Christy Abbas (00:04):

Hello everyone and welcome to our webinar today entitled eDATA Informatics Platform, The Basics. Your speaker today is Brian Stringer. I'm Christy Abbas, and I will be your moderator.

 

(00:22):

Before we get started with the webinar today, I'd like to go over a few housekeeping details. What you see there on the slide is the console that you're looking at. In the center are the slides that Brian will go through. There on the right-hand side is Brian's bio, and below that we have a survey that we'd love for you to take a few seconds after the webinar to fill out for us.

 

(00:46):

And there on the left-hand side, we've got the Q&A chat box. During the webinar, if you have a question for Brian, please put the question in the chat box. And below that we've got our list of resources, and you can access those during and after the webinar.

 

(01:07):

Our webinar today, eDATA Informatics Platform, The Basics.

 

(01:12):

Are you feeling the pressure to enhance your quality assurance program, maintaining your lab's accreditation or gain better control over your lab's performance? Waters ERA's user-friendly online PT data management system, otherwise known as eDATA, is here to help.

 

(01:31):

With eDATA, you can streamline data entry, quickly access all your PT reports, review PT status to identify corrective actions, spot analyte trends to prevent PT failures, and you could also easily compare your lab's results with other participants.

 

(01:50):

This webinar will showcase these eDATA features and guide you through reporting results for a study. You'll learn how to log in, enter study results, avoid common reporting errors, submit results for a QuiK Response and retrieve final reports. The goal is to simplify the reporting process and give you a clearer understanding of how to report results effectively.

 

(02:16):

Your speaker today is Brian Stringer. He is our Proficiency Testing Technical Specialist. Brian has over 30 years of experience with environmental chemistry labs and proficiency testing. Currently, he's focused on evaluating participant results and helping labs meet regulatory requirements for domestic and international PT programs.

 

(02:41):

You'll be in great hands today with Brian and so, with that, I turn it over to him.

 

Brian Stringer (02:51):

Thanks, Christy. Hello, everyone. So glad you could join us today.

 

(02:56):

Before we dive into reporting your results, I actually want to start with the day you receive your PT samples. Reviewing the paperwork shipped with your samples can help prevent some very common errors.

 

(03:09):

First, review the packing slip to match up the lot numbers with the sample containers. Before you start your analysis, read the PT tracker for announcements and product changes. Read the instructions for the study, and read the instructions for each sample to see storage requirements, dilution instructions and reporting information.

 

(03:33):

And lastly, please review the data reporting forms, again, before you begin your analysis. You'll find concentration ranges, which are the manufacturing ranges for the analyte. You'll see PTRLs, which are the PT reporting limits.

 

(03:49):

And please note the units, such as milligram per liter or micrograms per liter. This is important because they might be different than what you routinely use in your laboratory.

 

(04:02):

Next, when reporting your results, be sure to enter data for the correct analyte, which is a common error for some products, such as the demand sample, making sure it's BOD or CBOD. The solids, is it TSS, TDS or TS? And the microbiology, which covers total coliforms, fecal coliforms and E. coli. And even has options for membrane filtration versus MPN-multiple well or MPN-multiple tube.

 

(04:35):

Also, only report the results for the PT standards and not for any QC samples you ordered. Labels for PTs have a green edge, have the study number and a lot number for that study. Labels for QC samples have a blue edge, the name QC, and have a lot number that matches the certificates of analysis you received with your samples.

 

(05:01):

And lastly, report your results on time. It's a shame to get the right results only to miss the reporting deadline.

 

(05:11):

Okay. Now you're ready to actually report your test results.

 

(05:15):

First, go to our main website, and click the blue eDATA Log in link up at the top. Then click the blue eDATA Log In button on the next screen.

 

(05:26):

If you have a username, enter it now along with your password, and select Log In. If you don't remember your password, use the Create Reset Password over on the right. That will send you an email with a link to follow to reset your password.

 

(05:43):

If you don't remember your username, try logging in with your ERA customer number and a password. If you just can't get logged in, let us know, and we'll be glad to help.

 

(05:56):

When you do get logged in, you can update the list of folks who have access to your eDATA account and your results. Just go to your customer number in the upper right, select Customer Information, and then expand the Contacts section.

 

(06:16):

This Contacts page shows the contacts we have for your facility. You can delete anyone who no longer needs access to eDATA. If you're a lab, the primary lab contact will receive study notifications, data entry summaries, and graded reports.

 

(06:35):

You need to have one primary lab contact on the account. A primary permittee contact will receive the final DMR-QA Permittee Report. If you don't see anything under Role, just hit the blue Edit pencil, enter a username, not the customer number since this is for your credentials only, and we don't recommend using your full email address since those can change over time.

 

(07:03):

Next, select a permission level. Administrators can enter data, view reports and administer the contact list. You need to have at least one administrator, but you can have as many as you want. Data entry permission level allows someone to enter results and view reports, but they can't change contact information.

 

(07:27):

After selecting Save, you should receive an email with a link to follow to create a password. Passwords can be anything you want, and they can be changed whenever you wish to. If you don't receive an email within a few minutes, please go to your customer number in the upper right of the page, select Log Out, then use the Create Reset Password function on the right to trigger that email.

 

(07:54):

And now for the actual data entry. This is the home page. You can always find it with the breadcrumbs or by clicking the green eDATA logo in the upper left-hand corner. You'll see Open Studies up at the top with a progress bar for each one. Really just find your study and select the green Start button. You'll answer Okay to the pop-up statement, and Step 1 is named Enter Mailing Address. It's mainly for confirming the primary contact for the study reports.

 

(08:28):

You can make changes to this existing contact, or you can select a different contact from the drop-down list. If you have an entirely new contact you want to list for this study, please go to your customer number in the upper right-hand corner of the page, select Customer Information and expand the Contacts section to add them.

 

(08:52):

Please note the person listed here will receive the graded laboratory report. For any NPDES Permittee Reports, go to the DMR-QA tab at the top of the main page.

 

(09:05):

You can also add additional report recipients. From your contact list, you check the little Email Address and it'll open a link to pick out of your contact list.

 

(09:17):

You see your EPA lab ID is listed on this page. Always want to just make sure it's there and that it's right. And we recommend selecting that you receive reports by PDF only to make sure you get the report by email. And when you're done, you just click the green Save and Continue button down at the bottom. You'll notice a lot of green Save buttons on the eDATA.

 

(09:43):

Okay, you can see the first step Enter Mailing Address is now green and includes a check mark. That indicates that step is complete, and we're on our way.

 

(09:53):

Next up, Step 2, Select Agencies and Add Third Parties. This pop-up states that you must select either an agency or multiple agencies. Or if this is for in-house testing only, you select No Agencies Required before continuing on to enter your results.

 

(10:15):

The DMR-QA study has a slightly different option that says Reporting to DMR-QA Coordinator Only, instead of selecting specific agencies. Any previously selected agencies for your laboratory for this study type are listed over on the left, just to make them easier to find and select. But they are never automatically checked. That is up to you for each study.

 

(10:42):

If your agency is not listed there, you can find them using the Add More Agencies button. You just answer Okay to this pop up, check the box or boxes for any agencies you want to receive your results, and you're ready to move on.

 

(10:59):

All right. A2LA is now checked for us. If you click the small blue question mark, it shows the contact information for that agency.

 

(11:09):

The next column over is labeled Enter Agency ID. Some states use a state-issued ID. If you've been given this by your state and you've told us about it before, it'll be listed here. It's okay for this field to be blank if your state doesn't use their own agency IDs, and they instead use the EPA Lab ID. It's very common.

 

(11:33):

For any agencies that are listed here, ERA will get them the study results in the format they've requested, such as a PDF report, an EDD, such as a CSV file or TXT file, or by having their results uploaded directly to their website.

 

(11:54):

And lastly, over on the right is the third parties. This is for anyone other than yourself, and that includes any additional email recipients from your contact list, and other than an agency that you've selected over on the left. So third parties will receive an emailed PDF report of the study results.

 

(12:17):

You can add third parties here, you can delete old ones, or you can just leave it alone if you don't need it. When you're ready, of course, you select that green Save and Continue.

 

(12:30):

We're now on to Step 3 for data entry. This list shows all of your products in the study. The little black circle with the X indicates no results have been entered for that standard. We're going to start by simply clicking on pH cat number 552.

 

(12:51):

You'll notice on this data entry screen that the method and the analysis date are at the top. They're above the analytes because they will apply to all analytes in that standard. This option is noted as Report Data by Standard with a little radio button check next to it.

 

(13:12):

This can be changed to Report Data by Analyte if you want to enter a different method, a different analysis date or analyst name for each of the analytes in a list. Of course, this wouldn't apply to pH, only has one analyte, but it can be used for any other standard that has a long list of analytes.

 

(13:36):

You can ignore that little Method title box and just click right in the empty box labeled Method.

 

(13:47):

In this Method field, you can scroll through the list, or type a few characters to narrow down the search. Most standard methods are listed two different ways. You can pick the method that includes the revision year in the description there, such as the SM 4500-H+ B 2011. This will also place the revision year of 2011 in that revision edition box.

 

(14:18):

Notice that there's a space between SM and 4500. That's not official. It just simply allows the methods to be grouped together here on the screen. Or you can pick the one a little bit below that, selecting the method without the year, such as simply SM 4500-H+ B.

 

(14:43):

Selecting this method populates over in the Revision Edition field, either online or the most recent edition of the book. You can then click in that Rev Edition box and select the edition of standard methods that you used, such as 22nd Edition, 2011. So that's how you would get the phrase, literally the edition, 22nd edition or such in the report.

 

(15:11):

In this format, you'll see there's no space between SM and 4500. Again, this is only listed that way so it'll nicely appear below all the versions with the year and the name.

 

(15:27):

As for reporting your methods, it's important to know that you are not limited to the methods in these dropdown lists. It would be impossible to include every method out there, but you can enter, literally, anything you want in that field for the method description.

 

(15:44):

If you're using the study for your own in-house testing or if your agencies don't use NELAC method codes, you simply enter the method description as you want it. You check that little box labeled Check if NELAC Code is Not Required.

 

(16:03):

One important note for our international customers, please enter all of your method information in the box labeled Method. This includes any method revisions or additions you need, and it can also include any preparatory or extraction, digestion methods you want to include. Because any information over in that next little box labeled Rev Edition will not appear on the final report.

 

(16:32):

Okay, we're going to continue with methods. There's a lot on this screen. If you enter your own method, but still need to report a TNI method code, that is the case in some circumstance if you don't see your method listed in our dropdown list. Of course, you can call us, you can contact us, see if we can get it added to the list. If it's not there, and you need to get your method reported, though, enter your method description just as you want it to read.

 

(17:01):

Then on the top of our screen, there's a tab labeled Resources. You click on that, you select TNI Method Code Analyte Code Tables. That'll take you to the TNI LAMS website. There you select Methods under TNI Codes over on the left, and you search for your method to find the associated TNI Code. You now can enter that TNI Code in the NELAC code field in eDATA, and you're ready to go.

 

(17:35):

As I'm sure you know, it's very important to report the method you followed when analyzing the samples and that your agencies required. We really want to make this work for you. Many agencies receive an EDD that used method codes. So you want to ask your agency or ask us to see if they receive an EDD.

 

(17:58):

Other agencies don't use method codes at all, but the method descriptions have to exactly match your certification or accreditation. Please confirm with your accrediting agencies what they require for method reporting, and again, we are here to help. We'll answer any questions we can.

 

(18:19):

Okay, moving on from the methods. You next pick your analysis date from the calendar, and if you want to report your analyst name, select the little Show More way over on the right. You find the Analyst Name field and then you select or enter their name.

 

(18:38):

One note, the Analyst Name field is the only thing on that screen that will appear on your final report. All the other prep method information and such won't appear anywhere on the reports.

 

(18:51):

After that, you're finally ready to enter the test result in that little Datapoint field. Get that in there, select the green Save button and you'll answer Yes to the question that pops up, "Do you want to go to the list of standards?"

 

(19:10):

You can now see pH is green with a check mark showing that results were entered and saved.

 

(19:17):

The circle for Step 3, Enter and Submit Data is also green with a check mark. That says that at least one result has been entered for the study.

 

(19:28):

You'll notice the fourth step is named Customize Agency Reports. It's always green with that little dash. We want to make sure you know it's optional and that most labs don't need to use it. But let us know if you do want to selectively release results to your agencies, and we'll be glad to help you with that.

 

(19:49):

Now you can stop anytime, finish your data entry later, and you can see the little note on the page for regular studies, essentially says that any standards with check marks are saved and submitted.

 

(20:04):

If you want to continue, just select the next standard. We'll pick Inorganics cat number 591.

 

(20:13):

You'll notice the layout of this page is a little different than the one we saw for pH. That's because you enter the method and the analysis state for each analyte. This option it's noted as Report Data by Analyte. You first enter the datapoint, then move along and select or enter your method.

 

(20:35):

If you enter a method, your own method or you don't need a NELAC code, just check that little box labeled NELAC Code Opt Out, and next you select your analysis date from the calendar just like before. And lastly, again, over on the right, if you want to add your analyst name, use that little More dropdown screen.

 

(21:01):

I do want to talk about the word Signs on most pages. Those are less than signs down below it. The boxes next to them are not to be used to simply show that you reported results for that analyte. They're only checked to indicate that you were not able to detect the analyte at all. Normally, this is only used for organics standards with a long list of analytes, where not every analyte is spiked in every study, and so you need to indicate that.

 

(21:32):

For those particular samples, if you do want to report that that analyte is not spiked into a sample, you check the box by the less than sign and enter a numerical value, such as the PTRL value or your own LOQ.

 

(21:49):

You can also enter zero for the datapoint, in which case you would not check the less than sign. But please note you cannot simply check the less than sign, and then leave the datapoint field empty.

 

(22:05):

Well, that pretty much does it for entering results for the sample. But instead of leaving at this point, we think it's a great time to do a quick review. Just take note of the units for the study, the PTRL, the manufacturing concentration ranges and your reported value, your datapoint.

 

(22:23):

One other thing you can do here if you want to report results for a second method or a second analyst, you just select the Add A New Method button that creates a second data entry page, or you can choose Copy This Method. That copies the datapoints, the reported values into a second data entry page so you can then select the method. You'll see those new pages are listed under the tab called Method 2.

 

(22:53):

If you accidentally add a method and you don't want to, just be sure you're on that tab that you want to delete, and you check that other little option saying Delete This Method. It'll change the screen to kind of a pink highlighted, and it wants you to then select the green Save button to save that change, save that deletion.

 

(23:16):

Okay. Once you're done with everything else here, of course, you click the green Save button and answer Yes to go to the list of standards.

 

(23:27):

Back on the Enrolled Standards List, we can see pH and Inorganics are now green with check marks. Simply continue until all of the standards are green with a check mark indicating they're saved and submitted.

 

(23:41):

We can have a summary of the data entry emailed over to the person in Step 1 by selecting Email Study Summary, or you can open that summary and print it out by selecting View Study Summary.

 

(23:54):

We highly recommend reviewing the data entry every time before logging out. This is your chance before the study closes to confirm that you've selected your agencies, and to verify the reported values are correct, they're on the analyte lines, they have the proper methods, all of that good stuff. I really can't emphasize this enough. It's a great opportunity just to be sure.

 

(24:20):

One note, if you're running a study to meet DMR-QA requirements and it's for your in-house lab only, you'll see a bright red button labeled Release Data to Your Permit. You click that, and you're all set.

 

(24:36):

One note, that button doesn't go away after you use it. It stays on the screen just in case you need to make any changes, and then release your results again.

 

(24:45):

You can even click the Email Study Summary or View Study Summary buttons again to confirm that the results have been released to your NPDS permit.

 

(24:57):

If things are a little more complicated, you're running tests for more than just your in-house permit, you're a contract lab for any other permits, or even if you don't want all of your test results to go to the DMR-QA coordinator, you'll have to go to Step 5 labeled NPDS Permittee Reporting.

 

(25:16):

On that Step 5, the NPDES Permittee Reporting, there's lots of options on the page. It has to meet requirements for both in-house labs, contract labs, multiple scenarios. So we won't go into much detail today. We won't be able to cover it all, but I'll quickly run through it.

 

(25:37):

Basically, you can add new permittees over on Step 1. You can also release all of your results to all of your permits that you need under Step 1 over on the left. Or you can selectively release results to each permit by clicking one at a time on a permit, proceeding to Step 2 in the middle, to select and save the results, and then moving on to Step 3 over on the right to release the results.

 

(26:09):

I'll leave it at that for today. We actually held an entire webinar just for DMR-QA reporting last year. You can find that on our main website under Support, then DMR-QA and, of course, let us know if you need any help with releasing results for DMR-QA this year.

 

(26:31):

Another thing we want to talk about today, we offer an alternative to entering the results for a regular PT study, that's uploading data from a CSV file. It's available for any of our regular studies, just not for the QuiK Responses.

 

(26:49):

After the initial work is done by your lab in building the file format through your LIMS, then when uploading results, it can save time and really reduce data entry errors.

 

(27:01):

If you want to explore this option, the best approach is to just reach out to our PT group. We can send you the information to get you started on creating that upload file from your LIMS.

 

(27:13):

And we can also create an example file using your own test results from a previous study. That can be really helpful because you'll be able to see your own lab results, your own data in the correct format that would be used for uploading. Just really let us know. We'll help you get started on that.

 

(27:34):

The last subject under data entry is really just for QuiK Responses. They're special. They're different from regular studies in one very important way, and that is you are in control of the close date for QuiK Responses. You just need to tell us when you're done.

 

(27:51):

You enter your results, just like you would for your regular studies. You save them, you review the study summary, but instead of then stepping away and waiting for the close date, you want to be in charge of that. You go to Step 5, Evaluate and Report. On this screen you simply check the box for any standard you're ready to submit.

 

(28:17):

One important note, though. You don't have to submit results for all standards at once. If you are urgently needing a report in your hands and in the state's or your agency's hands, you can submit some of the products.

 

(28:32):

Keep in mind if you report a result, we can send that to the state. If you then submit another standard a couple days later, we would have an additional standard on that report. The states can kind of get a little bit confused if they get multiple reports with the same results essentially just adding to them.

 

(28:53):

So keep that in mind a little bit if you want to hold off and submit them all at once. Or if you want to let us know there's an urgency that a particular set of results has to get to them right away, absolutely. We just want to make the best choice for you and your agencies.

 

(29:09):

One thing you cannot do, kind of give a little caveat to that, is you can't submit a standard for some analytes, and then want to come back in later and submit results for other analytes, other metals, for instance. The reason is the final report that you get when you submit the sample the first time around, it'll have the results for every analyte in that standard.

 

(29:32):

So when you're ready, you check the box, you click the green button, submit for evaluation. The beautiful thing is your graded report will be ready in seconds.

 

(29:45):

Okay, that's enough on reporting PT results. When the study closes, we'll email your final report and also post it here on the eDATA site right under Recently Closed Studies. The PDF report will be labeled here as Final Report.

 

(30:03):

One great option is to use the Performance Report. It'll allow you to download your results as an Excel or a CSV file. And the Exception Report does the same thing, except it downloads only the Not Acceptable results.

 

(30:19):

In addition to serving as a portal for entering PT study results, which may be the only way that some laboratories interact with the site, it can also serve as an online data management system, a way to help your quality program, your PT program overall. There are several major reports and tracking tools right here under the Reports tab. We'll take a look at these now.

 

(30:47):

One very common request is to access the final results for previous studies. You can do this really easily by selecting Final Reports under that Reports tab we saw a second ago, or you can use the Studies tab and select Closed Studies. Takes you to the same screen. You can search by the year. You can search by study type, such as WP, WS, et cetera, and here you'll find pretty much every study you've ever participated in with ERA.

 

(31:20):

You can also get the study limits under that little Final Limits, and that's kind of a quick summary of the assigned value, the acceptance limits. You can use those little Exception Report and Performance Report links to download results for that study.

 

(31:38):

The next thing I want talk about is, instead of looking for results of one study at a time, the eDATA site has ways to pull multiple study results together all at once. I start with the Performance Report once again. But instead of going to Closed Studies and then picking Performance Report for each one, you can go to the Reports tab, select Performance Report, and download results of multiple studies all at once.

 

(32:07):

It's a terrific tool. It's very easy to use. You can pull in, like I did, all WP studies, so I have a WPs, WS Soil. You can go the other direction and choose all WS just for the last 18 months. You can see there's ways to search for an analyte, search for an analyst name, et cetera, and kind of filters, exclude as you want to, before you export it. Or you can export the entire thing. And then you, on your own end, on your Excel file, your CSV file, you can filter, you can sort, you can move things around.

 

(32:45):

Notice that it'll have all of these fields that you see listed here, and if those are the ones you want, you're going to be in great shape.

 

(32:55):

I say that about the fields because the next tool, Custom Export Generator, it has more options. You can see on the left there's a lot more columns, a lot more information that you can include. Up at the top is the ones that I haven't selected. Then down below are the ones that I chose.

 

(33:15):

You can rearrange the order that they're in, and you can save that as a layout. You can name it for Quality Manager Report or something else.

 

(33:25):

You can have multiple layouts. In the future, you come in, you pick your layout, and it already has the columns you want and has them in the order that you want.

 

(33:34):

And then each time, you just simply choose what information, what data, whether it's a WP, whether it's what year, if you want all of the standards, all the analytes or you want to be exclusive, selective that time, and then you download it. A really good tool. Call us if you have questions on this one.

 

(33:56):

In addition to downloading your graded results, eDATA has several other reports and other tools to help you more monitor your performance, track analysts, identify trends, et cetera, and we'll start with this one.

 

(34:09):

It's the Z Score graph. It's really easy to use. It allows you to monitor trends in your study results by tracking reported values for a given analyte and in a given matrix. You can separate methods out, or you can like this one, overlay results for multiple methods. Your reported values are simply compared to the study means with warning bars for results outside of two, and then outside of three standard deviations. Hovering over any result shows, as that little box says, the study, the method, the analyst and the Z Score, all at a quick glance.

 

(34:50):

One note, if you're familiar with Z Scores, you understand that this is not directly comparable to the evaluation of the study, the acceptable or not acceptable. Those are based on different rules. What this is intended to do is track your results over time, comparing them to other study participants.

 

(35:12):

The next tool is the PT Review. It lets you get an overview of really all of the evaluations received over a designated timeframe. It could be really powerful because, at a quick glance, you can see a lot of information. You'll see that it has Not Acceptable and Acceptable results. There's a little toggle. It defaults to Not Acceptable only. Sometimes that's what you want to see. You can uncheck that box, and see everything.

 

(35:40):

You'll notice that the Unacceptable results are highlighted in red. Again, catch your attention, lets you look for potential risks to your accreditation. If you want to see if you've had two Unacceptables within an 18-month period, or if you see a gap in your study results, this can be a way to catch that right off the bat before you get into trouble. These results can be exported.

 

(36:08):

Okay, we'll move on to the Analyst Report. This one, of course, works for tracking analyst performance.

 

(36:16):

One of the benefits is it really quickly kind of easily pulls in results for multiple studies. You can see results for that analyst over multiple matrices, WS, WP, Soil, et cetera. Or you can kind of go the other direction. You can find out all the analysts that reported results for a given analyte, given, for instance, silver, and see how everyone's doing.

 

(36:41):

One note, if you want to use this, you, first of all, have to enter the analyst names when you're reporting results. You want to get in that practice, if you want to do that. But you also want to be consistent. You want to choose whether you want to use the full name every time or just the initials. That'll help this tracking a lot. It'll be able to compile the results, rather than having to choose an initial one time, or the full name another time, to be able to gather them all together, and once again, this can be exported.

 

(37:12):

Next one up, as we move right along, the Risk Report. This examines Z Scores of historical study results against trending rules. This is really nice to help you kind of, at a glance, kind of does some of the work for you to see possible biases, variability, trends in your study results.

 

(37:35):

It's important to say that it does not track acceptable or not acceptable results, like the PT review does. But it is designed to compare reported values against the study means and standard deviations of the study data, and again, it helps you track from one study to another how your results are trending. You can sort, you can choose which of those flags is important to you and only focus on that one.

 

(38:01):

The whole thing really is just designed to let you catch something possibly ahead of an issue, ahead of not acceptable results, and it's exportable. And it lets you decide which ones you want to focus on, which really what might need a closer look.

 

(38:18):

And the last special report is the HOYL reports, stands for Health Of Your Labs. At a quick glance for every historical study you've participated in, there's your pass rate, and you can compare that to other study participants.

 

(38:34):

You'll also see kind of the right-hand half of the screen, how many evaluations, how many results you reported in that study, how many were acceptable, how many were not acceptable.

 

(38:45):

So the first screen of the HOYL reports shows lots of information, but you'll also see that there's hyperlinks all over it. You can click on a study, get a summary of that standard. You can see a summary of the analyte. You can click on Not Acceptable to just see what those look like. And it'll even take you further down and pull up a Z Score graph for the analytes.

 

(39:09):

I recommend really to just look around on this page. Yep, click on a couple of links, start drilling down, see what can be useful to your laboratory because that's what this site is all about is how can it help you in the way that you want to manage your data.

 

(39:28):

And last, but definitely not least, the statistics view. It has its own tab on the home page. You can find statistics for all of your past, all of your historical studies.

 

(39:41):

Once you pick what study you want to look at, it pulls up this first screen. It's kind of a summary of that standard. It's going to show the assigned values, but it also shows the means, the standard deviations, the failure rates, all on a percentage basis, and that allows for easy comparison to historical results.

 

(40:01):

You can also see over towards the right that little N in parentheses, Number of Datapoints, so that's the number of results we received for that analyte and that study.

[NEW_PARAGRAPH]And then if you select an analyte, it pulls up this screen. The similar information is displayed up at the top, but just for that analyte, and then you now have visibility of every reported value we received in that study, along with the method description.

 

(40:31):

The statistics page can be a really helpful tool. It can be used for study review on a routine basis, or even for troubleshooting and corrective action.

 

(40:43):

That was my great segue into corrective action. That's the last topic for today.

 

(40:49):

We look at corrective action as a process, not simply getting another PT sample, running it and hoping you pass it. We think we can help more than that.

 

(40:59):

We recommend looking back at the paperwork, the things that we talked about, avoiding common errors, such as reviewing the dilution instructions, the reporting instructions, checking the units, looking back at the lot numbers on the sample labels even.

 

(41:15):

And as we just saw, eDATA. It's got great tracking, trending tools, the statistics view. Some of these can be used to help your investigation after receiving a not acceptable result. They honestly can also help you catch problems before you fail a PT study.

 

(41:34):

If you do need it, we offer technical assistance from our very experienced staff. We have matching CRMs or QC samples for pretty much every available product in our PT inventory. So don't hesitate to reach out. Let us know how we can help.

 

(41:53):

I'm going to stop there. I know that was a lot to cover, but I hope you found at least something that can be useful to your lab and help you with your PT program.