Monday, October 12, 2020

Introduction

For enterprise laboratories, instrument downtime is a major barrier to achieving maximum efficiency and can result in wasted samples, decreased throughput and increased turnaround times. A lack of connectivity between instruments and data management systems both within and between laboratories limits the opportunity to identify and respond to potential issues before they cause instruments to go down and can even prolong unexpected downtime. Indeed, when instruments are operated in silos, collating and sharing the data that is required to rapidly assess and troubleshoot technical issues is much more challenging, leaving teams without the insight they need to get the systems back up and running.

In this article, we explore how modern digital tools can facilitate the simplified monitoring and servicing of systems and enable easier data transfer between teams, allowing for earlier identification and resolution of problems to maximize instrument uptime.

The Impact of Instrument Downtime

When an instrument goes down, it disrupts workflows and causes delays, leading to potentially serious consequences across industries and organizations. For instance, workflow disruption adversely affects contract laboratories that need to meet client timelines, with missed deadlines potentially leading to loss of customers and revenue. Meanwhile, for clinical laboratories that must process results within a day or two, delays could mean failing to immediately diagnose and treat critical patients. Alternatively, in QA/QC laboratories, delays can trickle down to the food or drug supply chain, stopping the timely delivery of vital food supplies or of crucial therapeutics to patients.

Furthermore, instrument downtime increases the risk of wasting or losing valuable samples, which could be costly to replace and time consuming to acquire. Worse still, in some cases, samples are irreplaceable, causing loss of revenue for laboratories and devastation for patients who might have to undergo repeat procedures for sample acquisition. Ultimately, this could lead to further delays in diagnosis or treatment.

Unforeseen instrument downtime often requires a visit from a technician—which can increase maintenance costs and extend the time the instrument is out of play. Hands-on maintenance is a particular issue for facilities in remote locations, and has been a heightened consideration during social distancing restrictions due to COVID-19, which make it logistically more challenging to get maintenance teams on-site to service or fix instruments.

Cutting Downtime Through Connectivity

Despite the clear problems brought about by instrument downtime, it is still a common challenge across laboratories. However, it is possible to minimize downtime through advanced data management platforms that integrate and connect instruments and systems. With an integrated system, scientists can track an instrument’s status or an experiment’s progress from another location or a different device, making it easier to quickly identify and respond to potential issues, preventing avoidable downtime and minimizing the additional costs associated with unplanned maintenance. If instrument failure does occur, the ability to share data virtually can streamline issue resolution through remote sharing of data and information with service partners, possibly eliminating the need for an in-person visit.

To avoid the repercussions of downtime, laboratories can turn to digital solutions that increase connectivity and facilitate remote support, thereby improving uptime and productivity.

Digital Solutions Maximize Uptime and Productivity

A range of digital solutions are available to help avoid the issues associated with downtime. These digital solutions include:

Cloud-based data management platforms: These platforms harness the power of the cloud to enable access to data anytime, anywhere and on any device, providing greater visibility and flexibility. Cloud-based technologies allow for better connectivity within and between enterprise laboratory facilities, making it easier to view, manage and share data among teams, thereby improving collaboration and helping users resolve issues faster. Data management platforms hosted on the cloud also have application, network and system security measures to protect data from compromise, preventing unauthorized access and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. Additionally, these platforms have backup and recovery procedures to maintain availability in case of a system failure, so laboratories do not lose critical data and scientists can continue to access data even when systems are down, or instruments are offline.

Remote monitoring: Monitoring instruments and equipment remotely offers scientists the flexibility to keep an eye on their experiments anytime, anywhere and allows for quicker detection of issues, especially when monitoring in real time. For example, scientists receive real-time status alerts when monitoring their experiments using modern technologies, such as Thermo Scientific Almanac. With systems like this, users can view an experiment’s progress, track current results, see how much time is left, and check whether an experiment completes successfully or if an error occurs. They can also receive instrument utilization reports to evaluate usage over time, as well as a simplified and standardized recording of instrument activities such as calibration and configuration changes, helping users to identify when servicing may be required.

Remote monitoring can help reduce unnecessary distractions and complications without risking equipment failures, and can be achieved through either purpose-built equipment or the addition of monitoring devices to existing systems. For instance, ultra-low temperature freezers are paramount in protecting biological samples and preserving their integrity, but monitoring and maintaining these freezers takes time and effort, and if a problem is missed or not attended to immediately, it might lead to an irrecoverable loss. Advanced solutions, such as the Thermo Scientific Smart Connected Services feature for freezer monitoring, enable technical support teams to easily view and analyze key performance data from freezers so they can identify out-of-specification operation before it becomes a bigger issue, and recommend preventive maintenance measures ahead of a part malfunction. This can lower the risk of freezer failure, leading to reduced maintenance costs, minimal downtime, and enhanced safety and integrity of samples. Moreover, scientists can focus their time on analysis and meaningful scientific work rather than worrying about the integrity of sample storage.

Remote servicing: Through remote servicing, support is provided virtually with access to technical assistance. This is especially beneficial for remote sites, or to ensure adherence to restrictions posed by events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote servicing also removes the time lag associated with on-site maintenance and enables rapid troubleshooting and problem-solving, with some service providers successfully resolving up to 35% of issues remotely.

Additionally, remote servicing platforms can take advantage of immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR). Through AR, technical support specialists are virtually transported into laboratories so they can identify the problem and troubleshoot technical difficulties, even if an instrument is offline.

Remote Servicing in Action: Helping Remove Geographical Barriers

There has been an increased demand for remote servicing solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with these solutions proving vital for business continuity in the face of unforeseen events. For instance, a facility in China classed as an essential service, still required maintenance of its instruments when its city went into lockdown. Using remote support tools, technicians and engineers performed repairs and monitored instruments despite not being on-site. They kept the facility operational for over two months during the lockdown, resolving nine critical instrument issues over that period and proactively responding to hundreds of system alerts to prevent an estimated 1,100+ hours of downtime.

Digital solutions, like remote servicing, can also create new possibilities for communities located in geographically isolated areas. Following a catastrophic event in eastern Africa during the summer of 2019, DNA profiling was used to help identify victims [1]. However, in the course of running the samples on the rapid DNA identification system, local scientists encountered a connectivity and software issue. As the need to identify victims was pressing, service engineers employed an augmented reality-enabled remote support tool to swiftly address the problem, so local scientists did not have to wait for a field service engineer to fix the issue on-site.

Moreover, users in remote areas can take advantage of any self-guided training modules, which may come in the form of online courses or even 3D learning experiences. Virtual, on-demand training makes it faster and easier to train new team members, and enables users to quickly learn how a new instrument works and gain confidence in operating it independently.

A Glimpse of the Future: Boosting Uptime and Connectivity

Looking to the future, service partners are finding new ways to further improve connectivity for enterprise laboratories. For instance, instead of a remote servicing experience where users speak to different support teams that use varying approaches to solve issues depending on the instrument or system, service partners are moving toward employing the same contact methods, tools and technologies to report and resolve issues, as well as implementing similar uptime and response time guarantees for all customers. Creating a more consistent experience streamlines the remote servicing process, enabling support teams to get instruments and systems up and running again quickly.

An added initiative to boost connectivity and uptime includes the use of data to drive a more intelligent response and shorten resolution time. Making remote and advanced digital capabilities, such as AR, available across a wider range of instrument and equipment types is another forward-looking effort to save time and break down geographical barriers.

Conclusion

Digital solutions are key for enterprise laboratories. Cloud-based data management platforms allow for better connectivity and collaboration within and among facilities, while remote monitoring enables faster issue detection, continued productivity amid unexpected events and enhanced sample protection, ultimately saving time and costs, and reducing delays. Meanwhile, remote servicing provides a way to overcome geographical limitations, creating new opportunities for isolated areas and previously underserved communities. These benefits demonstrate the vital role digital solutions play in helping enterprise laboratories increase uptime through improved connectivity, and ensuring that science doesn’t have to wait.

Patricia A. Miller is a Sr. Product Manager for Thermo Fisher Scientific