Water & Wastewater Industry LIMS

Laboratory Information Management Software for Water & Wastewater Labs

Confience LIMS for the Water & Wastewater Industry

The producers of potable water are under increasing demands to meet the needs of an exploding global population. Confience specializes in providing the tools and support water and wastewater labs needs to analyze samples, manage data, and provide custom reporting – all to help meet the world’s thirst for clean drinking water.

Sample Receiving

Barcoding (1D) labels on demand or preparing barcoded sample labels for pre-login samples which were previously scheduled.

Automatically print labels upon login, a login report, a Chain of custody report and more. Login team members can also receive pre-logged samples, scan the barcoded label and have them automatically be “received into the laboratory”. Users can set up pre-configured projects, such as monthly samplings, assign all required sample sites, tests, methods along with any associated QC and define any special report template that should be used, so that all that is needed at login is a quick scan and the project is logged into the system.

Wet Chemistry

Since not all wet chemistry is fully automated, there is still a need for chemists to document results, which can ideally be documented on a tablet. The small, portable size makes it perfect for the wet chemistry laboratory and all data can be uploaded to the LIMS in real time. Confience’s LIMS products offer features that maximize efficiency with integrated, automated calculations, instrument interfacing (direct connections with balances, spectrophotometers, pH and oxygen meters, Ion Chromatographs for direct data import) and assist with reagent tracking.

Field Sample Collection

Collectors sample various locations throughout their distribution systems from influents, hydrants, raw, and source waters to effluents, discharges, outfalls, streams, rivers as well as customer complaint samples. Confience’s LIMS solutions can import field data from YSI Sondes, collect meta data with our Confience LIMS product line providing convenience to the field collectors and real-time data to those back in the laboratory. In addition, paper chain of custody forms can be eliminated along with the time required to re-key in data from those field collection forms.

Inorganic Metals

Instrumentation, such as FTIR, AA’s, GFAA, ICP, and ICP mass Spectrophotometers along with auto samplers have helped to increase the throughput of samples for analysis. Users can generate worklists or bench sheets to better organize their workload. We have a comprehensive library with over 450 different instruments previously interfaced with Confience’s LIMS! ATL solutions support both unidirectional and bi-directional instrument interfaces.

Import Worklists and Export Data from Instruments

Eliminate transcription errors
Increase accuracy and throughput
Accelerate productivity
Leverage barcoding

Confience LIMS products help the analyst with record keeping of the preparation process before analysis. From simple digestions, hot block, microwave to the more complex leaching followed by digestion preparations, ATL’s LIMS records each step of the process and monitors hold times. Other features that accelerate productivity include: sample preparation tracking, Report on a Dry Weight basis and TCLP and SPLP Leachates.

Organics

Laboratories leverage instrumentation such as gas chromatographs, and gas chromatographs with mass spectroscopy to analyze organics along with FID (flame ion detectors). All can be interfaced with Confience’s LIMS to accelerate turnaround time trace steps required by preparation (i.e. purge and trap) methods and record the exact lot numbers, expiration dates and volumes of reagents used in the preparation. Laboratories can better manage sample concentrations, clean up, and solvent exchanges, and automatically have Prep Factors calculated and ready to be applied to analysis. Worklists can automatically be exported and an import of results from instruments, managing preparation steps and storing notes, provid chemists with the tools to increase their productivity, efficiency and generate high quality data.

Upload Worklists from the LIMS and Download Data from Instruments into the LIMS

Eliminate transcription errors
Increase accuracy and throughput
Accelerate productivity
Leverage barcoding

Confience has a comprehensive library with over 450 different instruments previously interfaced with our LIMS. Confience solutions include unidirectional and bi-directional instrument interfaces.

Microbiology

Many microbiology tests are subjective and require detailed interpretations, or alphanumeric results (positive, negative, > or <, TNTC, etc.). All are fully supported in Confience’s LIMS. Instrument integration is also popular for laboratories that are leveraging automated microbiology workstations which support barcodes. Additional tests built into Confience’s LIMS include a MPN calculator, Membrane Filtration with the ability to calculate the final result and account for dilutions, Fecal and Total Coliforms, Coilert, Colisure, HPC, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and many more.

Calculations/QA/QC

Calculations are set up, verified and validated, so that users no longer have to perform hand calculations. Automated calculations accelerate workflows, increase throughput and efficiency. Quality Assurance and Quality Control features include automated calculations of mean, standard deviation and control limits. Users can generate various types of charts including control charts, view trends, and compare analysts for workload and data quality.

Standard calculations include, solids, moisture, gravimetric calculations, Langlier Index, MPN (Most Probable Number), BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand), and many others. Automated calculations enhance data quality (by eliminating transcription errors) and provide a full history from raw data to final result. There is no need for anyone to perform calculations by hand on a calculator or in Excel. In addition to tacking the history of each sample, there is a complete audit trail – which includes all data related to any modifications of approved results.

Reporting and Result Point

Automated reporting saves time and facilitates communication across the organization. Confience’s Result Point, is a secure web portal, which provides engineers, consultants and others in your organization access to sample status and results 24/7. Result Point also includes a permit editor which can be configured to show which months of the year the permits are active. All data is encrypted for additional security. Users can download Excel files, images, pdfs of final reports, as well as electronic data deliverables (EDDs) for state or federal reporting. Samples that have exceeded limits are highlighted and there is a news editor for communicating news items with you internal customers.

Typical Reports include:

Backlog, Production, Daily Coliform, Trihalomethane, Bromate, Perchlorate, Synthetic Organics, Inorganic, Haloacetic Acid, Total Organic Carbon, Volatile Organics, Disinfection By-Product, Nitrate and Nitrite, Lead and Copper, Iron and Manganese, Inorganic and Metals Analyses, Customer Concern, Point-of-Entry Water Quality, Distribution Water Quality, Bacteriological, DMR (Discharge Monitoring Report), Chain of Custody (COC), Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

Enterprise Integration

Confience’s solutions have been interfaced with a number of different software solutions which include numerous ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), SCADA systems (Wonderware), iHistorian, Almax’s Operator 10, HACH WIMS, WaterTrax, Linko, Enfotech, and many others. Confience’s LIMS are also able to import data automatically from contract laboratories commercial systems.

For more advanced statistical analysis, we offer integration with NWA Quality Analyst and SAS JMP software packages.

Accounting

We offer out of the box in integration with several popular accounting packages including QuickBooks and Peachtree. Other packages for which customer specific custom interfaces have been created include JD Edwards, Great Plains, Sage, SAP ERP and others. Never re-key accounting information in again, save time, eliminate transcription errors and accelerate productivity.