Products & services · Software

DOTSci

The Maine Department of Transportation runs its materials-testing laboratory on DOTSci, and our software also runs for other clients, including UW Veterinary Care and NIEHS. Your first step is a thirty-minute conversation with an expert.

DOTSci is a laboratory information management system (LIMS) for materials-testing laboratories, designed to support laboratories working to AASHTO and ASTM test methods. It follows each specimen from the field through testing and review to the report, on one record, even where the field crew has no signal. The first step is a conversation with one of our laboratory informatics experts.

Every specimen stays on one record, from the field to the report.

THEN · ONE SAMPLE, THREE SEPARATE RECORDS Students and an instructor at wooden benches in a soil-analysis teaching laboratory at Tuskegee Institute: at the center bench a man in a suit pours from a beaker while a young man in an apron watches, women in long skirts and white aprons work at the benches on either side, and a blackboard headed Soil Analyses hangs behind them beside shelves of reagent bottles. Archive photograph, 1902.
Digitally rendered from the archive photograph: Same room, windows and benches; a sieve shaker, a digital balance, a pH meter and racks of capped soil-sample jars replace the 1902 glassware, and a blank whiteboard replaces the blackboard. NOW · SAMPLE TO REPORT, ONE RECORDNOW · DIGITALLY RENDERED
Fig. 1 A soil-analysis laboratory at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, 1902. Each sample was weighed, tested and written up at a different bench.
THEN · 1902 · Library of Congress · NOW · digitally rendered THEN · 1902 · Frances Benjamin Johnston · Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division · no known restrictions on reproduction · loc.gov/item/2001703725 NOW · digitally rendered from the archive photograph above (Gemini 3 Pro Image, 2026-09-26): the room geometry, the camera and the people's positions are the photograph; everything else is generated. Not a photograph.

Opens your print dialog. Choose Save as PDF.

01How we help

Sample to report, on one record

A specimen is logged and barcoded where it is taken, offline if there is no signal, and synchronized when there is. At the bench, results are entered against the method the technician is running and evaluated against the specification as configured. A validate step gates release, and the equipment register keeps each instrument’s calibration schedule and sends the reminders. The report goes to the district, the project, or the contractor, and the pay item is recorded against the same record.

Offline field capture: the record is written where the specimen is taken, held while there is no signal, and synchronized on arrival One line runs left to right in three stretches. At the left, 01 In the field, logged and barcoded, with a barcode glyph above it labeled at capture. The middle stretch, 02 No signal, is drawn unlit and broken: the pulse waits at its near edge, and a caption on the stretch reads synchronized when there is. It is glossed offline if there is no signal. At the right the line lights again into 03 At the bench, glossed you scan it, with the same barcode glyph above it, traced by barcode. Beneath, the spark brandmark sits beside the words nothing is re-typed from a field sheet and nothing waits on a signal. When reduced motion is preferred the middle stretch is drawn whole and the pulse is shown, still, on the far side. 01 In the field 02 No signal 03 At the bench logged and barcoded offline if there is no signal you scan it labeled at capture traced by barcode SYNCHRONIZED WHEN THERE IS NOTHING IS RE-TYPED FROM A FIELD SHEET nothing waits on a signal In the field No signal At the bench Offline field capture: the record is written where the specimen is taken, held while there is no signal, and synchronized on arrival One line runs left to right in three stretches. At the left, 01 In the field, logged and barcoded, with a barcode glyph above it labeled at capture. The middle stretch, 02 No signal, is drawn unlit and broken: the pulse waits at its near edge, and a caption on the stretch reads synchronized when there is. It is glossed offline if there is no signal. At the right the line lights again into 03 At the bench, glossed you scan it, with the same barcode glyph above it, traced by barcode. Beneath, the spark brandmark sits beside the words nothing is re-typed from a field sheet and nothing waits on a signal. When reduced motion is preferred the middle stretch is drawn whole and the pulse is shown, still, on the far side. 01 In the field 02 No signal 03 At the bench logged and barcoded offline if there is no signal you scan it labeled at capture traced by barcode SYNCHRONIZED WHEN THEREIS NOTHING IS RE-TYPED FROM AFIELD SHEET nothing waits on a signal
Fig. 2 The record waits out the stretch with no signal, so nothing is re-typed from a field sheet at the bench.

  • Specimens and samples

    Specimens are logged, split, and tracked from the field to the bench to disposal.

  • Test methods

    Designed to support laboratories working to AASHTO and ASTM test methods, with each result entered against its method and validated before release.

  • Equipment and calibration

    The equipment register keeps calibration schedules, reminders, metrology, and preventive maintenance in one place.

  • Facilities and pay items

    Each result is recorded against the laboratory and district the work runs through, and against its pay item.

  • Offline field capture

    Field crews record samples where there is no signal, and the record synchronizes when there is.

  • Barcode traceability

    Specimens are labeled at capture and traced by barcode from the field through the bench.

  • Data exchange

    Results go to the state transportation information system without re-keying, as delivered for the Maine Department of Transportation.

  • Reporting

    Structural reports are built in Power BI, reviewed, and released to the people who asked.

  • External portal

    Submitting agencies and contractors enter their own samples through the portal, which the Maine Department of Transportation is previewing.

How work moves through DOTSci: five stages on one path A path runs left to right through five numbered stages: 01 Sample (specimen in the field; letters A, E, F); 02 Log (logged and barcoded; letters A, D, F, I); 03 Test (result entry by method; letters B, C, F); 04 Verify (results validated; letters B, C); 05 Report (report and pay item; letters D, G, H, I). Beneath the path a lettered legend: A Specimens and samples; B Test methods; C Equipment and calibration; D Facilities and pay items; E Offline field capture; F Barcode traceability; G Data exchange; H Reporting; I External portal. 01 Sample specimen in the field A·E·F 02 Log logged and barcoded A·D·F·I 03 Test result entry by method B·C·F 04 Verify results validated B·C 05 Report report and pay item D·G·H·I What touches each stage ASpecimens and samples BTest methods CEquipment and calibration DFacilities and pay items EOffline field capture FBarcode traceability GData exchange HReporting IExternal portal How work moves through DOTSci: five stages on one path A path runs left to right through five numbered stages: 01 Sample (specimen in the field; letters A, E, F); 02 Log (logged and barcoded; letters A, D, F, I); 03 Test (result entry by method; letters B, C, F); 04 Verify (results validated; letters B, C); 05 Report (report and pay item; letters D, G, H, I). Beneath the path a lettered legend: A Specimens and samples; B Test methods; C Equipment and calibration; D Facilities and pay items; E Offline field capture; F Barcode traceability; G Data exchange; H Reporting; I External portal. 01 Sample specimen in the field A·E·F 02 Log logged and barcoded A·D·F·I 03 Test result entry by method B·C·F 04 Verify results validated B·C 05 Report report and pay item D·G·H·I What touches each stage A Specimens and samples B Test methods C Equipment and calibration D Facilities and pay items E Offline field capture F Barcode traceability G Data exchange H Reporting I External portal
Fig. 3 Sample, Log, Test, Verify, and Report happen on one record, and the letters under each stage point to what it uses.

The product documentation builds every DOTSci record from four concepts.

  • Project or request context
  • Sample and test assignment
  • Method and specification evaluation
  • Result and report lifecycle states

Results are entered and validated, and completion rules gate the report, so an unvalidated result cannot be delivered. The method you configure drives result entry and the specification checks. Data like specifications and report settings are rows that your laboratory maintains as configurable data. Every state change is designed to be auditable and reproducible. The full documentation set comes with the product.

Leadership

If you run the laboratory

We developed DOTSci alongside the Maine Department of Transportation’s materials-testing division, and it runs on LabSci. Implementation is scoped after the Understand phase, our fixed-scope, on-site study of how your laboratory works, and you see each piece working before you commit to the next. After go-live, Sustain is a Service Level sized to your laboratory and priced per year. Migration is its own project, priced after we have seen the source system.

Bench

If you work the bench

The truck comes back with cylinders, cores, and bags of aggregate, and each specimen already has a barcode and a record, because the crew logged it in the field and the capture synchronized on the way in. You scan it, open the method you are running, and enter the result against that method, whether it is a sieve stack, a break, or a moisture test. The specification check runs as you go. Nothing is re-typed from a field sheet at the end of the day, and nothing waits on a signal.

QA

If you review and sign

A result is entered, validated, and status-evaluated before a report can be delivered, and completion criteria gate every reporting action. The equipment register carries each instrument’s calibration schedule and reminders, so “when was it last verified?” is answered from the record. Audit history, a Dataverse feature, records who changed a record and when. DOTSci is designed to support laboratories working to AASHTO and ASTM test methods, and your laboratory demonstrates conformance on its own methods.

IT

If you administer the tenant

DOTSci is delivered as two managed Dataverse solutions, one for the LabSci platform base and one for the DOTSci product layer. It installs in your tenant or is hosted by SynapticSci, with three environments (development, user acceptance testing, and production) and a client solution of your own above both.

  • Licensing is Power Apps per user or per app for the model-driven apps, plus Dataverse capacity.
  • Sign-in is Entra ID, with MFA where your tenant enforces it.
  • The installation path is documented, so your IT group can own it, or we run the deployment pipeline as a service.
  • Release notes come with every deployment.

Releases move from development to user acceptance testing to production as managed solutions, with smoke checks after each deployment. Configuration rows move with a table-by-table review, and production changes only through a release. We have delivered the exchange with a state transportation information system for the Maine Department of Transportation. Trust, validation, and IT →

02The problem

Why materials laboratories replace what they have

A state DOT materials-testing laboratory exchanges results with the transportation information system its engineers already use, and re-keys them to get them there. The test was run once and the number is typed twice, and the second copy is the one the pay item is paid from.

A laboratory’s calibration records live in a binder, and the binder is only as current as the last person who touched it. When an assessor asks which compression machine produced a result and when that machine was last verified, the answer is a walk to the shelf.

A field crew samples where there is no signal, and the paperwork catches up days later, or does not. By the time the sample reaches the bench, the field sheet is the only record of where it came from and who took it. Meanwhile, the agency’s IT group wants all of it on the Microsoft tenant it runs today.

03Method

Understand first, then one proven step at a time

We start with a fixed-scope on-site Understand phase, then build one proven step at a time, so your laboratory sees a working result before committing further. The four phases are Understand, Build, Adopt, and Sustain, and each runs as an experiment in which we hypothesize, test, and keep what proved. How we work describes each phase and how estimates are made.

Understand documents your laboratory’s methods, districts, and reporting obligations as they are, before anything is configured. Build delivers one piece at a time, such as one material, one method family, or one district’s reporting, each accepted by your own people. Adopt takes it live, and after go-live comes Sustain, where a named Laboratory Informatics Scientist improves your system one release at a time.

The delivery loop: Understand, Build and Adopt, then Sustain A closed loop carries three numbered stages: 01 Understand (the hypothesis), 02 Build (the experiment) and 03 Adopt (the analysis). Three gates sit on the loop between them: stories confirmed, accepted in UAT, and the next step begins. From Adopt a branch leaves the loop for 04 Sustain (the conclusion), labeled in production and ongoing. The spark brandmark sits at the center with the words Scientist-Driven Development and the line the loop continues, step after step. Pulses travel the loop and the branch; they are left out when reduced motion is preferred. 01 Understand 02 Build 03 Adopt 04 Sustain the hypothesis the experiment the analysis the conclusion STORIES CONFIRMED ACCEPTED IN UAT THE NEXT STEP BEGINS IN PRODUCTION · ONGOING SCIENTIST-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT the loop continues, step after step Understand Build Adopt Sustain The delivery loop: Understand, Build and Adopt, then Sustain A closed loop carries three numbered stages: 01 Understand (the hypothesis), 02 Build (the experiment) and 03 Adopt (the analysis). Three gates sit on the loop between them: stories confirmed, accepted in UAT, and the next step begins. From Adopt a branch leaves the loop for 04 Sustain (the conclusion), labeled in production and ongoing. The spark brandmark sits at the center with the words Scientist-Driven Development and the line the loop continues, step after step. Pulses travel the loop and the branch; they are left out when reduced motion is preferred. 01 Understand 02 Build 03 Adopt 04 Sustain the hypothesis the experiment the analysis the conclusion STORIES CONFIRMED ACCEPTED IN UAT THE NEXT STEP BEGINS IN PRODUCTION · ONGOING SCIENTIST-DRIVENDEVELOPMENT the loop continues, step after step
Fig. 4 The delivery loop, with the scientific method in italic, from Understand through Build and Adopt into Sustain.

04Platform

Built on LabSci and Microsoft Dataverse

DOTSci is the materials-testing product on LabSci, a configurable laboratory platform built natively on Microsoft Dataverse and the Power Platform.

DOTSci installs as a product layer over LabSci. Your laboratory’s own configuration lives in a client solution above both, so product releases do not overwrite your work. Audit history, role security, and controlled records are administered through existing Dataverse features.

05Evidence

Where DOTSci runs today

Claim The Maine Department of Transportation runs its materials-testing laboratory on DOTSci, from sample to report.

Mechanism Samples, methods, specifications, calibration, and reporting share one Dataverse record, and results go to the state’s transportation information system without re-keying.

Artifact The laboratory’s own screens, shown in a conversation with its permission.

Result Maine Department of Transportation · DOTSci · in production since 2020, delivered by the team that founded SynapticSci in 2021 · exchange with the state’s transportation information system delivered.

Implementation plan is very clear and tuned to our requirements, agile and collaborative

State of Maine, RFP 201902032, Award Justification Statement, 2019

See the record → · ask to speak with this reference

06Who this is for

Laboratories that test what the road is built from, and report to the people who pay for it

DOTSci fits three kinds of materials laboratory.

  • State DOT materials divisions
  • County and municipal materials laboratories
  • Private geotechnical and construction-materials laboratories

Each receives soils, aggregates, asphalt, concrete, and steel from the field and from suppliers, tests them against a method, and checks the result against a specification before reporting to whoever is waiting on the number.

On our practice and problem pages

DOTSci appears on these practice and problem pages, next to the other approaches each page weighs.

Practice pages

Problem pages

Not for Contract administration and construction management. DOTSci exchanges results with the system you use for those. What DOTSci is not →

07Boundaries

What DOTSci is not

  • The laboratory’s engineer certifies each method result, and DOTSci records it.
  • Offline field capture records the sample where it is taken. It does not replace your laboratory’s sampling procedure or the person who follows it.
  • The product core is the same for every client. Your own sequences, mappings, and connectors live in your configuration, and product releases do not redefine it.

08Pricing

Licenses and hosting, then Sustain, then the project

Table 1 LabSci license and hosting prices by item, the same as on Pricing. DOTSci runs on LabSci. Each is its own annual price.

Per year · minimum commitment twelve months · effective 1 October 2026. License and hosting are separate prices, and no combined figure is stated. Hosting: hosted by SynapticSci; none when self-hosted in your own tenant; requires the matching LabSci licence.

ItemLicenseHosting
Lab Userper named Lab User$2,346$305
Designer/Adminper named Designer/Admin$4,691$611
Portal, authenticated usersper pack of 100 authenticated portal users$3,892$3,053
Portal, anonymous visitorsper pack of 500 anonymous portal visitors$1,348$1,145

The external portal for submitting agencies and contractors is bought as portal packs, in the same part as user licenses. Implementation is scoped after the Understand phase. Sustain gives you a named Laboratory Informatics Scientist who improves the system release by release. It is a Service Level of Included Hours, sized to your laboratory and priced per year on a twelve-month minimum (Pricing).

Migration is its own project, and you choose how much history moves.

  • No migration
  • Active data plus a year of history
  • Everything

We price migration after we have seen the source system. Talk with an expert to work through implementation and migration for your laboratory.

All Lab Notes

Talk with an expert