Freezerworks

A real lifesaver for labs!

Kommentare: We really enjoy using freezerworks for keeping all of our samples organized and to know the exact location of each sample. I really like that we can also see if other labs across the institution have materials that we may need to borrow, so that we can reach out and ask for a sample if needed. It really facilitates not only the grant accounting and auditing part of things, but also the ability to effectively collaborate and share reagents across the institution.

Vorteile:

This application has been a real lifesaver for our lab. We never thought we needed software to keep track of what was in our freezer until we had an accidental meltdown, and we had to manually account for everything that was potentially damaged/destroyed for grant purposes as well as the fact that there were clinical samples in there. Freezerworks makes it simple to be able to barcode and identify individual samples from within the software, including details like their origin and study number, for easy access later. We used to keep everything in an excel file and that became really cumbersome given the fact that we have over 2000 samples. Freezerworks makes it easy to search for samples and keep track of who is accessing each one so that there is a complete audit trail. Great for grants and for collaborative research!

Nachteile:

It is so complex that it requires a training session to be able to utilize fully. Luckily, our institution offers these once a month, but a user that is insufficiently trained can really mess up the lab system for everyone if they are allowed to "play around and learn" as we sometimes have summer students do with other software.

An amazing software for Sample storage tracking and monitoring

Kommentare: When the laboratory I was working in at Christian Medical College, India decided to start barcoding and taking inventory of all the samples stored in the -80C and -20C freezers (nearly 40K samples). We were in the market looking for a software that was easy to use and had a very good service support since, even the most user friendly software require some maintenance. Freezerworks was suggested to us from our US collaborators, with the initial trial period allowing us access to the complete software use, we were able to see that this was what we need. Within a short period we purchased the software and with technical assistance by phone and skype we were able to quickly set-up the software to our needs. I personally trained lab members on how to use the software and even they felt that it was easy and user friendly. Within a span of 2 months after acquiring the software we had cataloged every single sample and decision was made to start cataloging all samples being stored on a daily basis. With nearly 800 - 1000 samples being cataloged a day from multiple users and studies, the laboratory decided to have a audit trail, this feature was bought in by the Freezerworks Unlimited software we acquired. Now with multiple login id's each with their password, we could track the daily login and withdrawal of samples. It's been 7 years since we have been using Freezerworks in the laboratory and I can confidently rely on the information that the software provides me regarding any of the samples. Even though I am no longer in the laboratory, I am glad to see that people have adapted and taken in the software as a second extension to record keeping of all the samples. Pros:
Ease of use and adaptability to any laboratory needs.
A very good Audit trail and tailor made reports for all samples or study based samples.
Multiple login and network based system allows for multiple terminals.
Amazing team of service and technical personnel for set-up and troubleshooting. Cons:
Initial versions required large processing power, but was later updated in the newer versions. Overall Impression:
A must have software if you are dealing with a large number of samples and need to have an established tracking method.

Freezerworks Unlimited 6.0 Server and Software Migration

Kommentare: I thought I would share my experience performing a migration of Freezerworks between platforms. We have been running Freezerworks Unlimited since 2011. In late 2013 my group was given the task of taking over the offering and support of Freezerworks which is when I got involved with this product. We are running six instances: two test, two staging, and two production with around 60 users defined. Life got interesting when we decided to migrate to new hardware. We set up new virtual servers, then installed the Freezerworks Server Software . This was easy to do following the documentation provided. We then made the appropriate changes in the Windows Firewall to allow the Freezerworks Client to access the server. Again this process is documented and not difficult. This whole process took about a day. I then copied one of my test databases from the old test server to the new test server. This was a simple process of zipping the files on the old server and then unzipping them on the new server. There were no issues on my end. I also enlisted some users of the system to test and they found none either. My process for the move from the old servers to the new servers mimicked the first move to the test servers. On a Friday after the close of business I stopped the server software on the old servers to prevent further access. I then zipped the two production databases and moved them to the new production, staging, and test servers. I started the server software on all the new servers and we were back in business in about four hours.
The only change the user base had to make was the first time they logged in they needed to change the ip address that they used for the database. Otherwise this change was completely transparent to the user base. This was much easier than any setup I have done on web based products. This product runs pretty much out of the box with minimal involvement from Systems Administrators and no need for any web resources. Also, the ability to use SSL and the fact that passwords are hashed and salted along with our other security measures make me comfortable about data and password security. The servers require very little attention once you have the backups configured and running the way you want them. The only tricky part on the client side is supporting printers. Since my customers are geographically close it is not an issue for me to go to a lab if needed.

Maintaining sample storage and integrity

Kommentare: My name is Slee Mbhele and I work in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Cape Town. In my role as our departmental data manager, I'm in charge of data and sample storage for approximately 12 ongoing clinical trials. For our research, we collect a diverse assortment of specimens from different clinical sites. All samples received in our laboratory are processed and stored, and diagnostic results are generated. To manage the nearly half a million samples (and counting), I rely on Freezerworks to do the information management, so that my colleagues and I can concentrate on the research. Freezerworks (FWs) has helped my department maintain sample storage integrity. We are now able to share and even ship our samples and datasets with our collaborators and funders with extreme confidence. With FWs audit trail, we don't stress about remembering the history of specific specimens, where each aliquot stored, or what the DNA concentration is for any of the samples. Everything that happens to and with each sample is tracked. This gives us such peace of mind! FWs takes the headache out of sample reception and storage, and allows the focus to remain on clinical diagnosis and scientific discovery! FWs is absolutely a user friendly software that can be tailored to your needs, however, to be able to get the most out of FWs, one needs to be comfortable using a computer and patient while learning the system. That being said, FWs has costumer care representatives available 24/7 to assist with any issues you may encounter. To become familiar with the software, we scheduled weekly customer care meetings with a FWs consultant. We found them to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the software. That really made a difference in the beginning, and now that we are fluent in FWs, we rarely need their support, however when we do, they are always happy to help us.

Utilizing configurable sample management software program to also serve as LIMS

Kommentare: At Genocea Biosciences, a small biotech company, we face the challenge of performing clinical trials with limited resources, which at times can restrict the purchase of high cost software programs. We chose Freezerworks as our sample management software to electronically map our freezers housing a multitude of sample types. We also chose Freezerworks for compliance with the FDA's requirement of 21 CFR part 11 regulations of electronic records. After experiencing the user-friendly interface of the software and responsive technical support Freezerworks provided, we chose to expand the use of Freezerworks as a cost-effective LIMS and data management software. We had a six month window in which to configure Freezerworks to safely store assay data for five different assay types and incorporate the database into our workflow. The generation of Excel macros was vital to automate the process of transferring instrument-generated experimental data into Freezerworks. Ultimately, the driving force of the selection of Freezerworks as a LIMS was the flexibility of it's configurable software; it can be manipulated to appropriately store data from a variety of assays and their outputs. We are saving thousands of dollars in IT costs by utilizing the configurable nature of the sample management software program to also serve as our LIMS. Besides tracking sample and aliquot locations, Freezerworks is now storing and managing the assay data from our clinical trials.