Before importing your Inventory into Labstep, it's essential to have the right setup in place. Utilising templates and pre-defined metadata fields ensures that all relevant information, such as expiry dates, SMILES, or chemical structures, is automatically added to your Resources and Items, fostering consistency and organisation in your Inventory management process. Additionally, setting alerts and thresholds ensures you are kept up to date on stock levels and expiry dates.
Templates
Using templates is a way to track your Inventory consistently and efficiently. Templates can be set at the resource and item levels to track more detailed information about what you have in the lab.
In the previous article, we went over the structure of the Inventory as a reminder:
Item → the specific batch or bottle of what you have in the lab | i.e. Bottle #1
Resource → a group of items that are chemically / biologically identical | i.e. Sodium Nitrite
Resource Category → a group of resources of the same type | i.e. Biochemicals and Reagents
Templates allow you to define custom metadata fields and default values and set alerts. This means that each new resource or item added to your Inventory will have the specified fields and any pre-set data too.
Resource Template
A resource template is a template that is applied to all resources within a specific category. This can be useful for ensuring consistency and organisation within your Inventory. Before creating a Resource template, it's best to create a Resource Category first.
The resource template contains custom metadata fields that you can define, such as Vendors, Catalog Numbers, etc. Labstep supports several different data types, including special types for Chemical Structures and DNA Sequences. See a full summary below.
You can add metadata fields to the template one by one or in bulk by clicking on "Add many...". For more information on how to create resource templates, click here.
These metadata fields determine which columns you will see when viewing this category on the Resource View.
You can also set an alert threshold on your Resource template to alert you once the number of available items of that resource drops below a certain number (for more on the different types of alerts, see below).
Item Template
You can also create a template for all the items within the category. Here, you can define a default location for your items and metadata fields specific to each item, such as Lot Numbers, Barcodes, and Expiry dates.
You can define an initial amount for items, i.e. 500 mL, and set an "Alert Threshold" to be notified when the remaining amount drops below a certain value– you can also set the amount and threshold for each item independently of your templates if you wish.
You can also enable custom templates for items within a specific resource if you want to collect different metadata fields for those items.
Metadata Field
A metadata field is a type of field used to store additional information about a resource or item. This can include things like keywords, descriptions, vendors, catalogue numbers and other relevant data that describe the resource or item. You can then use that metadata field to filter through your Inventory.
Types of Metadata Fields
There are several types of metadata fields that can be used in the Inventory. These include:
Text | You can use this field to add any type of text value. You can also use this one if you have a value that has both numbers and text, or for a link/URL. | You can filter by exact match to the value. |
Date | Use this field to track things like Expiry Dates. You can also set alerts | You can filter by date range. |
Date and time | Use this field for more granularity and if you want to have custom alerts. | You can filter by date range |
Numeric | Use this field for numerical value. You can pre-set the unit at the template level. This is useful for things like Concentrations. | You can filter using "less than and greater than".
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Options | Use this field to restrict what people can do. You can give them the ability to add more options. Additionally, single and multi-selection are available. For example, you can use options to track the Vendor for a resource. | You can filter by either "value includes..." or "value excludes..." |
File / Image | Use this field to add images, relevant guides and documents. | No filters available. |
For Resources only:
Chemistry | You can add structures and fetch PubChem data. For more information on the Chemistry tools, click here | You can filter by Chemical structure. |
Sequence | You can add sequences to your resources. For more information on the Sequence editor, click here | No filters available. |
Alerts
Alerts on Date Fields
With so much data being stored and shared, it's crucial to keep track of changes and updates to your metadata fields. That's where alerts come in. Alerts on date fields allow you to receive notifications when it's the due date.
If you set up an alert for a date field on your Resource or Item template, it will be automatically set when the user enters the date on the specific resource/item.
Date fields → set an alert for the date specified, 1 day or 1 week before
Date and time fields → set an alert for the time specified, 5 minutes before, 10 minutes before, 15 minutes before, 30 minutes before, 1 hour before, 2 hours before, 1 day before, 2 days before or custom.
Alert Thresholds
Alert thresholds give you an indication of when you're running out of something. You can set these yourself depending on the way you manage your Inventory.
You can set these at two levels: the resource level (how many items are left) and the item level (what is the amount remaining i.e. in mL or g). These can be independent of the template and be set for each resource and item.
Conclusion
By leveraging metadata fields and templates, you can streamline your Inventory management process in Labstep. Automating the addition of crucial information ensures consistency and accuracy, enhancing the overall efficiency of your laboratory operations.
☞ Knowledge Check
What are metadata fields, and how do they aid in Inventory management?
How can you set up alerts on date fields in Labstep?
What is the purpose of Resource Templates, and how do you create one?
Describe the process of setting up an Item Template in Labstep.
What additional customisation option is available for items within a resource in Labstep?
This lesson is part of the "Labstep 101: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" course. View all lessons here.