When it comes to building efficiency in your lab, you need to dissect your lab and its processes so that you can evaluate areas of opportunity that could be holding you back. That may sound overwhelming, Ovation has the tools and tips to support labs just like yours. Here are the top five ways areas to look at to ensure long-term efficiency in your lab.
1. Address Inefficiencies Head-On
Inefficient practices and systems in your lab make it impossible to build an orderly, long-term business model. If you are having trouble identifying which lab processes are inefficient, start by discussing with your lab staff. Ask what issues the team feels like they are facing regarding your lab practices, lab equipment, and the systems they utilize to get their job done. It would also be beneficial to ask them if they have any insight as to what may work as a better alternative. Document what they have to say about these issues and potentially useful ideas so that you can easily cross-reference their information.
Your employees will be able to provide you with beneficial insight because they are employing these systems and or practices every day. Once the inefficiencies have been identified, you can now plan a course of action to rectify the situation.
2. Secure Your Lab
Security has become an important component of laboratory operations. Through everyday routine tasks, to the security measures taken in protecting your lab’s hardware and software. Having good security measures and systems in place can lessen several possible risks. If your lab is implementing an outdated on-prem application maybe it is time to look into a LIMS solution. By implementing a LIMS, you are also gaining the high level of security that comes with it.
Since the cloud is run with strict encryptions and secure login information the data it stores becomes inherently safer than the server you are using in your on-prem application. If you are on the fence about “the cloud” just remember that not only is your money going further with Cloud-based LIMS software, your personal/impersonal data will also be more secure.
3. Acquire Proper Lab Equipment
We all know how frustrating it can be when work needs to be done, and either your equipment or systems are not working. Investing in quality equipment is essential to any lab wishing to be more efficient. When you use high-quality equipment you will be supplying your research and your patients with the most consistent and accurate results. Especially if your lab is processing large quantities of samples daily. Although the expense may deter you from jumping to purchase something new, quality equipment pays for itself in the long run. The life of your equipment will last longer, which also adds to its cost-effectiveness.
4. Minimize Human Error
Although this is outside the realm of technology, the people inside the lab for you make sure your lab functions to its highest operable ability. In that same token, your lab equipment and practices are only as good as the people that operate them. This may sound like a contradiction, but it reinforces why the people in our lab play such an integral part in creating a well-structured business.
Human error is a key issue that many labs encounter in the midst of their data collection and analysis of results. This is an extremely important factor if you are still running your lab through an outdated on-prem solution. Your lab team is responsible for keeping the technology, equipment, and systems well maintained and free from any outside interference, (sterile or controlled) because this will ensure accurate testing, analysis, and results. Having a team that is organized can save you hours of backtracking, and rework.
Investing in your lab with training and employee education will ensure everyone is on the same page. When complex issues or questions arise, the team will be able to revisit training manuals, or SOPS to mitigate the problem at hand. Having a team that communicates effectively and is organized in their operations makes it easier to mitigate any future obstacles that may come your way. Utilize and rely on your team to evaluate these processes. There is a reason for the saying, “teamwork makes the dream work”.
5. Go Digital, Go LIMS
Laboratory Information Management System, or LIMS, is a software that allows labs to take their digitized data to the next level by automating workflows, sample management, and data collection. Utilizing a system such as Ovation LIMS will allow for simplification of workflows, intuitive tracking of lab activities and processes, and quick report viewing. Furthermore, utilizing the Ovation LIMS system will reduce the turnaround time between sample collection and report creation, allowing stakeholders quicker access to the information they need, when they need it. LIMS provides better compliance adherence, shorter testing times, increased productivity, and overall quality control.
Utilizing LIMS software is a key component when ensuring the quality and safety of samples and the data they provide. The LIMS will facilitate quality control within the collection and management of samples while allowing researchers to share data and results quicker. This will ultimately provide better outcomes for stakeholders and increase profitability for the companies.
As expectations for production time decrease and quality standards increase, having a system that allows you to manage all these pieces in one place is vital. Ovation LIMS provides the support to manage all these components and provides the flexibility to add or adjust workflows as needed. In this unpredictable fast-paced world of pharma, your lab needs a system that can adapt and grow.
How Ovation Accelerates Lab Growth
If you are here researching how to build efficiency in your lab, you will stumble across the same information. Such as people, security, sustainability, updated technology, and so forth. At Ovation, we agree that those needs are essential, and that’s why we offer a LIMS program designed to encompass all of those real-time needs. Let us at Ovation do the heavy lifting for you. We will give our assistance from Ovation LIMS to help your lab grow into its true potential.
If you aren’t sure where to begin, reach out to us. We’ve worked with startup labs and seasoned labs to build a more automated laboratory.
