Petrochemical laboratories, whether handling upstream (exploration, production and transmission) or downstream (refining, blending and distribution) applications, are faced with significant pressures to lower costs, control waste, reduce inventory, increase efficiency and maintain compliance with various regulations. In order to assure the quality of products, optimise the efficiency and throughput of continuous processes, and comply with governmental product and safety standards, companies in the petrochemical industry must control their processes with rigorous testing and real-time monitoring. In addition they may operate under various management standards such as ISO9000, ISO17025 or ISO14000. A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is critical to these efforts.

By implementing a LIMS solution, companies are able to fully automate laboratory processes that were previously handled manually. This yields not only savings in labour man-days, but a reduction in errors, improved product quality, greater profits and increased worker satisfaction. When companies standardise on a single LIMS solution for their enterprise, the benefits multiply (Fig.1.).

Errors from retyping results are virtually eliminated and the integrity of information can be guaranteed to a great extent. Instrument calibration records can be reviewed automatically in real time, enabling faster and more precise identification of bottlenecks, faster response to customer enquiries and quicker, fact-based business decision-making. Problems are identified and solved faster; they can even be anticipated before they occur.

With the LIMS automating data capture, employees are free to focus on important business activities. Elimination of manual transcription of GC data into spreadsheets, for example, can save several hours of work per lab per day. Automating batch release and updating of the invoicing system with sample data can yield considerable savings: one laboratory reported it had been spending

624 man days on those tasks prior to implementing a LIMS. Automated

specification-checking enables companies to sell their products at the maximum price point, thus increasing profitability.

When standardised across the enterprise, LIMS substantially improved overall lab efficiency and time to market at a lower cost. A 2004 study conducted by IDC on the business benefits resulting from LIMS standardisation revealed a 40percent reduction in total cost of ownership (TCO) and annual cost benefits of approximately US$300000 per laboratory. Costs are reduced by centralising and consolidating IT and technical support personnel. Downtime is reduced and productivity is increased for the end-user. Lower costs are also achieved in the areas of implementation, upgrades, application development and training.

LIMS serve as an integrated platform capable of supporting key enterprise processes and systems. Enterprise LIMS include XML web services for open communication with laboratory and enterprise applications as well as client/server functionality for greater access to information and insight into data across the organisation. The benefits of such an integrated approach are numerous:

o Accurate data flow between the laboratory and the rest of the organisation.

o Less redundant data.

o Increased laboratory efficiency.

o Maintenance of quality standards.

Duplicate data and manual entry of sample requests and testing parameters are eliminated through instrument integration. Having that data available to managers and decision-makers throughout the organisation leads to faster, data-driven business decision-making (Fig.2).

With LIMS, companies can spot trends and monitor product quality more quickly and easily, dramatically improving their overall quality control process. A LIMS is an important component of a comprehensive quality management solution that usually includes Process Information Management Systems (PIMS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The LIMS stores product quality data and, together with these systems, it enables continuous monitoring and control of production processes.

Integration between LIMS and PIMS allows offline and online data to be combined. Validated analytical data becomes directly available to the managers that control the manufacturing process, resulting in better-controlled processes, reduced product loss and thus greater productivity. The common data entity between PIMS and LIMS solutions is the Sampling Point. Data trends can be quickly and easily tracked and analysed and managers can make real-time decisions based on data originating from the different locations throughout the production process. Problems are highlighted before they occur and processes are optimised.

Integration between LIMS and ERP solutions enables organisations to exploit the benefits of laboratory automation and ultimately improve supply chain management. This can result in improved efficiency while also eliminating transcription errors and providing an audited record of methods and instruments used. Manageability of data is also made easier. Static data such as product specifications, analysis components and inspection characteristics, methods, plans and types are more readily available from the interface ‘on the fly’ – meaning less is maintained in the LIMS itself. The same goes for dynamic data such as inspection lots, results and usage decisions. This means that time spent manually synchronising data between the two solutions is eliminated. Data integrity is therefore more easily maintained.

LIMS in the real world

Petrobras is the leading energy company of Brazil, with more than 60 exploration rigs and over

100 offshore production platforms. The fluids laboratory of Petrobras is responsible for the measurements used in process monitoring of over

40 oil offshore platforms. It handles about 30000 analyses per month, 25000 of which are on water, gas and crude oil, all performed at the offshore platforms. There was a major need to develop a new environment so that offshore activities could be integrated. Implementation of SampleManager LIMS from Thermo Scientific made it possible for the first 21 offshore platforms to integrate their laboratory units to the system within only five months from date of set up.

The benefits of this extensive integration of processes have been numerous and significant. Technicians at the laboratory used to spend four hours filling out monthly activity reports that are now automatically issued by the LIMS. Another advantage is the standardisation of trial methods, sampling points, sampling models and especially Analytical Results Bulletins (ARBs). Prior to the LIMS implementation, there were approximately 50 different report formats, which has been reduced to 20 standardised bulletins. Moreover, SampleManager has helped to significantly reduce trial costs and increase productivity. The LIMS has also enabled automatic interfaces with other Petrobras systems, such as a Crude Oil Reserve System and a Water Injection System for Oil Wells.

In total, the fluids laboratory has been able to reduce man hours spent on laboratory analysis by 27percent. In addition, the laboratory has eliminated errors in processes that used to be performed manually, such as registration, classification and calculations. The benefits of the LIMS implementation are clearly widespread, but probably the most telling metric is the level of satisfaction amongst the customers of the laboratory. Since the SampleManager LIMS went live the satisfaction index has risen from 68percent to over 99percent – a clear testament to the success of the project.

Statoil, the third largest exporter of oil in the world, was one of the first companies to specify an integrated process solution, which links laboratory and plant information management systems. Installations of SampleManager LIMS across multiple international sites of the Statoil organisation have enabled laboratories and plant personnel to access and analyse data from all locations simultaneously and in real time. LIMS integration with plant automation systems has saved Statoil US$800000 per year through control of blending operations.

BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies, benefited significantly from improved specification checking achieved due to the use of SampleManager across its facilities.

PEMEX Gas and Basic Petrochemicals, a subsidiary entity of PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos), has standardised SampleManager LIMS across all of its gas processor complexes in Mexico. The LIMS implementation has helped the organisation’s laboratories to realise a number of benefits. Laboratory work is planned in line with PEMEX’s technical and human resources. Laboratories have prior knowledge of samples before they arrive, allowing adequate resources to be allocated. The analysis of results of samples is automatically transmitted directly into the process system, with a considerable reduction in both time and transcription errors. Data from the laboratory and other process information is stored in a common format, with standard interfaces between the different systems.

Conclusion

The petrochemical industry was one of the first to embrace LIMS. In modern implementations, LIMS serve as an integral part of the overall enterprise architecture. Organisations standardising on LIMS solutions can realise multiple, immediate benefits with regards to personnel, productivity, cost of ownership, product quality, production costs and compliance, as well as improved business intelligence and decision-making processes.

Dave Champagne is vice president and general manager, Informatics Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific. For more information, visit www.thermo.com/informatics