The Gap Between LIMS Capabilities and Environmental Monitoring Needs (White Paper)

While laboratory tests are an important part of environmental monitoring (EM) operations, the EM workflow is complex and the EM workplace presents a unique set of challenges. Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) LIMS products bring a wide range of functions to help automate the analytical laboratory, but struggle to meet the unique challenges of the EM operation. This paper reviews the workflow typically found in EM operations to identify the needs of the EM organization. It matches the capabilities of commercial LIMS to these needs, and discusses the LIMS customizations that would be required to close these gaps. It also discusses two alternative approaches to building an interface between an EM-specific product, such as the MODA™ solution, and a commercial LIMS.