Automating manual data entry and integrating with 3rd party software for a custom chemical solutions manufacturer delivered two headline results:
- Manual labor reduction of ~40%
- Human error reduction
Problem
Our client is one of the leading manufacturers of chemical standards in the USA, producing tens of thousands of unique chemical solutions for laboratories around the world. Every one of those solutions requires its own unique Safety Data Sheet (SDS) — a document detailing the blend’s chemical composition, precautionary and hazard statements, handling instructions, and other essential safety information.
The sheer volume of manual data entry needed to produce these custom SDS documents had become overwhelming. With production reaching as many as 100 custom solutions daily, staff were spending hours every day typing detailed chemical information into a website provided by a third-party safety compliance service.
To keep costs in line and reduce errors, our client needed a more accurate and efficient way to generate SDSs. On top of the internal pressure to improve the process, they also had to comply with more stringent labeling standards — the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) — which made the project time sensitive.
Solution
Techlancer developed custom BPA (Business Process Automation) software that lets the client’s LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) communicate directly with the third-party software to generate an SDS. The LIMS then retrieves the data and produces GHS-compliant documentation, drastically reducing the need for manual data entry or human intervention.
Results / Outcomes
- Manual labor reduction of ~40%
- Human error reduction
Capabilities Demonstrated
- Business Process Improvement
- Business Process Improvement Assessment
- Business Process Automation (BPA) software development
- Custom 3rd-party software integration
- User training
- Exception handling and alerting
- Web Portal Development
- Cloud integration
Overview
Working closely with the client’s Regulatory Officer, Product Document Supervisor, and a team from the third-party safety data sheet compliance service, Techlancer built an automated system that allows the client’s LIMS to communicate directly with the compliance service and generate an SDS. The chemical formula and custom blend information is exported into the format designated by the compliance service and transferred via secure FTP for processing.
Once the SDS is generated, the client’s LIMS retrieves the data and produces GHS-compliant documentation — eliminating most of the manual data entry and human intervention the old process required.
Features
- Third-party integration
- Windows Task Scheduler
- File Transfer Protocol Secure (FTPS)
Technologies
- Microsoft SQL Server
- .NET, MVC, Entity Framework
- Visual Basic (VB)