The |clients| tab or clients folder on the navigation bar lists current laboratory clients. Clients may be deleted from the system by selecting the corresponding check box, and clicking on the [delete] button

To maintain database integrity, you will not be able to delete clients that have analysis or order data in the system already

Client contacts do not see the |clients| tab or clients folder on the
navigation bar. Any modifications to the client details are for their own
company only

Client list

Click on a client to navigate to their pages

Only lab managers and clerks are authorised to create new clients
Clients should however be encouraged to maintain their address information
and preferences once it has been created to reduce the lab's admin load
Client contacts are allowed to create more contacts at the same
Client organisation, handy for storing additional information

A new client is added by clicking on the [add new client] button on the clients list and enter its details in the following screens. The client default page first

Create new client

Enter the client name and information

If your lab provides discount to certain clients, like members of a co-operative lab, and the client is a member, check the Member discount applies check box

Member's discount are set-up in the Bika Settings management screen

Select whether the client is a Corporate or Non Corporate client - this is a further price differentiation set-up per analysis representing a use case where bulk buyers are given cheaper prices

Click on the [next] button to navigate to the address form

Client address

An email address for the client company may be added. Please note that analysis results are faxed and emailed to the Client Contact requesting the analyses. Email addresses for Contacts are maintained in from the contacts page, as described in the Client Contacts section

An address may be added for each of Physical address, Mailing address, Billing address sections. These will be used on Bika invoices and where Client contact addresses are not available, also on printed results certificates

The added addresses are presented in the client address form, where they may be deleted or edited

Click [save] to save your work

In Bika LIMS 1.2 clients had one row of tabs available in the central work area. Due to expanded functionality in LIMS 2, the client tabs are now divided into two groups: |setup| and |actions|

When the tabs are displayed, the right most tab, either |setup| and |actions|, allows the user to switch to the alternative set of tabs. See the screen shots below. The |actions| tabs are the client's default view

The |setup| items consist of several set-up pages for configuring static client information, reached with the tabs:

• |edit| for address, telephone numbers and similar information
  
• |contacts| to configure the contact people at the client
  
• |profiles| for setting up the client's analysis profiles, templates used for repeated one click completion of analysis requests consisting of the same collection of commonly ordered analyses
  
• |specs| to configure the client's own specifications of valid ranges for analysis results for different sample types. These may differ from the specifications applied by the lab itself
  

Note the |actions| tab at far right, that'll toggle the client's action tabs menu

Set-up tabs showing with the |actions| tab highlighted

The |actions| items consist of several pages for dynamic client data, reached with the tabs:

• |samples| for viewing and editing samples
  
• |analysis requests| used to order, list and edit ARs
  
• |imports| to bulk import analysis requests per comma delimited spreadsheet
  
• |orders| to order, list and edit non analytical services or products offered by the lab
  

Action tabs shown with the |setup| tab highlighted

The |contacts| subtab on client page shows the current client contact persons, and allows the addition of new contacts with the [add new contact] button

Client contact person

The client contact person is defined, and using the [next] button, their addresses and publication preferences

The contact's Email address is important as that is the address that will be used for the contact's emailed analysis results as well as lost password requests

Publication preferences

Publication preferences specify the media in which the results of an analysis request requested for that client contact should be returned. This may be by fax, email, print or file - in the latter case, results are returned as comma delimited spreadsheet attachment to emails

Client contact publication preference

Highlight the Contacts preferred publication methods. Selected preferences are shown in orange. To select more than one preference, hold the [Ctrl] key on your keyboard down while clicking on the preference you want to select

E-mailed results for the contact can be cc'd to any of the clients' other contacts by selecting them in Contacts to cc field, typically accounts departments or QC management colleagues. These selected contacts will then be added to the analysis request forms for this contact by default

User account and login

Once the client contact has been defined, it is necessary to define a userid for that person to access the system. This is done using the |login details| subtab

Client contacts are able to create new client contacts
for their company, but they are not permitted to create login details
for the new contact. This must be requested from the lab personnel

Client contact login details

Once the client contact has a login defined, a confirmation message is presented

Confirmation of client login definition

The client may now login to the system to submit analysis requests, orders and edit set-up data like analysis profiles and specifications, and to view results

The lab maintains a set of profiles but clients may also do so for themselves and these are available on a |profiles| tab in their owns set-up area. When completing the analysis request form, the profiles are offered for selection on a drop down menu, the lab's profiles are prefixed 'lab:'. When a profile is selected on the form, the analyses included on the profile gets automatically selected

All client analysis profiles are listed on their |profiles| tab and editable by them

client profiles view

Click on the title of an existing profile to edit it. If you want to delete a profile, check the box opposite its title and press [delete] at the bottom of the page

Click on [add new lab analysis profile] to add a new profile

The client analysis profile Title is a compulsory field and must be completed

Select which analyses to include by tick the box next to it

Once you're done, click [Save] to save your changes

Clients can set up their own specifications for analysis results that may differ from the specifications applied by the lab itself

Users may then apply either their own specifications or that of the laboratory on Analysis request views where results are displayed. Results outside of the specified range are then highlighted

client analysis sepcification

Clients can also copy the laboratory specifications to their own and then edit them  to reduce the work of setting up the specifications which could be significant. Click on [set to lab defaults]

Adding a New Lab Analysis Specification

Adding client analysis specifications

Click on the tick box next to sample type to select the sample type you want to set specifications for. More than one sample type may be selected but all selected sample types will then get the same specifications

Then enter the minimum (min), maximum (max) and percentage error (% error) for that sample type

Note: You'll notice that some sample types, have 'specified' texts behind it. This means that an analysis specification for that sample has already been set-up and if it is selected again, the previous specification will be overwritten

Click on [Save] to apply your set-up

How are the minimum and maximum values, and percentage error applied?

When a results is submitted it is compared to the minimum and maximum values for its sample type specification, also depending whether the lab or client specifications are selected. If the limits are not exceeded it is reported normally as 'in range'

If the result exceeds the limits, the error percentage is applied to it and it is again measured against the valid range limits. If it then falls in range, it is reported as 'in error range'. If it is still over the limits, it is reported as 'out of range'

Viewing and Editing an existing Lab Analysis Specification

Click on an existing specification's sample type on the list of specifications

view of client analysis spec

If you now want to edit the analysis specification, click on the [edit] tab. The specification's screen opens and it can now be edited:

edit client analysis specification

Modify the values in the min, max and % error fields as required

NB The Sample Type drop down menu

The Sample Type drop down menu at the top of this screen is used to apply the specification to the selected Sample type. It offers the sample type initially selected, and all others for which no specifications exist

If a new sample type is selected here and the specification saved, the specification for the sample type for which the screen was initially opened is removed and 'switched' to the newly selected sample type

In future editions this should be changed into a copy instead of deletion, and if technically impossible, the drop down replaced with plain text of the sample type for which the specification may be edited

Click on [Save] to apply your set-up

Clients access their ARs from |analysis requests| on their actions tab menu

Analysis requests (ARs) are at the core of Bika LIMS and samples are discussed in considerable detail in the next Chapter,  Analysis Requests and Samples

Client |analysis requests| tab

Clients access their Samples from |samples| on their actions tab menu. Clients see only their own samples

Client samples view

Like most tables in Bika, list content can be sorted by column - click on the column header to sort on it. Clicking the header a second time, the sort order will be reversed. The current sort order, and which column is being used, is indicated by a small triangle next to the corresponding column header, pointing either up or down pending the sort order. See sample id in the above screen shot

Radio buttons along the top of the screen indicates list of samples that can be selected, corresponding to the status of the samples:

• All lists all the samples for the client in reverse chronological order, regardless of its status and an extra status column is included at far right to differentiate between sample statuses
• Due lists all samples for which analyses have been requested but the samples have not been 'received' at the lab and in the system yet
• Received - lists samples that arrived at the lab and have been checked into the system already
• Expired - samples that have expired and cannot be used for analysis anymore.  Only lab staff may expire samples. In future editions of Bika, sample retention periods will be set per sample type and sample expiry and disposal be automated
• Disposed - samples already disposed of by lab personnel
  

Please note the intelligent sample and request numbering: request IDs will always contain the sample ID, followed by a sequence number indicating whether it is the 1st, 2nd or other analysis request for the sample

In most cases the request will be the 1st and only AR for the sample. If there was more than one, all will be listed opposite the sample ID in the requests column

Click on the request ID to drill down to its details

Client users can view their own samples, and change the attributes of the samples as shown in the screen shot below. Only samples not received yet may be edited by clients

Click on one of the sample id, and a detailed view of the sample will be displayed:

Sample view

Click on the |edit| tab to edit the samples attributes. Clients may only edit samples in 'due' status. If the sample needs editing later, please contact the laboratory

Sample edit form

NB Screen shots here are due to change because of slightly misleading column
headers being used. On individual import views, we'll attempt to improve the
layout by displaying the header properties in 2 columns. Our apologies, the 
Bika team

The default view upon clicking the |import| tab, opens a lists of all previous imports - both status Imported and Submitted imports are listed with a status column at far right indicating the import's status

A validity column indicates whether the import made it through validation successfully or not

Click on [import analysis requests] to import a new batch of analysis requests, or on the batch ID of a previously imported batch to inspect it

If you decided to import a new batch, [browse] for the comma separated file (.csv) and click [import] on the next screen

The .csv file to be imported must adhere to a specific template and use the
titles and data for sample types, client contacts and IDs, analyses keywords,
etc. that are known in the system, or the import will not be validated

At the writing of this, 22 January 2008, the template layout has not been
finalised yet. Please contact Bika Lab Systems at info @ bikalabs.com to
obtain the latest should you require it urgently

If illegal characters are found in the file, a system error indicating the problem will be displayed. If not you'll be returned to the import listing and Valid or Invalid displayed in the validity column

You won't be allowed to submit invalid imports, drill down on the import by clicking on its batch ID to inspect it

The Remarks filed summarises the import remarks, while a Remarks column carries remarks specific to each sample

Click on the Show link for a pop-up of the analyses that was requested in the import for the corresponding sample

Valid import views will indicate Valid in its status field and  Valid batch in the import Remarks field

You may now submit this import to the database by clicking submit on its state drop down at top right

After being submitted, the batch can be looked up on the imports lists and viewed. It'll now show links to the Analysis Requests and Sample records created for it

The laboratory offers a number of items for sale to its clients. The list of items are defined by the lab manager under Products in the bika setup. These products appear in the list of items that can be ordered when placing an order

A newly placed order is in pending status and can still be altered. Once the order has been fulfilled, the status changes to dispatched and it cannot be edited anymore

The client user clicks on the |orders| tab to view existing orders and add a new order. All the orders for that company, pending and dispatched, are shown

Client orders

Click on any order to view the order detail, [add new order] to open a new order

Client order - detailed view

Click on the |edit| tab to edit the details of the order. A similar view opens when starting a new order. The Quantity fields are editable and the user may specify how many of a specific item to order - the order total and VAT are automatically totalled at the bottom of the screen as new items are added. Click [save] to save your edits

Client order edit view

Click on the |print order| tab to print the order out

Client order print view