Laboratory quality management is essential — but when it runs on spreadsheets, paper registers, and email chains, it becomes a full-time job in itself. Every calibration due date tracked manually, every document emailed for approval, every audit finding chased by hand adds hours of non-billable work to your team's week.
The good news: most of these processes can be automated. Here's how.
1. Automate Calibration Due Date Alerts
The most common ISO/IEC 17025 non-conformance found during NATA and NABL assessments is overdue equipment calibration. It's almost always caused by the same thing: someone forgot, the spreadsheet wasn't updated, or the reminder email got buried.
With automated calibration management software, every instrument has a due date in the system. The platform sends automatic email alerts at your configured lead time — 30 days before, 14 days before, 7 days before. No manual checking, no surprises on assessment day. The scope covers due date tracking, email alerts, out-of-tolerance flagging, and automatic non-conformance creation when a calibration reveals an issue.
2. Automate document control
Manual document control — emailing SOPs for approval, printing controlled copies, tracking which version is current — is one of the highest-risk administrative processes in any accredited laboratory. One person uses an old version of a test method. One SOP gets approved via email without a record. Your assessor finds it.
Automated document control eliminates this. Documents are created, reviewed, and approved in the system. The platform automatically archives the previous version, notifies all affected staff, and records their acknowledgement. No printing, no email chains, no version confusion — approval workflows, version control, controlled distribution, obsolete archiving, and acknowledgement tracking all run in the system.
3. Automate internal audit scheduling
Most labs conduct internal audits annually — but scheduling them, assigning auditors, issuing finding reports, and tracking corrective actions to closure is a manual process that often slips. Automating the schedule means audit due dates appear in the system, reminders go out automatically, and the audit record is built in the platform as the audit progresses — covering auditor assignment, finding records, corrective action assignment, and closure verification.
4. Automate non-conformance and CAPA workflows
When a non-conformance is identified — a failed proficiency test, an out-of-calibration instrument, a test result outside specification — the response needs to be documented, investigated, actioned, and closed. Manually, this means emails, spreadsheet updates, and paper forms. Automated CAPA workflows mean the moment a non-conformance is logged, the right people are notified, root cause fields are required, actions are assigned with due dates, and closure requires sign-off in the system.
5. Automate personnel certification reminders
Expired welder qualifications, overdue NDT level renewals, and lapsed competency sign-offs are all common NATA/NABL findings. Automated personnel management tracks every certification, qualification, and training requirement — with alerts before expiry. The system also flags if an expired technician is assigned to a job they're no longer authorised to perform, covering certification expiry alerts, renewal reminders, and authorisation matrix management.
6. Automate test report and certificate generation
Manually formatting test reports from raw results is time-consuming and error-prone. When a technician enters test data into your LIMS, the report should generate automatically — pulling the correct template, populating results, applying acceptance criteria, and embedding QR verification codes. The only human step is review and sign-off. This eliminates the transcription errors that arise from copying data between systems.
Where to Start
You don't need to automate everything at once. The highest-impact starting points for most labs are:
- Calibration due dates (highest risk, easiest to automate)
- Document control (biggest time sink)
- Test report generation (direct revenue impact)
OMS Software automates all of these — and integrates them in a single platform so data entered once flows through the entire system. No double entry, no disconnected tools.
See Laboratory Automation in Action
Book a personalised demo and we'll show you exactly how OMS automates your lab's quality management processes — from calibration alerts to accredited report generation.
Book a Free DemoFrequently Asked Questions
- What quality management processes can be automated in a testing laboratory?
- The six core processes that can be effectively automated are: calibration due date alerts, document approval and distribution workflows, internal audit scheduling and tracking, non-conformance and CAPA workflows, personnel certification renewal reminders, and test report and certificate generation from entered data.
- How does automated calibration management prevent assessment findings?
- Automated calibration management sends email alerts at configurable lead times before each instrument's due date, flags out-of-tolerance results as non-conformances, and prevents use of overdue instruments on active jobs. This removes reliance on someone manually checking a spreadsheet — the system manages due dates continuously, not only when someone remembers.
- What is the difference between a CAPA and a non-conformance in laboratory quality management?
- A non-conformance is the identification and recording of a departure from a requirement — a failed proficiency test, an out-of-calibration instrument, or a missing record. A CAPA (Corrective Action and Preventive Action) is the formal response: identifying the root cause, assigning corrective actions with due dates, and verifying effectiveness after implementation.
- Where should a laboratory start with quality management automation?
- The highest-impact starting points are calibration due date management (highest compliance risk, most straightforward to automate), document control (largest ongoing administrative time sink), and test report generation (direct impact on revenue turnaround time). Starting with these three delivers visible ROI before addressing lower-priority processes.
- Can laboratory quality management automation support NATA and NABL accreditation?
- Yes. Automated calibration alerts, version-controlled document workflows, structured CAPA tracking, and personnel competency reminders directly address the five most frequently cited non-conformance categories in NATA and NABL assessments. The controls operate continuously throughout the year, not only in the period before an assessment.