One platform for QC capacity and scheduling

Smart-QC is a web-based resource planning and scheduling platform for QC laboratories. It captures every lab activity, from testing and review to support, training, and time away, so your schedule and capacity plan reflect how the lab works.

One unified platform

Replace spreadsheets and manual LIMS assignment with one shared plan for the whole lab.

Automated scheduling

A multi-factor algorithm balances workload, maximizes campaigning, and adapts to changing priorities.

A foundation for growth

Long-term capacity modeling, integrated budgeting, and Cost of Quality visibility for future demand.
Release testing lab, week 43
Analyst utilization and assignments
Auto-scheduled
HPLC-04 down Wednesday. 6 assays moved to HPLC-02 and the schedule rebalanced.
  • A. Patel92%
    HPLC assay x6Dissolution x4
  • J. Kim88%
    Bioburden x8Endotoxin x3
  • R. Gomez85%
    HPLC assay x5Review x4
  • S. Novak61%
    Stability pulls x3
Tests of the same type grouped into campaigns to save setup time

Illustrative example

How it works

From demand to a balanced schedule, then back into continuous improvement.

  1. Connect demand

    Pull received and future samples from LIMS and SAP, plus upcoming production lots from ERP.

  2. Model capacity

    Model analyst and instrument capacity for the short and long term, at one site or across a network.

  3. Schedule automatically

    A configurable algorithm weighs qualifications, priorities, due dates, and your scheduling rules to assign every test and review.

  4. Adapt in real time

    Schedules rebalance around changing priorities, instrument downtime, and time-sensitive tests.

  5. Measure and improve

    Track efficiency, cycle time, on-time delivery, and backlog, then feed results into Lean and Six Sigma programs.

Capabilities built for complex QC labs

Modules that schedule the day, plan years ahead, and show where efficiency is lost.

SCHEDULE

Daily and weekly work, assigned automatically

Automatic scheduling

Daily and weekly assignments for every analyst across labs, replacing manual assignment in LIMS. Supervisors handle the exceptions.

Equipment scheduling

A visual equipment calendar for PM, calibration, downtime, and usage, with specific instruments assigned to each test.

Time-sensitive testing

Smart-QC Terminal pre-plans in-process and micro tests before samples arrive, or assigns them the moment they do

Alert center

Late and at-risk tests, reviews, and lab support in one view for daily tier meetings, replacing the whiteboard.
PLAN

Capacity for next week and the next budget year

Long-term capacity planning

Analyst, reviewer, and instrument requirements against available hours, with gaps by skill and month, one or two years out.

Short-term planning

Upcoming production lots from ERP and SAP, combined with stability, EM, and logged samples over the next 6 to 12 weeks.

What-if and simulation

Site and corporate scenarios for volume, product mix, new products, and campaign strategy, with simulation to set cycle-time targets.

Training planning

See which methods need more qualified analysts for the forecast, then schedule the training time.
IMPROVE

Visibility that drives efficiency

Dashboards and reports

21 real-time dashboard views and more than 70 reports on throughput, efficiency, cycle time, on-time delivery, and backlog.

Cost of Quality

Cost per test, per product, and overall allocation tied to your plan, plus make-or-buy analysis.

Reagent management

Projected reagent needs and reorder points from the forecast, with consumption tracked against tests performed.

Continuous improvement

Delay reasons, efficiency losses, and right-first-time errors captured as work happens, with Lean and Six Sigma built in.

Built for the scheduling rules QC labs actually follow

QC testing is not an assembly line. One product may require 15 tests, each with its own hands-on time, qualifications, and dependencies. Smart-QC models these rules to build a schedule your lab can execute.

Test and review

Finished goods, raw materials, stability, and micro

Lab support

Investigations, change control, method transfer and validation

Availability

Training, meetings, vacation, and overtime

Smart-QC schedules around every activity, not just testing, so analysts are never booked for hours they don’t have.

Rules Smart-QC handles

Multi-day tests and prep, run, and analysis steps split across analysts or shifts
Tests run together, in parallel, or with a set lag between them
Predecessor rules, including tests that wait for another test’s results to be reviewed
Second-analyst verification before a test can be completed
Minimum sample counts or days since arrival before a test is scheduled
Tests limited to certain days, shifts, or analysts
Stability due dates and recommended pull dates that maximize campaigning
Future critical tests scheduled before samples reach the lab

Control your lab, not just your schedule

What changes when capacity, workload, and cost live in one plan.

Plan capacity

Track analyst and instrument capacity at one site or across your network, with a built-in QC budget and allocation tools.

Balance workload

Spread work evenly across analysts and labs, creating more campaigning opportunities and better service to production.

Know your Cost of Quality

Detailed costing at the work-center, product, and test level, plus make-or-buy analysis.

Keep the lab in control

Reporting with what-if analysis that spots productivity drops and supports Lean and Six Sigma improvement.

See all of your lab’s time

Track testing, review, lab support, and time away, so improvements come from real data instead of the testing hours alone.

Easy for analysts to adopt

Start and end assignments from a laptop, tablet, or phone with no app to install, or open the schedule from inside LIMS in one click.

We selected Smart-QC after reviewing 17 different internal/external solutions and have implemented Smart-QC in less than 5 months in 5 of our key sites.

Johnson & Johnson
Smart-QC customer

150+

QC labs deployed worldwide

9 of 15

Of the largest companies in the industry use it

12,000+

Active users, from single departments to global networks

12-16 weeks

To go live with automatic scheduling

Trusted by QC organizations includingPfizerJohnson & JohnsonTevaBiogen

Live in weeks, across every site

A structured implementation gets most labs scheduling in Smart-QC within 12 to 16 weeks, and the same approach scales to several sites at once.

  • WIZARD, a point-and-click implementation module that rolls out to several sites at once
  • A corporate view of implementation progress across every site
  • A library of 30+ video clips and exportable guides for users and administrators
  • Hosted on Amazon cloud, with technical support after go-live
Connected to the systems you already run
One-way data feeds into Smart-QC
LIMSERP and SAPLMSQMSCMMSHR
Demand, people, training, and equipment
Smart-QCOne plan for capacity and scheduling
  • File transfer or REST APIs secured with OAuth2
  • Access controlled by page, role, and data scope
  • Works with LabWare, LabVantage, SampleManager, STARLIMS, SAP QM, and TrackWise

Built for every kind of QC lab

Small moleculeBiologicsAPIContractGenericConsumerMedical deviceInjectableResearchDevelopment

Solutions Overview

Smart-QC at a glance

Download our two-page guide to Smart-QC capacity planning, automated scheduling, and Cost of Quality.

Complete the form to download.

Ready to automate your QC schedule?

Bring next week’s testing plan. We will show you how Smart-QC schedules
it across your analysts and instruments.

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