Element LIMS Self-guided Demonstration

A Work Order is defined as a group of samples that arrived at the same time from a given Client via a Chain of Custody (COC) or manifest. Work Orders and Samples may be entered into Element LIMS, using a variety of login strategies, with varying levels of automation.

1. To create a Work Order, select the “Work Order” icon (first icon on the left) from the gray workflow toolbar or select “Work Orders” from the Sample Control drop-down menu in the navigation bar. Note that all required fields are marked with an asterisk.
2. Select the “Add” icon (+) in the main taskbar of the newly opened dialog.
3. Select “Compliance Testing” from the Client drop-down list.
4. Select “Lead Testing” from the Project drop-down list.
5. Enter a temperature in the “Cooler Temp” field of the main workspace.
6. Select “Save” but do not close the dialog. A unique work order number for this client project is automatically assigned in the main panel. Take note of this work order number as it is specific to your demonstration session.

Once a work order is created, samples may now be logged in under that work order.

1. Select “Samples” on the main panel for the work order you created or select “Samples” from the Sample Control drop-down in the navigation bar.
2. In the new window that opens, select the “Add” icon in the main taskbar and select “Project Sample” from the drop-down.
3. Double-click the sample named “Lead Water Sample” that appears in the Samples table, or right-click and choose “Include Selection.” This will populate sample template information set up for this project.
4. Update the Sample Name field to “Well 01.”
5. You can review “Analyses” and “Containers” in the main panel. These have been populated based on the sample template set up for this project sample. Additional analyses and containers could be added at this time if needed.
6. Select the “Save” icon in the main taskbar.
7. Select the “Copy” icon in the main taskbar and choose “Multiple Samples” from the drop-down.
8. Enter the sample name “Well 02” in the Sample Name field. Enter a quantity of “5” into the Sample Count field, check the Auto-Increment check box, click the “Add” button, then the save icon in the Advanced Copy dialog.
9. Select “Ok” to the pop pop-up stating that the save was successful. Close the Advance Copy dialog to continue.
10. Select “Ok” to the pop-up stating that the save was successful. Close the Advance Copy dialog to continue. You can view each sample by selecting the appropriate sample number in the “Active Samples” drop-down on the main panel (left side of screen).

Note: Prior to closing the window, you can preview and print copies of the work order and sample labels by selecting the printer icon.

Once samples have been added to a work order, they may now be added to a Batch. A Batch is an umbrella of information for a given preparation method. There may be many analyses defined for the same batch, as long as the preparation is the same. Create a new batch, or copy a previous batch with similar preparation criteria, to create a new unique identifier.

1. Select “Batches” from the Laboratory drop-down menu in the navigation bar or the “Batches” icon from the workflow toolbar.
2. Select the “Add” icon in the main taskbar.
3. Select “Metals” from the Department drop-down list.
4. Select “EPA 200.7” from the Preparation Method drop-down list.
5. Select “Water” from the Batch Matrix drop-down list.
6. Select “Analyses” on the Batch main panel, then select the “Add Analysis” icon from the workspace taskbar, and choose add by “Preparation” from the drop-down list.
7. Find “Lead 200.7 Total” from the Analyses in preparation dialog and double-click , or right-click and select “Include Selection.” Close the Analyses in preparation dialog to continue.
8. Select “Samples” from the Batch main panel and select the “Add Sample” icon from the workspace taskbar. Choose “Client Sample (by container)” from the drop-down to open a table of available samples to add to the batch.
9. Highlight all samples in the table (these are the samples that you created earlier in this demonstration) then right-click and select “Include Selection” to include them in the batch. Highlight by selecting the box to the left of the first entry, holding the shift key and selecting the box to the left of the last row. Close the Valid Sample Containers dialog to continue. Note that required QC samples are automatically added to the bench sheet once client samples have been added. Default QC samples are defined during the analysis set up.
10. To assign a standard ID to the Blank Spike and Matrix Spike QC samples, hold down the control key and select the rows for “BS1,” “MS1,” and “MSD1.” Select the More icon from the taskbar or right-click and select More, and select “Add Spikes”.
11. Double-click on the “Lead Spike” in the table of available spike mixes to choose it. Select “Done,” then close the All Spike mixes dialog to continue.
12. To associate Matrix Spike QC Samples with a source sample, select the two Matrix Spike sample rows again, select the More Functions icon from the taskbar or right click and select More, and select “Add Source”. Double-click on the first sample in the table to choose it. Close the Batch Samples table to continue.
13. Select the “Save” icon in the main taskbar to save the batch but do not close the main Batch dialog.

Take note of the Batch number highlighted in the Batch field. This will be your batch for this demonstration session.

Once samples are batched and analyses are performed, data is entered, and results can be reviewed for general analysis and approval.  For this demonstration, you will enter the data manually. Once your system is implemented, the Element DataTool functionality provides automated import of data directly from instrument data files.

1. On the Batch dialog main panel, select “Data Entry”.
2. Select the “Create” icon from the main taskbar to create a unique line item in the database for each sample analyte in the batch.  Enter the following results in the Result column for each applicable sample:
   LabNumber-01: 0
   LabNumber-02: 100
   LabNumber-03: 200
   LabNumber-04: 200
   LabNumber-05: 200
   LabNumber-06: 200
   LabNumber-BLK: 0
   LabNumber-BS1: 0.04
   LabNumber-MS: 0.04
   LabNumber-MSD: 0.04
3. Select “Save” and then select the “Data Review” button on the Data Post Results screen that opens. You can now view final results (FResult) as well as see the QC sample recoveries and MSD1 relative percent difference.
4. Update Batch status from Batched to Reviewed by selecting the “Edit” icon, then highlighting the “Status” column (you may have to scroll to the right) and selecting the “Status Update” icon on the workspace taskbar or right-click and select “Status Update” then “Update to Reviewed.”
5.  Select “Save” to save the status update then select “Ok” on the “Data Post Results” screen that opens, but do not close the main Data Entry dialog.

Results are now reportable. Data Reports, Packages, EDDs and Invoices are automatically generated as Work Order status advancement. Work Order level Delivery Options enable automatic generation of specific deliverable formats as the sample data becomes reportable.  Note that for this demonstration, manual creation of deliverables is used.

1. Select “Approval and Delivery” from the Deliverables drop-down menu in the navigation bar or select the “Approval and Delivery” icon from the workflow toolbar.  The Work Order created in the demo should automatically be selected in the main panel. If not, select the appropriate checkbox.
2. Highlight the two deliverables showing in the main workspace by holding the control key and clicking each of the two rows.  Select the “Create Report” icon on the workspace taskbar. A green progress bar will display at the bottom of your screen until report generation is complete.
3. Scroll to the “File Name” column and select each file name link to review the PDF for each deliverable type. Close the PDF after viewing.
4. Select all deliverables again and then select the “Update Deliverable Status” icon on the workspace taskbar.  Update status to Approved, enter the password “Elementdemo,” then select Done. Select “Yes” to add approved deliverables to the Email Queue, then “Ok.” This step automates delivery to client contacts.

Control Charts may be generated manually or automatically. Saved queries may be built and used for analyses, analytes, analysts or extraction technicians’ ongoing DOCs.

1. Select the “Control Chart” icon from the workflow toolbar or select “Control Charts” from the QA drop-down menu in the navigation bar.
2. From the “Saved Query” drop-down, choose “Lead 200.7 Total” and click the “Refresh” icon on the main taskbar.
3. Use the “Analyte” drop-down to view control charts per analyte (in this case Lead), and “Chart Type” drop-down to view QC sample type. Select “MS%R,” and you will see all Matrix Spike recoveries plotted against the QC acceptance limits for the Lead analyte, as well as statistical evaluation of the data points.
4. By right-clicking on the chart and selecting “View Chart Data” from the “More Functions” drop-down, the data points used to create the chart may be viewed. Control Chart graphs may also be printed or saved as an image, and data may also be printed or exported to Excel using the “More Functions” drop-down.
5. You can view criteria that can be applied to Control Charts by selecting “Options” and “Rules” on the main panel.
6. Select “Notifications” to view configuration for automated distribution. Control Charts may be automatically delivered to selected users by selecting an interval and adding the desired user contact.