A few months ago the chiller on our ICP analyzer quit working. This caused major headaches for our environmental lab where we analyze many samples for metals on weekly and monthly intervals. We had to send out samples to other labs and lose our potential profits.

When I called the manufacturer, they asked me for a serial number, date of purchase, model #, warranty plan and several other questions I could not readily answer. The chiller was from a third party and could only be repaired under warranty but only if our lab had a specific clause in our contract and maintained a service plan. It turns out we were out of luck. We lost time and money and had to replace this expensive piece of lab equipment.

As the facilities manager I was determined to never let something like this happen again so I went on a search for an affordable, yet easy to use equipment maintenance software program. We searched the web in hopes to find a program that managed equipment maintenance schedules and frequently ordered parts. Also, some of our instruments have to be calibrated on a schedule to satisfy the lab certification inspectors.

The biggest issue with most calibration software was the high initial cost and ongoing maintenance charges. These were full of icons and were difficult to use. They wanted extra for custom reports, set-up and training. It just wasn't worth the time and money.

Luckily my partner came across Lablite CMT from the Lablite software developers who offer LIMS and several affordable products to manage data in labs and treatment plants. We took an online demo and were excited by Lablite's answer to our issues. This software covers calibration, maintenance and training records and it was a no brainer purchase to protect our equipment, save money and maintain certification records.

After some legwork around the lab finding manuals, serial numbers and other info, we have Lablite CMT smoothing the waters. I get reports about preventive maintenance sent to me automatically and I can look up part numbers, costs and much more anytime. It's a good deal.