LIMS development

Eastman Chemical Company uses Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS to streamline business processes and deliver enhanced automation benefits

Eastman Chemical Company, a large global manufacturer of chemicals, fibers and plastics, has expanded its deployment of Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS (laboratory information management system), which it has used since 2000 in its manufacturing quality control laboratories, to its Corporate Technology Analytical Laboratories. For the implementation, Eastman Chemical Company also chose Thermo Scientific Connects, which enables the LIMS to be fully integrated with the laboratory's instruments and can be integrated with other proprietary databases and ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems enterprise-wide.

Eastman Chemical Company manufactures chemicals, fibers and plastics materials used by its customers to make common consumer products. The company is the first manufacturer in the U.S. to develop and commercialize technology that derives chemicals from coal rather than petroleum. With 2010 sales revenue of $5.8 billion, the company has 13 major manufacturing facilities around the world.

Eastman Chemical Company selected Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS for its ability to operate a certified interface with SAP, and the system has integrated seamlessly with it since implementation. Based on the successful deployment of SampleManager LIMS at its quality control laboratories across 13 sites in eight countries, Eastman Chemical extended the LIMS implementation to its Corporate Technology Analytical Laboratories, located at its Tennessee headquarters.

“The Technology division selected Thermo Scientific SampleManager because it was easy to use and could be easily configured and managed in-house at Eastman Chemical,” said James Watson, systems analyst at Eastman Chemical Company. “We have reduced costs by eliminating paper reports, working electronically and involving sample submitters in the process by giving them access to results in real-time. LIMS standardization is the solution required in today’s high throughput analytical laboratories.”

To achieve optimal quality control, Eastman Chemical needed a coherent strategy that would integrate data between the LIMS, ERP multiple instruments and ELNs (electronic laboratory notebooks) across the enterprise. “The overall integration of our connected informatics solutions provides a seamless and secure quality control environment at Eastman Chemical Company,” added James Watson.

“The world’s largest manufacturing and petrochemical organizations rely on our integrated LIMS solutions to help them maintain their quality and production standards,” said Dave Champagne, manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific Informatics. “We are excited to be working with Eastman Chemical, making it easier for them to work in a pressured environment with increasing requirements to conduct projects professionally, on-time and within budget. Thermo Scientific Connects assisted in the effort, integrating application-specific workflows and helping transform laboratory data into relevant business information that maximizes enterprise system investments and better supports critical management decisions in a resource-constrained environment.”