A SMARTER WAY OF WORKING

Labware LIMS expansion for Ballitore, Drogheda and Lough Egish

LIMS is Glanbia Ireland’s Laboratory Information Management System which will be rolled out to our sites in Ballitore, Drogheda and Lough Egish by November of this year. Labware LIMS was first deployed over five years ago and is currently utilised in four sites under Glanbia Ireland Ingredients (Ballyragget, Belview, Virginia and Wexford) and globally in four sites under Glanbia Nutritionals.

A LIMS system offers a set of key features that support a modern laboratory’s operations:

  • Results recording
  • Workflow and data tracking support
  • Sample management, audit management
  • Lab equipment management
  • Compliance with US/EU electronic signature regulations
  • Data exchange interfaces with other systems (including SAP)
  • Delivery of LIMS to the additional sites is already having an impact on the functionality of Lab operations. Some of the key developments include:
  • Create new visual workflow for milk testing and add functionality to manually log samples from sampling points
  • Lot results transfer from sister site to propagate results to containers
  • Create MES interfaces to share data intelligently between systems
  • UHT milk stability testing (shelf life)
  • Finished product testing – create on demand Lot template for finished product testing, auto release Lots with micro testing complete
  • External interface with labs to improve efficiencies with results receipt
  • Automatically generate ‘COA’ (Certificates of Analysis) and issue to customers

“The incorporation of the system into these sites is a milestone in achieving a shared platform for laboratory information management as part of the overall GI digital strategy,” says Liam Sheehy Quality IT Systems Manager.

Speaking of her experience of LIMS at Ballitore, Bernie Shanahan, Site Quality Head said: “The Labware implementation in Ballitore has not only allowed us to take full control of the system and its functions, but allowed us to create a smarter way of working through the automated generation of reports etc. It has brought a revived enthusiasm to the laboratory and has allowed staff to have an input in making the system as efficient as possible.”

With the implementation of this system in Ballitore, Drogheda and Lough Egish, we are aligning processes and bringing a solution that is supportable for the foreseeable future. The next steps will include the expansion of our ‘Key Users’ forum by empowering the local quality teams to manage changes within the system following successful completion of a training program.