Metallurgical testing service optimises efficiency using QSI’s WinLims Rental

The UK’s biggest single site, commercial metallurgical laboratory, Rotech Laboratories of Wednesbury, has optimised its investment in a WinLims Rental solution for contract laboratories from Quality Systems International by linking the WinLims software with the West Midlands contract laboratory’s Sage accounting software.

 

The new development will improve the efficiency and customer service levels of the organization’s metallurgical testing and consultancy services by enabling data to be easily updated across Rotech’s administrative and financial systems.

 

Rotech, which has UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation and also complies with Rolls Royce requirements, offers a series of metallurgical testing and consultancy services that primarily support companies operating in the energy and power, fasteners, automotive and general engineering sectors.

 

Part of the Rubery Owen group, Rotech Laboratories tests a wide selection of engineering parts and components including castings, tubes and wires. The laboratory is equipped to test all types of alloy, both ferrous and non-ferrous, and offers a 24-hour turnaround on urgent samples. The business focuses on three major testing areas: Chemical analysis and corrosion science, Mechanical testing and Metallurgy. 

 

QSI installed WinLims at Rotech about ten months ago initially to support the laboratory’s chemical analysis service. 

 

“After we’ve finished in the chemical analysis area we are going to expand WinLims into all the other services we offer,” explained Richard Smith, the managing director of Rotech Laboratories. “We are keen to spread WinLims across our range of testing services.  There is no point in a company of our size buying a product like WinLims for just a part of the business. To get business benefit out of a system like that we have to apply it across the whole business”.                                                           

At the moment Rotech uses the WinLims software to create 60 reports a week to support the chemical analysis service.  In total Rotech currently generates 60 to 70 reports a day across the business in all disciplines and ultimately it is planned that WinLims will generate reports for all of those services.

 

“Now we are finding that more and more customers are requiring .PDF reports and Rotech wants to produce more and more reports that can be sent electronically.   Electronic report distribution is more cost effective.  It is simpler and cheaper for us because no postage is involved,” commented Smith.  “Our business process goes from enquiries, quotation, sample receipt, sample booking-in, sample preparation, sample test, sample result, sample report and invoicing through to financial system update. Once we are invoicing on our own and, most importantly, updating Sage we will have completed the business cycle. I also believe one of the key benefits of WinLims is when you consider the power behind the software and its ability to track and trace jobs and produce audit trails.”

QSI’s WinLims Rental solution provides ‘out of the box’ LIMS software for a rental fee of a few hundred pounds a month for a 3-user system.  WinLims Rental is identical to QSI’s full WinLims system, and comes bundled with an installation program and tutorials to get users up and running as quickly and easily as possible.  The rental agreements can be converted to a subscription contract or full purchase at any time, keeping an organization’s options open. 

 

Visit www.qsiuk.com  or call +44 1844 208598 for more information