratory with an unparalleled experience, allowing your laboratory to run smoothly.

1. Seamless LIMS Connection: Lockbox QMS has Lockbox LIMS built-in for use as an all-in-one laboratory management solution. Lockbox QMS can connect with as many aspects of Lockbox LIMS as needed, including Samples, Inventory, and Protocols.  
2. Stand-alone product: For organizations that do not need a LIMS system, Lockbox QMS can also be purchased and used as a stand-alone quality management system. 
3. Modular and Scalable:  Even though the Document Control, Quality Events, and Training Management features comprise the heart of a QMS, not every laboratory needs all of these features. Lockbox QMS is built to be modular and grow with your organization. If your laboratory only needs Document Control now, but may need Training Management in the future, you can start with Document Control and implement other modules later. Lockbox QMS is built to manage thousands of records, so as your organization grows, the system will grow with you.
4. Highly customizable: During implementation, Lockbox QMS will be customized to fit your lab’s processes. This versatility allows Lockbox QMS to follow your workflows and meet your specific requirements.
5. Training module: With the Lockbox QMS Training module, lab managers have a 360° view of each team member’s training requirements and completion status. If a user is not trained on a protocol or equipment, Lockbox can prevent the user from executing that protocol or reserving time on the equipment.
6. Experienced Implementation Team: Third Wave Analytics is composed of developers, scientists, and QA experts who understand your processes and pain points and will make all Lockbox products fit your laboratory needs and workflows.
7. Import/Export Data: While many competitors claim they can import and export data, this is often a difficult task that requires building reports or data structure templates. With Lockbox QMS, data can be imported or exported through the built-in and easy-to-use CSV import and export tool.
8. Reporting: Lockbox QMS provides out-of-the-box reporting tools that allow for the generation of tables, charts, and dashboards that can be shared and exported.

Essential QMS Features

The heart of a QMS is Document Control, Quality Events, and Training Management. These features, combined with customizability, audit/compliance-readiness, remote access, and data import/export capabilities, are essential in any laboratory quality management system.

• Document Control: Keeping track of your controlled documents is an essential feature of a laboratory QMS. Document control features, including versioning and approval pathways, ensure that your laboratory’s documents are accurate, up-to-date, and accessible. A laboratory quality management system is also a centralized repository that stores all critical documents in one place, making retrieval a breeze. 

• Quality Events (CAPAs, Deviations) Tracking: Managing quality events, including CAPAs and deviations, is a cornerstone of a good QMS. The tedious process of logging, tracking, and ensuring the effectiveness of CAPAs and deviations can be streamlined using a digital QMS to assign tasks and route quality events through approvals. 

• Training Management: Keeping your team up to date on training is essential to stay compliant with regulatory requirements. Managers need to be able to view all training activities, including who was trained, their completion status, and all training dates.  If team members fall behind on training, an effective quality management system is able to limit their access to SOPs and equipment reservations until their training requirements are fulfilled.

• Highly Customizable: Every laboratory is unique, and your QMS software should reflect that. Highly customizable systems allow you to configure the quality management system to match your specific processes and workflows. 

• Security: Role-based access and customization ensure each user has the appropriate access, enhancing both security and efficiency.

• Audit/Compliance Ready: Staying compliant with regulatory standards is non-negotiable in a regulated laboratory environment. Your QMS system should make audits easier by maintaining your documentation in one centralized location. Reports should be easy and quick to build so your lab team can spend more time on the science that matters most, rather than chasing paperwork.

• Remote/Tablet Access: As remote and hybrid work grows in popularity, the need for remote access to lab software like a QMS has increased. Secure, cloud-hosted services are essential for any modern quality management system. This provides flexibility for remote work, fieldwork, and work across multiple geographical locations. QMS systems built with this in mind ensure that real-time access is secure to prevent access from unauthorized personnel and data loss.

• Data Import/Export: Efficiency is essential in a modern laboratory. QMS solutions that support data import/export are an essential consideration when evaluating vendors. Effective data import and export features allow you to easily share data in multiple formats for analysis and reporting. Integration capabilities ensure smooth data exchange with other laboratory systems. 

Enhanced QMS Features

Features of a QMS that further enhance the user experience and operational efficiency include a built-in LIMS and a full suite of APIs for integration with third-party software.

• Built-In LIMS: A Quality Management System that comes with a built-in LIMS offers unparalleled synergy and provides a cohesive user experience that boosts efficiency and productivity. Your QMS data can interact with all other parts of your laboratory to ensure every aspect of your lab operations is connected to your quality and safety processes. Management will instantly know which samples or batches were affected by a deviation and what equipment or protocols laboratory personnel are trained on. Users will not have to learn, log in to, and use multiple systems if their QMS comes with a LIMS.
• Integrate with Third-Party Software and ERP Systems: Integrations help users streamline processes such as procurement and financial reporting by connecting external systems to the lab. This ensures that quality management is aligned with broader business objectives.

QMS Vendor Feature Comparison

With so many QMS vendors on the market, how can you pick one? We did some of the work for you. We analyzed Quality Management Systems that are marketed to life science laboratories or healthcare organizations, including those with a built-in LIMS. All vendors we evaluated provided the essential QMS features including Document Control, Quality Events, Training Management, audit-readiness, third-party software integration, and remote/tablet access. 

About half of the QMSs we reviewed could be used as a stand-alone product. The other half had to be used within the context of a specific LIMS. Depending on your needs, this capability could either be beneficial or a deal-breaker.

Many vendors did not appear to be as customizable as Lockbox QMS and may require you to change your lab processes to accommodate the use of the QMS.

Some quality management systems include equipment tracking to maintain equipment records and calibrations. With Lockbox, this data is stored in the equipment management module, which is easily added to your QMS subscription.

Conclusion

Choosing the right QMS is a critical decision for any laboratory striving for excellence. The essential and enhanced features outlined above highlight what your lab needs to achieve optimal efficiency, compliance, and productivity. By investing in a QMS that offers robust document control, efficient quality event tracking, comprehensive training management, and seamless integration capabilities, you can streamline your operations and ensure your laboratory meets regulatory requirements. 

Lockbox QMS has an advantage over the market by providing an all-in-one, highly customizable solution that can scale with your laboratory’s growth. Whether you need a fully integrated system with Lockbox LIMS or a standalone QMS, Lockbox offers flexibility and ease of use. With the support of Third Wave Analytics’ team of experts, Lockbox QMS delivers a smooth implementation and ongoing support to keep your laboratory running efficiently.

Ultimately, the right QMS will empower your laboratory to maintain the highest standards of quality and compliance, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By choosing Lockbox QMS, you are investing in a system that not only meets your current needs but also adapts to future challenges, ensuring long-term success for your laboratory.

Interested in seeing Lockbox QMS in action? Contact us today to explore Lockbox QMS for yourself.