US EPA Region8, ATTN: 8TMS-G(Simplified Acquisitions), 999 18th St., Ste. 500, Denver, CO 80202-2466

D -- LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEM (LIMS) SOL RFQ-CO-00-00626 DUE 070500 POC Maureen Martin (303)312-7089 or Virginia Burns (303)312-6366 E-MAIL: Maureen Martin, Contracting Officer, or Virginia Burns,, martin.maureen@epa.gov. The United States Environmental Protection Agency"s Region 8 Laboratory in Golden, Colorado wishes to implement a client-server based Regional Laboratory Information Management System (RLIMS) to manage the large volume of data which flows throughout the facility. The system should have the following characteristics: The server portion of the RLIMS must be capable of running on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server. The client component of the RLIMS must be capable of running on Microsoft Windows or Microsoft NT 4.0 Workstation. The RLIMS software must be able to run over Category 5, unshielded twisted pair cabling running standard Ethernet and TCP/IP protocol stacks. The client-based component must be a native 32-bit application to take advantage of the speed and capability of the client workstations. The server-based component should be a native 32-bit application to take advantage of the speed and capability of the server. Both the client and the server components must be fully Year 2000 compliant when purchased. The dates must be displayed with a four digit year and the transfer of data to external applications must be YYYYMMDD format. The product must be scalable in such a way that the server engine can be upgraded from a light-duty Microsoft Access solution to a more capable relation database such as Oracle. This is especially important as the laboratory already owns several licenses for Microsoft Access but like to be able to upgrade to a more capable database engine if the volume dictates the need to do so. The RLIMS needs to have the inherent capability of interfacing with all of the instruments presently in use at the Region 8 laboratory. A listing of the instruments is contained in this statement of work. The RLIMS must provide seemless integration with existing Laboratory standard statistical analyses packages, Northwest Analytical Quality Analyst (NWAQA), etc. The RLIMS must have a fully definable and customizable work flow capability to allow the system to track in a way that mimics the natural flowof data throughout the laboratory. The Region 8 laboratory is unwilling to change the way business is conducted to suite an application; rather the Region 8 laboratory prefers to customize an application to suite the way business is conducted at the Region 8 laboratory. The RLIMS must be able to differentiate surveys and/or projects to a specific fiscal year. This is necessary for the generation of annual reports. The RLIMS must be able to differentiate between Superfund and non Superfund projects. The RLIMS must be flexible from an application and RDBMS standpoint. For instance, for auditing and accountability it may be necessary to track the number of hours an analyst works on a project. The RLIMS must be able to track statuses from sample login to completion (including disposal) and there must be some flexibility in this aspect. The RLIMS system must be able to integrate easily to our standard Geographical Information System (GIS) which is ArcInfo. The RLIMS must be able to archive data routinely to online and offline devices. The RLIMS must be able to share its data using OLE 2.0. The RLIMS should be ODBC compliant The RLIMS server must be accessible by third party products for the generation of Adhoc queries. Quality Assurance Management: The RLIMS system must offer flexible QA batching to meet both simple and demanding QA QC requirements. Options must include batching by analysis group, sample group or prep group, or by project. It is intended that the analysts in each service area will create QA batches and create sample numbers for the required QC samples according tpo laboratory QC sample naming convention. The user must be able to configure the QA test, select QA intervals and define QC performance criteria. User specified calculations such as precision, accuracy and recovery, must be possible. It is intended that the RLIMS will evaluate the analyst's performance against the defined criteria, and flag results that exceed performance criteria. In general this will include performance on blanks, calibration verifications, laboratory duplicates, fortified samples/matrix spikes, and external source standards. The system must permit tracking of the assigned QA tests and must be able to report samples in groups with associated QA/QC. The user must be able to validate by batched QA groups. Validation must occur before samples can be placed in a report queue. Validation must be a menu driven spreadsheet application. Validation should have access to all information about a sample or group of samples. That information should include the following: -- Previous validation information -- Summary of specification violations -- Audit trail information -- Complete QA/QC information -- All sample header information -- Complete trend and statistics analysis by analyte and sample point. Validation must allow review of comments or special information about the sample and must allow review of all analytical results. Flexible QC charting and reporting by test, analyst or instrument must be possible. The RLIMS system must be capable of operating smoothly with the NWA Quality Analyst for Windows statistical charting and report software and allow searching of the database and write properly delimited data files, header files and batch processing files to allow graphic display and printing of charts such as Shewhart charts with related X-bar and range. Statistical charting must be possible for all QA/QC parameters. Exception trail and reporting must be included for all out of specification results. The system must support a method of identifying sample location within the inventory and provide a means of reporting the progress of the sample in the laboratory. A full GALP compliant audit trail must be maintained at all times and must be available at validation for review.Security:Password security must limit access to data. System should provide audit trail of all access. IT IS THIS AGENCY'S INTENT TO AWARD THIS AS A SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT (SEE NUMBERED NOTE #22) TO ANALYTICAL AUTOMATION SPECIALIST, INC. IN ACCORDANCEWITH THE FOLLOWING SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION: Sole Source Justification for Laboratory Information Management System. The current laboratory information management system (LIMS) is being replaced to keep pace with current technology. Specifications and information were considered from the following LIMS vendors: Lab Lite LLC (Lab Lite 2000TM), ChemWare (HorizonTM). Axiom (Lab Vantage SolutionsTM), ACS (SEED PAKTM), Accelerated Technology Laboratories, Inc. (Sample MasterTM), Lab Systems (Sample ManagerTM), Telecation (ConiferTM), Lab Works by Analytical Automation Specialists (EnterpriseTM). Three of these vendors, Lab Works, Lab Lite and Lab Systems were invited to the Region 1 Laboratory to present a demonstration of their software products to the LIMS committee. At the conclusion of this fact finding process, the committee determined that the most appropriate software to replace the current LIMS system would be Lab Works by Analytical Automation Specialists (EnterpriseTM). The Enterprise software was recommended based upon the following:- Lab Works' Enterprise package utilizes an Oracle or MS Access data base engine. The use of an Oracle or MS Access driven software package will result in an overall cost savings to the Agency because EPA Region 8 has an up to date, user license for Oracle and MS Access. Lab Works LIMS directly links to NWA Quality Analysts software package which the laboratory currently uses for overall quality assurance/quality control requirements. This will facilitate a smooth transition into the new LIMS system. None of the other LIMS packages offered this feature. This software provides the ability to directly link to at least all of the Region 8 lab's current instrumentation. This allows direct transfer of analyte information from instrument method files to the reporting format. This feature will enhance our ability to quickly utilize the product to build custom reports. Lab Works was the only company that had the ability to do this. Being able to directly parse information from our existing method files to the reporting format will save countless hours during startup and implementation. The Lab Works Enterprise LIMS software is currently used by four other EPA laboratories. The current use of this system by other EPA laboratories (4) will significantly benefit EPA Region 8. The ease of startup and implementation will be enhanced, and we will have the capability to seamlessly transfer information and technology throughout the Agency. SEE NUMBERED NOTE #22 Posted 06/29/00 (D-SN470355). (0181)

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