The EnviroChain application (avail as a web app and natively for iOS and Android) contains a directory of available testing laboratories. Project managers or engineers in the field (sample generators) do the following:
At the point of sample collection, data is entered into a smartphone or tablet application and uploaded almost instantly right into the information management system at the selected laboratory.
In some ways, the online chain of custody application is really a mechanism to extend the laboratory LIMS into the hands of the consultant.
So rather than the sample data being entered by the lab’s login personnel, the sample data is entered by the sample generator while in the field collecting the samples.
How does the lab know who shipped the samples and what tests to run? Easy. The CoC number is added to a custody seal, which is then affixed to the cooler, and then the cooler is sent to the lab. By the time the samples arrive at the lab, the lab already knows what’s coming. Since the data is already in the lab’s information system, there are no issues with reading a wet and muddy paper chain of custody or trying to decipher a 1 (one) from an I (“eye”). The process is more efficient and far more accurate. And when the cooler arrives at the lab, the sample login personnel know what is supposed to be in the cooler without even opening the cooler.
Jim Young, a licensed geologist and owner of environmental consulting firm Terraine, helped develop the system with Promium and uses it in his work in the field. “I’m able to enter data right at the time I collect the samples, or sometimes I might enter the information when I get back to my truck,” says Young. “Either way, I’m saving a ton of time because a lot of the information is pre-loaded and then I’m just tapping a few buttons. The whole process is super easy and takes hardly any time at all, and even works when there’s no cell service or wifi available.”
The benefits extend beyond increasing efficiency, as Young explains. “The best part is that I know the lab is instantly getting my information. And I don’t worry about them misreading my hand-written CoC or making a mistake when they type sample data into their system. It’s all automatically uploaded.”
EnviroChain has several technical integration points that include:
Laboratories that don’t have EnviroChain fully implemented on their end—so data wouldn’t be uploaded into the system—are still able to send a PDF copy of the CoC to the lab and other stakeholders. This means that engineering firms can use EnviroChain for all their data collection regardless of the labs they use.
There is no cost for sample generators to use the system. A modest fee is charged to the laboratory for each transaction if data is uploaded. That fee is still far less for the lab than the cost of doing data entry and managing a paper-based system.
More and more companies are asking to go paperless. And just like email is replacing snail mail, and online banking is eliminating check writing, over time the online chain of custody will replace the use of paper CoCs. For engineering and consulting firms that are interested in improving their operations now, EnviroChain offers an opportunity to leverage new technology in order to increase efficiency and accuracy.