So you’re thinking of buying a LIMS

A good laboratory information management system (LIMS) can make a huge improvement to a laboratory’s productivity.

Once basically limited to sample tracking, modern LIMS are enterprise resource planning tools that manage the daily and reporting needs of everyone involved in the laboratory from analysts, to managers, compliance and safety officers, regulatory affairs, accountants, human resources and even the bosses on high. Each person can access what they personally need while behind the scenes all the information is collated, disseminated and saved. Never again should you have to search desperately to prove your calibrations were up to date because all analysts’ electronic laboratory notebooks are maintained within the system and you can data mine to your heart’s content.

The systems are flexible and suitable for all types of laboratories from the highly regulated through research and development, quality assurance, commercial, clinical trials, pharmaceutical, multisite, multidepartmental … you can be sure that there is a vendor that has built, or can build, a system that will revolutionise your productivity.

But beware: many LIMS do not always deliver what the customer expected. Some are grossly over budget, some don’t have the anticipated functionality, some have such high ongoing IT costs that they become a nightmare. Frequently, these flaws are not the result of vendors selling inefficient or inappropriate products to laboratories but rather the project had not been specified correctly in the first place.

If you want your LIMS to deliver, you will have to take the time to ensure that you know what you want and then that the vendor understands what you want and how and when you want it delivered.

Basically, never sign off with a vendor if you have not defined the project.

Where to start?

Start with a detailed requirements document and simultaneously instigate a formal change control procedure. This way if either you or the vendor wants to change anything at all, these change requests are documented and approved. You will never get into that awkward conversation: “You remember when you asked for that modification to … well …”

Make a wish list

To start planning the project, make a wish list. Let everyone add to the wish list. This list will form the guts of the project. Once the list has been completed it will be time to sit down and prioritise - what is absolutely essential, what would be nice to have but not essential and what is just plain silly.

You can ask vendors to cost individual wish list items. This pricing can help in choosing some priorities - sometimes a ‘pie in the sky’ wish becomes affordable and realistic, and sometimes what was deemed essential is shown to be too expensive.

Make sure everyone is on board

If you want to ensure the implementation will be a success, you need to ensure the key players and users are motivated, and the easiest way to achieve this is if they believe their input and ideas are valued and accommodated.

This does not mean that you have to run the entire project through a committee - just that you have discussed the project with, and sought input from, key users and management.

In an ideal world, the project should be driven by the lab managers. If they have identified the need, scoped the requirements and been included in the selection process, you will have their commitment to the project and a huge hurdle avoided.

Futureproof from the beginning

Businesses and regulatory requirements change - you need to ensure that your LIMS will have sufficient flexibility to grow and change with your laboratory. If you want to be able to make changes to the system without having to include the vendor every time, you should include this in your specification document.

If the coat fits

You already have existing procedures and protocols, especially if you are working in a regulated environment - it is reasonable to expect that the LIMS you choose will accommodate these. It is only the very naive who believe their staff and protocols are infinitely adaptable and that changing procedures to meet the requirements of the LIMS will be simple, straightforward and successful.

This does not mean that you should slavishly adhere to every current practice. The implementation of a new LIMS is a great opportunity to examine your current practices and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Now is the time to overcome those weaknesses but don’t lose sight of your strengths.

Planning, planning, planning

As you create your specification, spend some time identifying deliverables and appropriate metrics so you monitor the implementation. Break large projects down into smaller sized chunks - each with their own deliverables and metrics.

If your system will operate over several sites or departments, aim for a vertical rather than horizontal implementation. Get one site or department up and running and use this as your ‘pilot’. Solutions you find for teething problems can then be incorporated as you roll the system into the next site or department.

Turning on the new LIMS means turning off your current system - all your equipment will have to be hooked into the new system and disconnected from the old. You need to start planning for this transition from the very beginning.

Stick to your guns

Try desperately to keep to your final specification. By all means keep a ‘for the future’ wish list as you think of great new ideas, but resist the temptation to alter the spec you have signed off on with the vendor. If you really can’t resist, be prepared for lengthy delays and cost blowouts.

Money, money, money

A decent LIMS is a major investment. Equally, a decent LIMS will deliver major productivity savings. Find out what budget you have and then be honest with both yourself and your vendor. Be realistic - this project will never come in under budget!

Good luck.