In pharmaceutical R&D, QC and manufacturing environments, equipment management is directly linked to GMP and compliance. Records of calibrations, maintenance and documentation can become important during GMP inspections and audits.
Modern pharma laboratories also have increasingly large amounts of digital information — which isn't necessarily connected.
Traditional lab asset management can be fragmented across spreadsheets tracking equipment, separate systems for maintenance/calibration, email-based equipment bookings, sensors/IoT platforms monitoring some equipment and enterprise asset management (EAM) systems handling other information.
Trying to connect these disparate data sources can make it difficult for laboratory teams to establish a clear picture of what equipment they have, where it is, how it is being used and whether it is available, maintained and compliant.
It is this challenge that Elemental Machines is looking to address with its new Resources Manager platform, which brings asset and location information, scheduling, files and records into a single operational view.
The platform is a centralised asset intelligence and management platform designed to enable life sciences teams to manage the operational context around their equipment, locations, schedules and records, defragmenting their operational records.
Elemental Machines said that Resources had been designed to be able to work alongside existing enterprise asset management systems or to stand on its own as an asset management and intelligence solution for teams building that capability for the first time.
It should give teams visibility over their equipment availability, maintenance, calibration and documentation — and specifically for pharma labs, teams will be able to view timestamped histories, role-based access, validation/change-control support and audit-ready records.
"Lab teams shouldn’t have to chase the truth across spreadsheets, file shares and siloed systems,” said Rob Estrella, CEO of Elemental Machines.
Resources puts every asset, location, schedule and record into one operational view, so teams can act faster, reduce risk and move through audits with confidence.
Labs are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency, ensure compliance and justify capital investments. Elemental Machines said the new Resources platform brings asset-specific operational context into one connected system, giving teams a clearer view of what they have, where it is, how it is being used and what needs attention.
This can make it easier for teams to make informed decisions about instrument purchasing and justify capital investments.
"Reliable lab operations start with reliable asset management and intelligence,” added Dr Sridhar Iyengar, founder and Chief Strategy & Technology Officer of Elemental Machines.
Linking equipment, data, documentation, scheduling and location context enables teams to make faster, better-informed decisions, whether Resources is complementing an existing system or serving as the foundation.
The company added that advanced analytics and AI-driven insights would be opt-in and governed by customer SOPs.
For those within the pharma sector, the introduction of the platform mirrors the broader industry's move towards digitalisation, connected laboratories and data-driven operations in order to drive efficiency.
