LIMS Terminology and Concepts

Overview

LIMS work in Validere is organized around sites, streams, and instruments. Forms, workflows, dashboards, and reports are how data is captured and reviewed.

Other Validere documentation sometimes uses Facilities, Flows, and Devices for the same ideas. LIMS articles in this collection use Sites, Streams, and Instruments.

Terms

Term Also called Meaning
Site Facility A user-defined boundary around a collection of assets.
Stream Flow The movement of product (for example oil or gas) between assets or sites through a pipeline, tank, or other path. In LIMS, a stream is typically a sample point.
Instrument Device A physical instrument that takes measurements at a site (for example a CTR, Eravap, Horiba, Rudolph, or Anton Paar analyzer). Instruments organize the measurement data produced at that site.
Form A way to record an activity or measurement in Validere. Forms support manual entry (for example Create Sample) and automated ingest from instruments (for example density or sulphur tests).
Workflow Assigns tasks to users on a schedule (for example weekly density testing) or from a trigger (for example an off-spec result), and serve as a link between samples and tests in LIMS.
Dashboard A saved view of Validere data that can be filtered and exported to CSV or Excel. LIMS dashboards are configured per account.
Report A templated output that aggregates Validere data for email or download. Reports and mailers on are configured per account.

How the pieces fit together

A site holds the instruments used there. Streams are the sample points those instruments test. Forms and workflows move sample and test data into Validere. Dashboards and reports (when configured) are ways to review the data.