North West Water has appointed scientific information management consultancy Scimcon to help specify its LIMS system
North West Water has appointed scientific information management consultancy Scimcon to assist in drawing up requirements and the selection of a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
Serving seven million domestic users in the north west of England and 200,000 business customers, North West Water covers 14,000 km2 geographically.
LIMS is used in the water industry to manage the samples and information processed through the laboratories.
The samples are collected at sample points throughout the region according to stringent and regular sampling plans.
LIMS allows the water company to manage its resources and ensure all sample testing complies with the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), UKAS exacting QA specifications.
In anticipation of the need to change its current LIMS, and aware of the time potentially required to successfully change from one LIMS to another (average four years), North West Water has turned to the outside consultant to facilitate the decision.
North West Water appointed Scimcon in October 2000 to perform an initial project review, involving an in-depth valuation of the project scope and direction.
The initial project has now led to a wider contract scope during 2001, with Scimcon positioned to offer a 12 month schedule of project support.
This contract involves Scimcon providing advice on validation of the system, requirements gathering, request for proposal generation, and vendor selection.
