A Better Alternative to Excel Worksheets

Many laboratories use Excel worksheets to collect, store and evaluate sample and QC data.

While Excel is an easy application to create these charts, it has a number of significant drawbacks.

Firstly they can only be accessed by one User at a time, not good in a busy laboratory with strict deadlines.

Then there is a problem with multiple versions of an Excel sheet being used and saved in multiple locations, often this results in an outdated version being used for a task potentially leading to wrong QC limits being imposed on a result.

Lastly, the use of Excel creates problems with data integrity, it’s common to lose data by not saving or backing-up correct, it’s also easy to falsify results as audit trails are difficult to follow.

A better alternative is to use ArDB to replace multiple Excel sheets in one place.

ArDB is held in a central location that multiple Users can access simultaneously using their unique login detail. This eliminates problems with worksheet versions, backups, and audit trails. All the advanced statistical analysis and modeling tools (and more) are available in ArDB.

In summary, wherever you use an Excel worksheet there is a potential application for ArDB. This is particularly important in regulated environments where data safety and integrity are paramount.