Equipment management in the lab: from paper file to cloud-based application

BCCM/LMG is a bacterial culture collection with more than 26,000 characterized strains. The laboratory - affiliated with Labo Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University - uses more than 250 devices for the processing of the received bacteria. Jindrich Peiren, Technology Manager at BCCM/LMG, has implemented a cloud-based application for consulting crucial information from laboratory devices using Microsoft SharePoint and PowerApps.

BCCM/LMG has approximately 250 active laboratory devices, each with a unique identification number. Until 2015, a paper file was created for each issue where information about the device and its maintenance was kept. “Along with a manual, a hard copy document was added to the file on which the life cycle of the device was manually recorded, such as maintenance, calibrations and defects. For example, we also had a maintenance planner consisting of A4 sheets of paper taped together hanging on the wall on which the time of the maintenance or calibration carried out was indicated with a ballpoint pen. The details of this action were then written down in the paper file. An incredibly decentralized and labor-intensive system.”

From paper to digital

In 2015, Peiren started the transition from the paper archive to a digital database using Microsoft Access. “All information then ended up in the database. In the following years we further expanded the system and implemented new applications and automations. I only had the problem of the labels on the devices. Each device has an identification label showing who is responsible for it. If an employee left or a responsibility changed, the labels had to be replaced manually. In addition, it was not user-friendly: the label had no direct link to the device's documentation. If you were standing next to the device and wanted to look up something in the manual, you first had to find out where the manual was, sometimes near the device, but usually in the paper file, which resulted in a lot of walking back and forth.”

SharePoint

In 2014, SharePoint was introduced at Ghent University, to which BCCM/LMG is affiliated. “SharePoint was initially used as a document management system within our laboratory in 2017. Two years ago, Ghent University switched from SharePoint 2.0 to SharePoint Online as part of M365. The online version also came with a tool called PowerApps. This gave me the idea to provide all devices with a label with a QR code. If you scan the code with a mobile device, you will arrive at an application with crucial information about that device and you will be referred to the SharePoint site behind the app for associated documents, such as the manual.”

After some IT technical obstacles, the cloud-based application was launched within BCCM/LMG in June 2023. “The biggest advantage is that we can manage all information centrally from the database. You no longer have to change anything in different places or on the device itself. For example, we no longer have to replace labels on the devices.” And the reactions are positive. “Scanning the QR code immediately gives you the necessary information about the device. It is also very nice if you do a lab tour to check whether all the data is correct. With the smartphone or tablet in hand, the application shows a list of all active devices and you can scroll through, search or filter,” Peiren explains.

Inspiration

In addition to more efficient operation within the BCCM/LMG laboratory, the intention is also to inspire other laboratories and services within Ghent University to get started with this. “We are such a large institution, it will take some time before a similar application can be rolled out across the university. But it can be an inspiration for smaller laboratories, which do not have the largest budgets, to get started with this themselves. A first step has already been taken.”