5 reasons to adopt a LIMS

Laboratories have experienced profound changes these last decades. New technologies allow generating more and more data in a very short time. It also means more material to store and manage.

Sep 2, 2021 • 3 minutes

Laboratory information management systems (LIMS) are powerful tools that automate repetitive tasks, gain efficiency, reduce costs and comply with regulations.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should adopt a LIMS.

1. Optimize laboratory resources

Every resource is precious and need to be fully explored, reducing the loss of time and money. With a LIMS, it becomes far easier to get an overview of available material, its quantity and expiry date.
The experiment plan is thus optimized, to use the material before it expires. On the same line, good resources' management allows planning production or order new stock at a good time. This avoids any process interruption due to a lack of resources and increases productivity.

2. Manage lab space

With the growing quantity of material to store, it is crucial to know every available space ready to invest. With a LIMS all storage spaces and their contents are centralized. Material retrieval is thus easier as well as finding space for the storage of future materials.
Having a complete overview of the storage spaces in real-time avoids the useless purchase of new equipment. On the contrary, it may be a support to justify a need and use the money wisely.

3. Promote teamwork

With your team members or with external collaborators, using a LIMS supports collaboration success. Sharing of resources information, follow-up of consumption by users, transfer and export of information are just a few examples of features usually available in a LIMS and which facilitate teamwork.

4. Standardize the procedures

Consistency is the key to success. The implementation of standardized procedures limits mistakes to happen and accelerates results outcome. The LIMS centralizes all the crucial information, freely and easily accessible for all, which ensures proper lab operation.
The full lifecycle of resources is also covered thanks to the LIMS, from initial storage to consumption by who and when. Standardized and automated procedures ensure the reliability of results and significantly save time for more science.

5. Regulation’s compliance

For legal regulations or strict monitoring requested by founders or investors, in both cases, the utilization of LIMS is a reliable solution to fulfill their expectations, which are growing year after year. Firstly, because all information is recorded and easy to consult and report. Secondly, because every action is tracked and saved. In case of an audit, the LIMS becomes the perfect tool to make it a success.
In the context of clinical studies, human samples usage is highly regulated. A detailed inventory of all stored samples, their consumption and the legal date to use them are recorded into the LIMS and ensures full compliance for the follow-up of the study.