Situation

Land & Seas Laboratory isn’t your average testing facility. Founded in Wasilla, this Alaskan-owned laboratory was born from the merger of two established ISO 17025-accredited laboratories: Frontier Fare Testing and The New Frontier Research. This powerhouse combination fuels their mission: to empower Alaska’s agricultural and natural resource sectors to thrive.

Land & Seas Laboratory operates on a multi-pronged approach to achieve this mission:

Consumer Protection: They prioritize public health by offering comprehensive pathogen testing for chemical and biological contaminants in Alaskan food products. This ensures consumers have access to safe, high-quality food.

Preserving Freshness: Understanding the challenges of Alaska’s vast geography, Land & Seas Laboratory offers rapid testing solutions. This minimizes product spoilage and degradation during long transport times, especially in uncontrolled temperatures.

Product Characterization: Going beyond safety checks, Land & Seas Laboratory analyzes products to determine the presence and quantity of crucial commercial characteristics. This empowers producers to understand the unique qualities of their offerings and potentially maximize their value.

Land & Seas Laboratory holds a unique position in Alaska. It is the only third-party laboratory offering both food safety testing and veterinary diagnostics services within the state. This comprehensive approach ensures the health and well-being of Alaskan consumers and livestock. With a strong drive to scale their operations into new testing services, they knew their outdated systems hindered their growth:

Inefficient Data Management: Land & Seas Laboratory relied on a series of Excel spreadsheets that needed updating.

Manual Processes: Data entry, PDF creation, and other tasks were done manually, hindering productivity.

Limited Visibility: The lack of real-time dashboards made data visualization and analysis difficult.

They sought the expertise of a large external company to develop a LIMS system. Despite investing a significant amount of money over two years of development, the LIMS developers demanded an unreasonable number of planning meetings. Shockingly, not a single aspect of the LIMS system was functioning. To stop any further loss of investment funds without a return on the investment, the project was placed on hold, and the current system of connected Excel spreadsheets was evaluated for potential ways to improve efficiency and function.

Recognizing the need for a strategic partner to streamline their operations and data management, Land & Seas Laboratory Jessica did what any Laboratory owner and Director would do—she turned to Google.

Solution

In their search, they found ProsperSpark, an ideal partner for Land & Seas Laboratory because of their expertise in Excel and data. Their qualifications stood out for three specific reasons:

Extensive Excel Knowledge: ProsperSpark’s team possessed the necessary skills to optimize and update the lab’s existing Excel spreadsheets, connecting them via Airtables and building a consolidated real-time sample dashboard for sample management.

Automation Expertise: Land & Seas Laboratory needed a partner experienced in automating tasks like PDF and CSV creation, a skillset ProsperSpark readily offered.

Proven Track Record: ProsperSpark’s experience working with complex models and adhering to strict NDAs made them a perfect fit for the project.

In preparation for their initial consultation, Jessica envisioned supplying ProsperSpark with instructions to streamline their processes. However, she found that ProsperSpark took a more collaborative approach, offering valuable guidance on prioritizing and tackling the extensive list of requests. Working with a senior consultant and a developer with just the right expertise, it was quickly evident that their current system could serve as a base for building the whole LIMS system through a series of embedded functions, automation, and developing an Airtable repository for the company’s data. After just a few planning meetings to discuss goals and priorities, work began to develop and actively implement the optimizations.

ProsperSpark’s developer collaborated closely with lab personnel throughout the project, completing each phase incrementally at a fraction of the cost expended on the previous non-functional system. This approach allowed for the seamless integration of the new LIMS system with the existing tools. Given the team’s familiarity with their current system and the incremental nature of the changes, minimal staff training was required, ensuring minimal disruption to workflows.

Jessica finds no reason to revisit the previous company for additional assistance. The system is now robust and thoroughly tailored to their requirements. Moreover, ProsperSpark’s training equipped them to troubleshoot and implement changes independently, as they were actively involved in the weekly development process.

The improvements have enabled Land & Seas Laboratory to resume expanding services without requiring additional personnel, as many daily tasks were automated. Furthermore, audits have become notably easier, as the system alerts personnel to pending tasks, training, expiration dates, and offers extensive search and traceability capabilities, as well as automating the employee orientation process and inventory. As a result, operational efficiency has increased markedly.

When asked if there was something she would tell someone considering using ProsperSpark’s services to streamline their operations, Laboratory Owner and Director Jessica Alexander said, “Pick one thing you would like to optimize and allow ProsperSpark the opportunity to complete a trial project. You’ll be blown away at the ease, speed, and customization!”

Whether you have a small process you want to make easier or a large-scale overhaul ahead of you, ProsperSpark can help you get there.