Stories from the bench
How small and mid-size labs are using Aliquora day-to-day.
Aliquora is in early access. The case studies below are composites built from interviews with our pilot labs. We anonymize details to respect their NDAs while preserving the workflow context.
Replaced an 11-tab spreadsheet and got nights and weekends back
A 12-person regional contract testing lab · 12 employees · ~1,800 samples/mo
Challenge
The QC manager was the only person who fully understood the master tracking spreadsheet. When she went on leave, the lab lost two days reconstructing sample status. Result entry was duplicated across instrument exports, manual spreadsheet logs, and Word-template COAs.
What they set up
Migrated three months of sample history via CSV import. Configured 14 test methods with spec limits. Connected the HPLC and pH meter via CSV export mapping. Trained the team in two 45-minute sessions.
Results
−63%
COA turnaround
−4 hrs/day
Manual data entry
0
OOS missed before review
"I used to spend Sunday evenings catching up on the spreadsheet so Monday wouldn't blow up. That hasn't happened in four months."
— QC Manager (composite, based on early-access feedback)
Caught a recurring out-of-spec pattern that lived in three notebooks
A specialty beverage manufacturer's in-house QC team · 5 employees · ~450 samples/mo
Challenge
Lab kept paper notebooks and emailed COAs as Word documents. When a customer audit asked for trends across six months, it took three days to compile. They suspected a moisture issue with one supplier but couldn't quantify it.
What they set up
Set up materials per supplier with separate spec ranges. Used CSV import to backfill the last six months of titrator and moisture meter data. Used the dashboard's OOS view to filter by supplier and material.
Results
3 days → 20 min
Audit prep time
Identified
Supplier-attributed OOS pattern
12 → 35
COAs per week
"The audit story alone paid for the year. Now we can answer 'show me everything from supplier X for Q2' in under a minute."
— Lab Director (composite, based on early-access feedback)
Brought collection-site context into every result and report
A municipal water-testing district · 8 employees · ~900 samples/mo across 27 sites
Challenge
Sample IDs, collection coordinates, and chain-of-custody forms lived in four separate places. Reporting against site-specific limits required cross-referencing a printed binder. State regulators asked for OOS notifications faster than the team could compile them.
What they set up
Created sites as a custom material attribute. Imported the regulatory limit table per site/parameter. Configured email notifications for OOS results to the compliance officer in real time.
Results
24 hrs → minutes
OOS notification latency
−80%
Annual report compilation
27
Sites tracked in one system
"We used to find out about an exceedance the next morning. Now the compliance officer gets the email before the technician finishes the next sample."
— Operations Lead (composite, based on early-access feedback)
Could be your story next
We work closely with our early-access labs. Tell us about yours and we'll show you what setup would look like.
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