With so much in the news every day about our search for new fuel sources to power the world, from the issues related to fracking and deep-water drilling to tar sands exploration, we think it could be of interest to highlight just how complicated it is to extract oil and gas, to process it and to move it around. Managing safety, consistency, regulatory compliance, efficiency and profitability, often in some of the world’s harshest conditions, is a constant challenge. But this level of complexity can be reduced through a laboratory information management system (LIMS), which is regularly used in the analysis of oil and gas for many reasons that include determining quality and adherence to ISO 17025 regulations.
ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard for which most labs must hold accreditation in order to be deemed technically competent. In many cases, suppliers and regulatory authorities will not accept test or calibration results from a lab that is not accredited. Laboratories use ISO/IEC 17025 to implement a quality system aimed at improving their ability to consistently produce valid results. A prerequisite for a laboratory to become accredited is to have a documented quality management system. The usual contents of the quality manual follow the outline of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.
While many in the oil and gas industry already rely on LIMSs as a way to manage laboratory processes and important data, it is much more than that. Hydrocarbon processing labs are becoming like third-party service labs, meaning that accreditation with standards such as ISO 17025 is no longer just a nice to have, but a necessity to ensure conformance and customer satisfaction.
ISO 17025 compliance in the oil and gas industry isn’t easy, especially in labs still using a paper-based process, but for those labs that take a comprehensive approach, the benefits are significant. Compliance processes can be part of an integrated program that improves overall multi-facility performance. Compliance with ISO 17025 demonstrates a commitment to quality and provides customers the assurance that the laboratory adheres to globally-accepted best practices.
EuSoft.Lab LIMS system supports the efforts of companies in the petrochemical and refining industries to control their processes with rigorous testing and real-time monitoring and helps laboratories meet the ISO 17025 regulation.
EuSoft.Lab LIMS software adopts an innovative and global approach to automating laboratory procedures. Companies within the oil and gas industry get the following benefits from using our LIMS system:
- Create a paper-free system, in accordance with ISO 17025.
- Comply with requirements for automating the analysis, management and monitoring of samples.
- Efficient management of the whole process – sampling by operational staff, delivery to the laboratory, approval of testing requirements and planning with all departments to co-ordinate production plans.
- Meeting all laboratory compliance requirements.
- Provision of an audit trail to track deviations and scattered information so that decisions can be made quickly with the most accurate and up-to-date information.
- Recording the data path and verification (track and audit) to allow all departments to keep track of sampling activities and development activities at every step.
Contact us for a free demo of Eusoft.Lab LIMS! info@eusoft.co.uk
