For today's analytical laboratories to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, they must use integrated electronic systems. The paperless laboratory is a vision of the analytical laboratory of the near future. It features flexible electronic systems designed to manage, review, store and report analytical information more effectively.
The paperless laboratory of the future is radically different from the typical paper-burdened analytical lab of today. Under the current system, samples and records typically are generated from one of three sources: a product/material release system (new products), a stability system (concerned with shelf life), or a sample request system (requests for analysis). These databases sometimes reside on three separate computer mainframes. Records and samples are delivered manually to a central sample distribution center, where technicians sort them and deliver them to the appropriate laboratories for testing. At the labs, technicians enter the samples manually into individual laboratory sample tracking systems, and then ...
