The US EPA gives clarification of significant figures and rounding rules. This letter was published to Dr. Edward Askew at Askew Scientific Consulting, LLC (http://www.askewscientific.org).

Khemia Software is pleased to support Lee Otis and her daughter Lauren in their hiking of Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier.  If you would also like to donate to the cause, please click on the link below:

https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/965700

This information was taken from the Calibrate newsletter on May 30th, 2017 (http://www.catalystinforesources.com/):

As reported previously, the new Administration asked that all Agencies recall all actions that had not yet been published in the Federal Register. The MUR was caught up in this recall and this action has been withdrawn from the Office of the Federal Register. EPA indicates they are not able to provide a date for when the final rule will be published. Until the final rule is published in the Federal Register, it is not considered in effect.  Also, note that until the rule does become effective, the revised EPA methods, new and/or revised methods published by voluntary consensus standard bodies, and the methods reviewed under the ATP program that were included in the final rule are not formally approved at part 136.  In the interim, until a final rule is published in the FR and becomes effective, a user may, on a facility-by-facility basis, seek limited use approval from their Regional ATP Coordinator for use of the methods included in the final rule when measuring regulated pollutants and reporting results for compliance monitoring required under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Regional ATP Coordinator may choose to grant approval of these methods as alternate test procedures for limited use as specified at 136.5.  With regard to allowing the use of methods that fall within the flexibility to modify approved methods approved at 136.6 for compliance monitoring, EPA is encouraging States and Regions to allow for the use of these methods provided that the requirements for establishing equivalent performance specified at 136.6(b)(2)(i) and the requirements for documentation specified at 136.6(b)(2)(ii) are met.  Additional guidance regarding method developer responsibilities and method user responsibilities with regard to establishing equivalent performance and requirements for documentation may be found in a memorandum from Richard Reding dated November 20, 2007 with the subject line “Flexibility to Modify CWA Methods” available at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/cwa-method-flexibility_memo_11-20-2007.pdf

Written by Robert Benz, Marketing & Sales Manager, Khemia Software Inc.

Now that cell phone and internet coverage are virtually everywhere, it is extremely difficult to disconnect from work. Believe me, I know; I’ve been hiking up the side of a mountain in NC and still received phone calls and emails. Answering work related phone calls while out of breath and telling your five year old to be quiet at the same time can be quite a challenge. However, that kind of service, whether in sales or technical support, is expected these days. Professionally, you are expected to be connected.

To look at it from another perspective, you can connect and remain connected just about anywhere! As I write this, I am at my in-laws old beach house waiting for an AC repair person to show up. I didn’t have to schedule time off; I simply came here to work this morning. And, I must admit, the front patio and ocean breezes are a nice change from the office. Connectivity is a golden thing! As with so many things in life, the good is the bad and the terrible is the great…two sides of the same coin.

Not unlike any other electronic, modern, communication enabled software/devices, modern LIMS can allow the same flexibility. Long gone are those days of having to literally be present in the laboratory to access the LIMS. As almost any LIMS can be put in the cloud today, secure connectivity has gone hand and hand. And really, if your LIMS can be cloud hosted, why shouldn’t you be able to access it from somewhere else? While one can argue about the style of cloud hosting, I will admit to be far too novice to begin to discuss the benefits and drawbacks. In the modern world, one cannot argue about the need of a modern laboratory to access a LIMS from almost anywhere at almost any time. Generally a LIMS vendor can discuss the requirements of their particular LIMS in terms of speed, constant connection requirements, which database (i.e. SQL or Oracle) and supporting software is needed, etc. Often, one must talk to the hosting provider to discuss the speeds with which they can offer, up/down times, whether RDP should be used, if Citrix would be a solution, etc. It is not uncommon for us to schedule a call with a client moving to the cloud and their hosting provider to run down the options.

For many laboratories that do not have a pure IT person on staff, cloud solutions and shifting the IT responsibilities to a group with true, in-house expertise can make a lot of sense. I believe we will see a lot more of this over the next few years with even a number of government laboratories doing the same. I’ve always tended to be a bit “old school” when it came to laboratory data, but when you realize some of the most precious and potentially costly things in your life, including your banking and retirement savings, are all accessed online in “the cloud”, why resist the same with the laboratory?

Working from anywhere and accessing needed information is quickly becoming the standard in today’s professional world. Naturally, there are benefits and potential drawbacks which must be accurately balanced for professional and personal wellbeing, but the day has more than come. And, so has the AC repair man…

For any additional information, please contact Robert Benz (rbenz@khemia.com) at Khemia Software, Inc. (www.khemia.com).

This is a well written article by Donna Kridelbaugh in Lab Manager:

How to Build the Most Productive Relationship with Your IT Team