Labs we help
Laboratory Modernization
We help environmental and other testing labs stop retyping forms and trust each record’s history.
SynapticSci was founded in 2021 by a team that had built and implemented LIMS together before. Your first step is a thirty-minute conversation with an expert.
Many laboratories want to stop retyping what is already on a form, trust a record’s history, or adopt newer technology without losing control of their records. Laboratory Modernization is where any laboratory can start, whatever it tests. We begin with an Understand phase, our on-site analysis of your work at a fixed scope and price, and fix the most pressing problem first.
Modernize the laboratory you have.
Industries this practice serves
- Environmental and water testing laboratories
- Food, feed, and agricultural testing laboratories
- Forensic and public safety laboratories
- Industrial quality-control laboratories
- Pharmaceutical laboratories
- Biobanks and biorepositories
- Next-generation sequencing laboratories
THEN · 1942 · Library of Congress · NOW · digitally rendered
THEN · 1942 · Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Black-and-White Negatives · no known restrictions 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.01Problems
Problems we solve
These are the problems laboratories most often bring to us first.
Too much retyping of information
Information already written on a form, or already held in another system, is typed in again. We start where it arrives and find each re-entry that can go. The fix may be a changed step, a connection, or a focused tool. Rekeying data
Too much effort to trace a record’s history
When a record’s changes, decisions and supporting documents are kept apart, its history has to be pieced together by hand. First we agree what must be traceable, and for whom. Record traceability
Too much chasing of routine work
A handoff, a reminder, or a routine task moves only when someone follows up. We list the follow-ups, decide which ones are needed, and then choose the simplest fix.
The Laboratory Operations catalog lists all twelve problems, grouped by what goes wrong.
02Tools
Right tool, right job
We choose tools around your workflow and the systems you already have.
- available approach
- a product, module or service SynapticSci offers today.
- scope to assess
- something to establish with your laboratory in the Understand phase, before any tool is chosen.
Software
LabSci
available approachThe problem Software that no longer fits how the laboratory works.
Why it fits We consider LabSci, our configurable laboratory platform on Microsoft Dataverse, when the assessment shows a system should be extended or replaced.
Prerequisites and limits We scope the workflow, the data, the integrations, and the effort before anything is configured, and run migration as its own project.
Bench Tools
FormSense
available approachThe problem Paper forms and worksheets typed into a record again.
Why it fits FormSense reads the paper forms your laboratory already receives, and a reviewer checks every page before anything reaches the LIMS.
Prerequisites and limits FormSense is available now, and the adapter to your system is scoped with you.
Third-party analytics
Power BI
available approachThe problem Performance reports put together by hand, from records with no agreed definitions.
Why it fits We build Power BI reports from the records you already keep, once the definitions behind them are agreed.
Prerequisites and limits Power BI reports on records but does not connect them, and report development is a service.
The performance view in the problem catalog · See how project work is priced
Your current systems
Existing laboratory systems
scope to assessThe problem Records carried by hand between the systems you already have.
Why it fits In the Understand phase, we work out which of your systems can be connected, and how.
Prerequisites and limits Access, interfaces, permission, and scope are assessed for each system before a connection is proposed.
How integrations are handled · See how project work is priced
Work around the tools
These are the services we carry out with your laboratory.
- Workflow assessment. We run the Understand phase on one workflow first. The four phases
- Integration. We connect the systems you already keep. Integrations
- Migration. We run it as a project of its own. Active data moves first, history follows to an agreed depth, and you sign the reconciliation reports. Migration
- Ongoing improvement. Sustain keeps your system improving after go-live. You choose its Service Level and Coverage separately, and it is optional unless your contract requires it. Sustain
03Our approach
How we approach the work
Diagnosis
We start by understanding your laboratory. The Understand phase covers on-site analysis, a needs summary, user stories, and plans. Nothing is built before it ends. The four phases
Constraints
Before we recommend a change, we list what has to hold. That means your records, interfaces, users, and operating requirements. We work with the people at the bench, in review, and in IT.
Interventions
The fix might be a changed step, a capability you already have, a connection between systems, or a focused tool. Replacing a system comes last, when nothing smaller will do.
04Your team
Who you would be working with
SynapticSci was founded in 2021 by a team that had built and implemented LIMS together before. Your practice lead comes first below. Meet the whole team on Our science.
Founder
Doug worked as a biologist, a research tech, and a product manager, with a background at Fisher Scientific, and learned along the way that the best people to help a scientist find the solution they need are other scientists.
05Getting started
Ways to begin
Start with the part of the workflow that needs the most attention, such as a form that is typed in again or a report built by hand. We fix the price after the Understand phase. See How SynapticSci is priced.