Paperless Workstation – Most Crucial Breakthrough in Next Normal
How do you handle essential data for your company? For pharmaceutical companies that are still following manual procedures, data processing is a necessary but challenging job. Researchers and observers fill out full details in paper notebooks in certain laboratories. Researchers and analysts spend much time and effort on such unnecessary and repetitive jobs. That’s why paperless quality management software for all ISO standards is so important.
Moreover, when no one is ready to interpret the gold mine in paper laboratories, the data mine is simply useless. Over-reliance on people is at the root of the issue. Manual procedures can also contribute to data loss risk, problems with data integrity, data recovery problems, protection problems and much more. It’s a difficult situation in short. For research, human presence is necessary but at the same time, human participation leads to problems.
Minimize the Need to Search Through Physical Files
A study reveals that paper-based work environments cause staff to lose six or more hours per week in search of papers. You don’t just waste your time, but every minute it spends researching and screening through stacks of paper, your company loses competitiveness and profitability. Paperless quality management software for all ISO standards helps the employees to quickly scan and retrieve information. Workers can scan documents, convert them into image files and convert them to text images using OCR software for fast and easy search and retrieval.
Users can enter any word, number, name, or date of a document management system, and instant access to the relevant information.
Fast response times and customer service improvements
The last thing a company wants to do is wait for a customer, particularly in a world in which customers want immediate satisfaction. You are already in danger of losing business if your employee has to wait for the customer while he/she retrieves paper documents. The program for document management enables your staff to deal quickly with customer demands by collecting information in a few minutes. More time is equivalent to greater satisfaction for the consumer.
Digitalization and automation tools
Electronic instruments including the Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) or Electro Worksheet (EWS), Laboratories Information Management Systems (LIMS), Data Repository, etc. are available for easy maintenance and storage in the workshop. In the course of a study or sample review procedure, ELN collects and electronically saves written information. Digitizing the handheld STPs adds value.
Many other resources act as raw data repositories. What pharmaceutical companies need are robust systems like LIMS for sample logging, sample monitoring, sample testing, data collection, device integration, reporting, etc. Data on your computer is easier to store, process, and delete than paper.
In addition to quality control in the laboratory, several resources for quality administration and production are available. These tools improve effectiveness and ensure the continuous fulfilment of regulatory enforcement needs.
Many pharmaceutical companies started to realize the need for lab automation at the beginning of the digital revolution in Pharma. The reliability and precision of laboratory solutions are required in particular, and hence they are included in the wish list by digitalising labs. Research has shown that digitisation has not taken place at the anticipated pace in the pharmaceutical industry. There are several reasons why changes are unwilling, increased digitization costs in the initial stage, etc. The situation in Covid-19 has alarmed several companies that have realized the importance of abolishing processes that rely on individuals.
Digitalisation – An Urgent Need
Pharma firms have now understood that paperless lab is an urgent need by means of social distance, lock-outs, reduced transport facilities and many other issues. Pharma companies are bound for laboratory automation to thrive in the current situation with minimum to no human involvement.
Solid LIMS systems that allow analysts to fully monitor laboratory data, improve quality and increase productivity are essential. Pharmaceutical companies are now looking to turn their laboratories into smart laboratories using technologies such as AI and automation. The move from manual to digital processes is an expense, but in the long run, it pays every single penny.
Final Words
The sudden attacks on the spread of Covid-19 have thrown all industries, including Pharmaceuticals, into a difficult situation. Personally based businesses had to close overnight. Some businesses saw the light of day and moved quickly into the “Next to Normal”, while still some grapple in the dark. It is time for the entire pharmaceutical industry to reconsider its thinking process, revise its market strategy, and for a strong digital base and paperless laboratory to be able to face any kind of challenge. All of this is made possible by a paperless lab.
