Delivering on customer expectations is a shared and common goal for laboratories. Whether they are internal or external to your organisation, delighting customers is the ultimate reward for your work.  Even when you have documented, implemented and trained procedures,

Many laboratories operate as a standalone business or as a supporting function within a larger organisation.  Their goal is to provide accurate test data quickly, so their customers (internal or external) can make decisions.  In a competitive market, how can laboratories increase

Last month, we exhibited at Making Pharmaceuticals, the UK’s largest pharmaceutical event. Over the 2-day programme, attendees and exhibitors networked and discussed the latest industry trends in manufacturing, outsourcing and quality.

There is a common perception that laboratories run on cutting edge technology to help them perform precise analytical techniques. For some laboratories, this may be true, but there are still several laboratories that use paper notebooks, excel spreadsheets or software (decades old) to record and process test results.

In this article we discuss four of the most common misconceptions about data security.

#1 "Desktop is more secure than web applications."

Desktop programs run locally on a PC whereas web applications run in a web browser via the internet.  Most people believe data stored through a desktop program is more secure than browser based applications because the perceived control over data. Not all desktop programs store data within the local network.  Some desktop programs access, send and store data on remote servers which is the same data storage method as web applications.

When you walk into the lab to start your shift, do you get excited to launch your LIMS or do you dread to use it because it’s too complicated? We all want to be excited to use LIMS, but in reality, there are so many reasons why we’re stuck with this complicated beast of a LIMS that we don’t want to use. “The business can’t afford to upgrade the system”, “We don’t have time to manage the project if we did change systems”, “The business bought this system without consulting the users so we have to use it” – the list of reasons could go on and on. Despite all the obvious reasons for not being excited to use a LIMS, there are genuine quality operational concerns for a lab using a LIMS too complicated for its users. These operational concerns are what I call the ‘side-effect’– muda.

Most businesses seek to nurture their relationships with clients, but successful businesses enchant their customers. They go above and beyond by creating a magical experience that earns repeat business and referrals. The magic flows when a company creates a good product and provides great service, supporting the client as their business grows. A dynamic company like Broughton Software seeks to meet their clients’ expectations through responsiveness, empathy, anticipation of needs, and honesty. Other practices include accountability, insight, and consistency.

As one of the largest UK pharmaceutical conferences, The Pharmacy Show provides a great forum to meet other pharmacy professionals in the community.  Located at the NEC Birmingham, The Pharmacy Show attracted many visitor and exhibitors of which Broughton Software had the pleasure to meet.  A hot topic this year was the regulations regarding electronic cigarettes, and we are excited to have had the opportunity to meet with so many companies in a continually evolving industry.  We look forward to attending another great show next year.