Use an ELN as the platform to facilitate efficient collaboration [Case Study]
3 min read
Case study prepared with Numaferm, a German biotech company known for their expertise in the field of recombinant peptide/peptein/protein expression.
“SciNote helps us collaborate efficiently by providing a platform for the straightforward communication and relay of information.”
About Numaferm
Numaferm is a German biotech company known for their expertise in the field of recombinant peptide/peptein/protein expression. With a proprietary and highly efficient expression platform, Numaferm pioneered an effective approach to discover, optimize and produce these targets affordably, sustainably and at scale.
Numaferm operates in a range of market segments including pharma, cosmetics, agriculture, and others. Their technologies and operations have been recognized by national and international media and awarded with a range of prestigious prizes.
The Challenge
Good collaboration not only boosts team satisfaction and productivity, but also has a direct effect on profits. Nevertheless, it continues to be a challenge for many organizations. Disconnections between teams and processes within the company, or between the company and external partners, can result in distrust and lead to delays or even financial loss.
The Solution
Numaferm believes the key to collaboration is communication; this involves not only verbal and written communication, but also how data is communicated between and within departments. They use SciNote to facilitate efficient collaboration between their teams.
See the presentation with practical and strategic advice:
Key Takeaways
Cross-departmental collaboration
SciNote eases collaboration and communication between three main departments at Numaferm:
- Molecular Biology – construct design, initial expression tests
- Upstream Processing – expression optimization, scale-up of expression cultures in bio reactors
- Downstream Processing & Analytics – purification of target peptide/protein from bacterial cell lysate, analysis of final product.
There are three key aspects, where SciNote plays a role:
1) Data access & Documentation
Example: access data generated by someone in a different department
Without SciNote:
- Search through local file folders organized by another person in a different department
- Will need additional assistance from the person if the file can’t be located
With SciNote:
- Identify the team the file is generated by
- Open the projects/experiments/tasks of interest using the visual workflow
- Locate all associated data and details directly within the task page
SciNote helps teams to work more efficiently, and spend less time searching for data or asking for someone else for data.
2) Assign tasks, reviewing and questions
Example: assign a task to someone in another team, and ask a few questions about an experiment
Without SciNote:
- Not always possible to talk to the other team member in person
- Emails require attaching all relevant data, which is inconvenient
- Sometimes emails get lost and people forget about the task they are assigned
With SciNote:
- Assign tasks to a team member, add start and due dates
- The team member gets a notification, tracks the task through the main SciNote dashboard
- Monitor project progress through the workflow
- Address questions about results or process using the comments window where the data is
SciNote helps teams to keep track of their project progress and serves as a reliable platform for agile communication between team members.
3) Traceability of chemicals & materials
Example: track chemicals or materials used, e.g., know which certification column was used for which project to avoid cross contamination
Without SciNote:
- Can document the use of purification column in a share Excel file, but
- Things get messy quickly when you work with several people on the same Excel file for column management.
With SciNote:
- Set up an entry for each column
- Store all relevant data within each column entry
- Cross-reference the column in experiments using SciNote’s smart annotation function
- Locate data for the column and all the associated experiments through the advanced search function
SciNote helps the team to track chemicals and materials used easily and with minimal effort, which is very important for quality management.
Results
SciNote helps Numaferm collaborate efficiently by providing a platform for the straightforward communication and relay of information. It specifically helps Numaferm document and access experimental data within and across departments, assign tasks or responsibility, track project progress, address questions, and trace chemicals and materials.
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