Archiving Electronic InformationKeeping records is vital for any organization, and as advances in technology increase apace, more and more of these records are now being generated, processed and stored in electronic format. This Technical Supplement examines the issues involved with archiving of electronic data, looks at the requirements for record keeping from a regulatory perspective, and examines some of the current approaches to the problem.
Asset_MonitoringCritical assets sit at the heart of industry. They are integral to the safe and profitable delivery of the services that businesses depend upon. Their scale, which depends intrinsically upon the business domain and nature of the service, can range from power line grids and underground pipelines down to a single tiny battery. The common factor is the importance of their particular link in a complex service delivery chain. The business challenge is to keep these key assets operational for as long as possible without sacrificing reliability or safety, at an acceptable cost. For each scenario the right balance has to be found between the likelihood of failure, and the associated impact.
Bayesian StatisticsBayesian techniques are an alternative to classical or frequentist methods. Although frequentist statistical techniques are more commonly used, the use of Bayesian methods is increasingly widespread. Bayesian techniques are used in a broad range of situations such as radar tracking, inertial navigation, spotting credit card fraud and analysing clinical trials.
Beowulf Computer ClustersMore and more organizations are turning to Beowulf clusters to provide solutions to their highly computationally intensive problems. This supplement seeks to understand what Beowulf computers are and how they can solve your computation problems.
Beyond LIMS: the integrated data pipelineIntegration of the LIMS with other systems to build a data pipeline can provide business benefits far beyond simple efficiency and quality gains. Integration is an enabler for a whole range of technologies and business processes from the laboratory to the enterprise level.
Computational Fluid DynamicsComputational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a rapidly developing discipline. This technical supplement aims to provide current and prospective users of CFD technology with an overview of emerging techniques, which may enhance their CFD capability. In addition, the guide will consider ways in which organizations using CFD technology can benefit from smart IT-based methods to make their use of CFD more productive.
Computer Image ProcessingImage processing is a growth field covering a wide range of techniques for the manipulation of digital images. With the low cost and high availability of CCD cameras, more companies than ever before are able to utilize image processing software and reliable hardware in their research, production and quality control environments, as well as in their products.
Decision Support SystemsA Decision Support System (DSS) is any tool used to improve the process of decision making in complex systems, particularly where information is uncertain or incomplete. DSS is an old term that now applies collectively to a number of “new” systems such as OLAP (On Line Analytical Processing), EIS, ESS, expert systems and more. This technical supplement will present DSS as a whole.
Digital archiving in the pharmaceutical industryThe most commonly cited reason for retaining digital information within pharmaceutical companies is to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and to protect intellectual property. This paper discusses the challenges posed by digital archiving – in particular those faced by the pharmaceutical industry – drawing on the experience of building practical archival solutions.
Digital Preservation - practical experiencesDigital preservation is an issue for any organization which produces electronic records with a lifetime exceeding that of the software or hardware used to create or read them. Failure to address the situation could lead to irrevocable loss of data. This White Paper discusses the key issues from data selection to future-proofing the records.
Electronic Data Capture (EDC)Electronic Data Capture (EDC) is the gathering of data collected by humans into computer systems without the need for manual data re-entry. This technical supplement provides an overview of EDC techniques and then looks at some case studies where EDC has been used and has been a major benefit to organizations.
Electronic Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF)The UK Government produces, maintains and publishes vast quantities of information. In the past this has been made available haphazardly, conforming to differing standards across different parts of the public sector. Interaction and sharing of data across departments has become both difficult and costly. This document deals with the main features of the e-GIF framework, including how it is set to evolve, its relation to other initiatives, and how compliance is enforced.
Extending the life of softwareThe purpose of this report is to focus on the benefits of updating outmoded user interfaces and data presentation methods with more current approaches.
FDA 21 CFR Part 11FDA rule 21CFR Part 11 describes the regulatory framework required for submission of electronic records to the FDA. This technical supplement describes the core requirements that need to be considered when adopting or developing an electronic records system to ensure that it meets the FDA's requirements.
FormulationFormulation within manufacturing industries is an important and complex process. From conception through to production, the entire development lifecycle has to be managed. Within this overall process, the formulation stage (which includes product conception and manufacturing process design) is particularly difficult to manage, and in this highly competitive information driven world, the success of a business may ultimately depend on the quality of its formulation system.
Grid ComputingGrid computing provides a way of sharing computer resources such as processing and storage capacity for solving massive computational problems. The resources may include a dedicated cluster in an organization's computer room, an unmanaged cluster of workstations in the next building, or potentially a home PC on the other side of the world.
InstrumentationThe control and automation of an instrumentation device through software has applications in a range of industries. This technical supplement discusses the issues involved in implementing an instrument control system.
Integrated Laboratory SystemsThe process of conducting scientific research within a laboratory environment is a relatively complex one. The typical workflow for a research scientist will involve numerous steps using a variety of applications. Often the applications integrate poorly with each other and a researcher can spend a lot of time performing housekeeping tasks such as file reformatting. An Integrated Laboratory System offers a method of integrating each step of a process using a standard interface.
LIMSLaboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) address a number of needs in laboratory environments: elimination of paper records, automatic data collection and management of laboratory data and personnel. This technical supplement looks at the options available to a company wishing to implement a LIMS.
OpensourceOpen Source Software (OSS) can no longer said to be only an out-of-hours pastime for enthusiasts as more and more commercial organizations, including the likes of IBM, take strategic decisions to embrace OSS. This supplement will consider the relative advantages/disadvantages of OSS as a whole and then look at some concrete examples of real OSS used in IT infrastructure and software development.
Portable GUI DevelopmentPortability of applications across different platforms is a subject that has attracted a lot of attention for some time. This report outlines the Java approach and some other methods and tools which can be used to create truly portable interfaces and can be maintained as a single application.
Real-Time SystemsThe first part of this document looks at some of the aspects that distinguish a real-time system from other computing systems. The second part examines some of those aspects in the context of choosing between a common general-purpose operating system and specialized real-time operating systems.
Soft ComputingSoft Computing is an umbrella term for a collection of computing techniques including evolutionary computing, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic and Bayesian statistics. Used together they can produce solutions to problems that are too complex or inherently noisy to tackle with conventional mathematical methods.
Software Development Cycle A well structured approach is essential to the success of any software development project. This report details a set of procedures which describe how each phase of the software development lifecycle should be organised.
Software DocumentationManuals are often written with little, or no consideration for the needs of new users: a fact reinforced by the number of 'Dummy's Guide' books subsequently written to interpret the manufacturer's own documentation. This supplement provides guidelines on writing software documentation, which, if followed, should ensure that users of your software will be fully satisfied.
Software PortabilityEnd users are demanding the same functionality on the whole spectrum of systems available to them. This supplement aims to help the developer to recognize the need for portability as early as possible and to engineer the application with this in mind.
Software Re-Engineering ProcessThis report provides a general overview of the software re-engineering process. Its main purpose being to give a brief high-level guide on how old, poorly documented, poorly structured code can be brought up to an acceptable and maintainable standard.
Software SpecificationThis supplement aims to introduce you to some of the approaches used to specify software and give advice on the circumstances in which these approaches can be used.
Workflow SystemsWorkflow systems are being used more and more in the scientific and engineering sectors to automate business processes. The needs for global systems, high throughput and regulatory compliance are driving forces for automation through workflow, and there is a wealth of technological options to choose from.
