In the fast-paced environment of a laboratory, staying updated with the status of experiments, availability of lab materials, and the condition of equipment is not just important—it’s crucial. For researchers, keeping an eye on material thresholds, equipment booking, and experiment timelines ensures that resources are utilized efficiently and experiments progress without unexpected interruptions. However, manually tracking these aspects can be a daunting task, and that's where a digital system equipped with alerts proves to be transformative.
Introducing ALERTS in Labsheets
ALERTS are timely notifications that keep you informed about significant events in your lab. Integrated within Labsheets, these notifications can be set to alert you to a variety of conditions such as low inventory levels, approaching expiration dates of reagents, or when a piece of equipment is due for maintenance.
Diverse Notifications for Comprehensive Lab Management
ALERTS can be customized for a wide array of lab activities:
Inventory Levels: Get notified when a reagent drops below a set threshold or when consumables need to be reordered.
Expiration Dates: Receive reminders before materials expire, ensuring you never use outdated reagents.
Equipment Booking: Alerts for equipment availability can help plan experiments without clashes.
Temperature and Volume: Set alerts for critical environmental conditions that may affect your experiments or samples.
Maintenance Schedules: Stay informed about when equipment needs servicing to avoid unexpected downtime.
Configuring Custom Alerts
Researchers can tailor ALERTS to meet their specific needs in Labsheets. Configurable alerts enable the setting of parameters such as quantity thresholds, temperature limits, and usage frequencies.
Use Cases for Configurable Alerts
A biologist could set an alert for when a cell culture medium is running low, allowing for timely reordering.
A chemist might receive notifications for when a solvent reaches a critical minimum level.
Automated Alerts and Integration
Automated Alerts take lab management to the next level by syncing with integrated platforms like Quartzy on Scispot. This automation can streamline processes such as:
Automatic Ordering: When inventory falls below a certain level, an order can be automatically placed.
Scheduled Maintenance: Automated reminders for regular equipment servicing.
Notifications for Alerts
The convenience of ALERTS is enhanced by the flexibility of receiving them through various channels:
Slack: Direct integration into your team's communication platform.
Email: For detailed notifications delivered straight to your inbox.
Notification Center on Scispot: Keeping all alerts centralized within the lab management platform.
Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Alerts:
Accessing Alerts:
Navigate to your Labsheet and locate the 'Alerts' tab.
Click on 'Alerts' to open the alert management system.
Creating a New Alert:
Select 'Add New' to initiate a new alert setup.
Assign a distinctive name to your alert for easy identification.
Choose the users who should receive the notification once the alert is triggered.
Adding Alert Rules:
Click on 'Add Rule' to define the conditions for your alert.
Select a column that you want to monitor, such as 'Quantity' or 'Expiration date'.
Specify the condition for the alert, like 'Equal to', 'Less than', or 'Greater than'.
Input the value that will trigger the alert, for example, a specific date or a
numerical threshold.
Finalizing Your Alert:
Once your rules are set, click 'Confirm' to activate the alert.
Examples of Alert Rules You Can Set:
Inventory Threshold: Alert when a reagent quantity falls below a set level.
Reagent Expiry: Notification prior to a reagent's expiration date.
Temperature Monitoring: Alert if the storage temperature deviates from the set range.
Volume Tracking: Notify when the volume of a solution reaches a predefined point.
Equipment Availability: Alert when a reserved piece of equipment becomes available.
Benefits of Customizable Alerts:
Proactive Management: Stay ahead of inventory shortages and prevent research delays.
Maintenance Reminders: Keep equipment functioning optimally with timely service alerts.
Safety Compliance: Ensure environmental conditions remain within safe parameters.