With years of experience as a laboratory technician and IT professional, Corné Nous knows better than anyone what problems laboratory technicians encounter with data exchange in the lab. In his view, open standards are part of the solution: “Applying standards helps with the processing, reviewing and archiving of instrument data.”
Corné was trained as a Biochemical Analyst and worked for almost 30 years as a laboratory technician and ultimately an IT employee at Organon (later MSD). Eight years ago he decided to continue as an independent consultant. “I help laboratories to properly organize the application landscape and data management.”
IT wall
With experience in both the laboratory and in ICT, Corné understands the problems involved. “When I started in laboratory automation, we bought a server and an audio rack to store all the computers. At a certain point, IT was separated from the lab and a separate department was created. Lack of understanding is therefore often the cause of discussion between departments. The IT department does not always understand that a laboratory computer has different requirements than an office computer. The result is that laboratory technicians encounter an IT wall full of technical terms and rules that they cannot overcome.”
“When I start working at a company, I help to further promote the problem and find the right contacts within IT. I try to take them further than the helpdesk. This way I bridge the gap between the laboratory and IT.”
“With this I bridge the gap between the laboratory and IT.”
Unreadable data
“Many laboratories work with standalone environments. This is a standalone computer, with an associated instrument. The data is stored on a local hard drive or on a network drive. The instruments often work with proprietary software, so if you no longer have the device, the data becomes unreadable.” Due to stricter regulations on data integrity, it is important to keep this data available. Corné: “Strict legislation applies, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. In some cases you are obliged to keep data for up to 30 years.”
Quality process
This not only plays a role in archiving data, but also in assessing it. “If you work with standard tools to view your data, you can move from local computers to a central way of working,” says Corné. “When assessing data, everyone can go through the same process on their own office computer. This makes the quality process more consistent.”
In addition, there are more and more options to get more out of your data, says Corné.
“There is a lot of potential in using data for predictive maintenance. For example, you can make predictions based on the analysis quality. Little is being done about this at the moment, but the prospects are promising.”
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