The Digital Lab

To streamline lab processes and facilitate collaboration across research sites, DELSCI invests in tailored software: The new laboratory information management system (LIMS) will be introduced this summer after workflows have been integrated, modules configured, and older data added.

“At DELSCI, we are working on going paperless and digitizing all our processes in the lab,” explains Chemical Laboratory Manager Sabrina Riedl. “A lot of our processes rely on paper documents and Excel spreadsheets, which impedes our research – particularly the collaboration between our three sites in Traun and Wattens (Austria) and Tervakoski (Finland). A uniform system with all information stored securely in the cloud improves oversight and prevents accidental loss of data.” 

Sabrina in the Reinventing Paper lab.

A long-desired solution

Sabrina has joined DELSCI in May 2020 and was in charge of setting up the systems – a task she was well prepared for through her Meister degree in technical chemistry, her lab experience, and her prior responsibility for Good Manufacturing Practice in the pharmaceutical industry. With DELSCI’s successful first year comes a growing amount of trials, tests and measuring data – and, as has been planned from the beginning, updating data management has now become an urgent priority.

“In 2020, we’ve set up DELSCI and the lab from scratch within mere months,” Sabrina says. “We focused on getting the processes started and have been very successful with this agile approach. We knew from the beginning that the increasing research intensity and data volume will require a comprehensive catch-all software solution – and we have expanded our wish list ever since.” 

Sabrina tests the LIMS adapted to DELSCI’s needs.

Tailored to DELSCI’s needs

Implementing a LIMS is not as easy as introducing, for example, an office suite such as Microsoft Office, Apple’s iWork or Google Workspace. While powerful off-the-shelf LIMS are available, they must be adapted to each individual application scenario and each organization’s specific workflows.

Sabrina and DELSCI have decided to work with iVention, a Netherlands-based company specialized in cloud-based laboratory informatics solutions, e. g. for food & beverage and manufacturing industries. The adaption of the “iVention Lab Execution Platform” to the DELSCI lab processes was kicked off in January 2021, currently workflows are being configured. Sabrina explains: “We are collaborating closely with iVention, including regular calls and thorough inhouse testing. We are on the right path to launch the LIMS across all three sites within the next few months.”

The LIMS will comprise trial planning, research/measurement data management, chemicals management, equipment management, document storage, result visualization, creation of result reports, and other functions. “After the implementation, all researchers at DELSCI will have quick and easy access to all relevant data,” Sabrina says. “This will help us better keep track and become considerably more efficient!