Glossary

Laboratory stock and quality terms, explained

The words you will meet when you manage reagents, purchasing, equipment and quality records, defined in plain language. Where Vitrio does something specific, we say so.

Acceptance inspection: Checking a delivery against the order before it is accepted into stock: the right item, quantity, batch, expiry date, packaging and storage condition. In Vitrio a goods receipt records the result, and a failed inspection quarantines the stock and opens a corrective action.
Approval chain: The ordered list of people who must approve a purchase request before it can become an order, for example a manager and then a laboratory administrator. Each decision is recorded with the name, the time and any comment.
Audit trail: A record of who did what and when. In Vitrio every create, update and delete of an operational record, and every sign-in and export, is logged with the person, time, network address and what changed.
Batch (lot): A quantity of a reagent or consumable made in one production run and sharing one batch or lot number and one expiry date. Tracking by batch lets you trace which results a reagent was used for if it is later recalled.
Calibration: Comparing an instrument against a known reference and adjusting it so its readings are accurate. Calibration records show when it was last done, by whom, and when it is next due.
CAPA (corrective and preventive action): A quality record that says what went wrong, what was done to fix it, and what will stop it happening again. CAPAs are usually opened after a failed inspection, an out-of-range control or an incident.
Certificate of analysis (CoA): A document from the manufacturer showing that a particular batch met its specification. Laboratories often keep it with the batch record.
Chain of custody: An unbroken record of where an item or result has been and who handled it. For reagents it links a test result back to the exact batch that was used.
Cold chain: Keeping temperature-sensitive stock, such as many reagents and kits, within a required temperature range from the supplier to the shelf. A temperature excursion should be recorded and the affected stock assessed.
Consumption recipe: The list of reagents and amounts that one test uses. In Vitrio each test type has a versioned recipe, so logging a test deducts the right amounts from stock.
Corrective action: Something done to fix a problem that has already happened, such as replacing a faulty batch.
Cycle count: Counting a small part of the stock on a rolling schedule instead of counting everything at once. Vitrio suggests which items to count today based on value, movement and risk.
Dead volume: The amount of reagent that stays in a vial, tubing or instrument and cannot be used for tests. It is part of real consumption and worth recording so stock forecasts are accurate.
Expiry date: The date after which a manufacturer no longer guarantees a reagent or consumable. Using stock past this date can invalidate results, so expiry dates are tracked per batch and flagged in advance.
FEFO (first expired, first out): Using the batch that expires soonest first, even if it arrived later. It reduces waste for stock with short shelf lives.
FIFO (first in, first out): Using the oldest stock first. Vitrio deducts from the oldest available batch when a test is logged, and warns when a batch is close to expiry.
Goods received note (GRN): The record created when a delivery arrives, showing what was received, when, in what condition and against which order.
Hazard class: A category describing the danger of a chemical, such as flammable, corrosive or toxic. It decides how the item must be stored and labelled.
ISO 15189: The international standard for quality and competence in medical laboratories. It asks for controlled records, equipment management, purchasing control and an audit trail, among much else.
Laboratory information system (LIS): Software that manages patient samples, orders and results. Vitrio is not an LIS and does not hold patient records. It covers the stock, purchasing, equipment and quality side that sits alongside one.
Lead time: How long a supplier usually takes from order to delivery. Reorder dates should allow for it, which is why Vitrio uses each supplier's real delivery history.
MHRA: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the UK regulator for medicines, medical devices and blood components.
Minimum order quantity (MOQ): The smallest amount a supplier will sell in one order.
Minimum stock level (reorder point): The quantity at or below which an item should be reordered. It should reflect usage and lead time, not a round number.
MLSCN: The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, which regulates medical laboratory practice and registers laboratories in Nigeria.
NAFDAC: The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Nigeria. Many reagents and kits carry a NAFDAC registration number that laboratories track.
NDPA: The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, the main law on personal data in Nigeria, enforced by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
Par level: The amount of an item you want on hand at the start of a period. Orders are raised to bring stock back up to it.
Preventive action: Something done to stop a problem happening in the first place, such as scheduling a service before an instrument fails.
Preventive maintenance: Servicing equipment on a schedule, before it fails. Records show what was done, by whom and when the next one is due.
Purchase order (PO): The formal order sent to a supplier. It follows an approved purchase request and carries the agreed items, quantities and prices.
Purchase request (requisition): An internal request to buy something. It goes through approval before it becomes a purchase order.
Quarantine: Holding stock apart and unusable until it has been checked, for example after a failed inspection or a recall notice.
Request for quotation (RFQ): A request sent to one or more suppliers asking for prices and terms for specified items, so the offers can be compared.
Safety data sheet (SDS): A supplier document describing a chemical's hazards, safe handling, storage and emergency measures. Laboratories keep one for each hazardous item.
SLIPTA: Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation, a WHO Africa programme that scores a laboratory against ISO 15189 requirements and rates it from zero to five stars.
SOP (standard operating procedure): A written, approved procedure for doing a task the same way every time. Vitrio keeps SOPs with versions and review dates.
Stock count (stocktake): Checking the physical quantity of items against the records and investigating any difference.
Stockout: Running out of an item you need. For a reagent it can stop a test from being run.
Supplier scorecard: A rating of a supplier built from measured performance such as on-time delivery, quality of what arrives and the number of complaints. Vitrio calculates a score from these records.
Turnaround time (TAT): The time from receiving a sample to reporting its result. Stock shortages are one cause of it slipping.
UKAS: The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, the national body that accredits UK laboratories, including against ISO 15189.
Variance: The difference between what the records say you have and what is physically counted, or between planned and actual spend.
Workspace: A laboratory's own set of records in Vitrio. Each workspace is separate from every other, and the people in it see only their own laboratory's data.

Missing a term? Tell us and we will add it. For longer explanations, see the guides.