Equipment Setup

Equipment is the foundation of the QC system — every QC parameter, maintenance task, and verification schedule is tied to a specific piece of equipment. This guide covers how to add, configure, and manage lab equipment in Impart QMS.

Access: Directors (lab_admin), QA Managers (qa_manager) and Network QA Managers (org_admin) can open the Equipment page. Supervisors helping with setup can add equipment through the equipment builder and spreadsheet import in Admin Panel → Setup & Modules.

Accessing Equipment Management

Go to Admin Panel from the sidebar, then select Equipment. You will see a table of all equipment configured for the current laboratory, including both active and deactivated items.

The Equipment List

Equipment is grouped by type in collapsible sections. Each row shows Name, Serial #, Department, Equipment Group, Lab and Status (Active or Inactive). Click a row to expand its QC parameters, maintenance tasks and verifications. Use the row buttons to edit, open QC history, or deactivate/reactivate. Search by name, type, serial number or group, and where available filter by laboratory and department. The header buttons are Quick Setup (create equipment from a department template), Add Equipment, and Manage Types.

Adding New Equipment

Click Add Equipment.
Fill in the equipment form:

Basic Information

Equipment Name — A descriptive name your staff will recognize (e.g., "Incubator 1 - Embryology" rather than "Inc1").
Equipment Type — Select the category. Common IVF types include:
- CO2 Incubator, Tri-Gas Incubator, Benchtop Incubator
- Warming Stage, Heated Surface, Warm Box, Tube Warmer
- Refrigerator, Freezer
- Cryotank, LN2 Supply Tank
- Gas Analyzer, Gas Manifold
- Laminar Flow Hood
- Centrifuge
- Thermometer, Pipette, Balance / Scale
- Laser System, Sperm Analyzer
- Inverted Microscope, Stereo Microscope
- Other
Directors can also add custom types for their organization with Manage Types. A custom type can inherit the defaults of a built-in type.

When you select an equipment type, the system may auto-populate suggested QC parameters, maintenance tasks, and verification schedules based on pre-configured templates.
Detailed Description — Manufacturer, model and configuration details.
Serial Number — Unique serial number for asset tracking (recommended).
Installation Date — The date the equipment was installed.

Department and Equipment Group

Laboratory — The lab the equipment belongs to (required).
Department — Assign to a department (e.g., Embryology, Andrology). This controls which staff see the equipment when filtering by department.
Equipment Group — Optionally assign to an equipment group for additional organization within a department. This field appears only when groups exist for the selected equipment type.

QC Schedule

QC scheduling is set per parameter. After saving, open each QC parameter and choose Same as equipment, Daily, 3x / Week, Weekly, Monthly or None. Same as equipment uses the type's default: Daily for most equipment, None for types verified periodically (for example thermometers, pipettes, balances).

End-of-Day Checks

Tick Include in End-of-Day QC Check. Once the equipment has been saved, open it again and tick the parameters that should appear in the End-of-Day check. Unticked parameters appear only in the morning QC check. You can also set End-of-Day inclusion on each QC parameter.

Typically enable End-of-Day checks for:

CO2 incubators (verify stability after a full day of use)
Cryogenic storage tanks (verify overnight conditions)
Any equipment where overnight drift is a concern

QC Parameters

For new equipment, the standard default parameters for the selected type are listed. Tick the ones to include. You can edit limits and settings after saving, including:

Parameter name and type
Unit of measurement
Lower and upper acceptable limits
Target value (setpoint)

Maintenance Tasks

When adding new equipment, add recurring maintenance tasks:

Switch on Periodic Maintenance Required? and click Add Blank, or pick a task from + Add from Defaults....
Enter:
- Task Name — e.g., "Filter Replacement"
- Frequency — Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually
- Description — Detailed instructions or notes
Add as many tasks as needed. Remove any with the X button.

Verification Tasks

When adding new equipment, add periodic verification tasks:

Switch on Periodic Verification Required? and click Add Blank, or pick a task from + Add from Defaults....
Enter:
- Verification Type — e.g., "Temperature Verification"
- Frequency — How often (monthly through annually)
- Pass Criteria — The standard that must be met (e.g., "Within ±0.5°C of reference thermometer")
- Description — The verification procedure details

If you leave a switch off, the type's default tasks (if any) are added automatically. For existing equipment, click its row in the Equipment list to expand its QC parameters, maintenance tasks and verifications.

Saving

Click Save to create the equipment with all its QC parameters, maintenance tasks, and verifications.

When editing, Save & Next saves and opens the next equipment in the list.

Editing Equipment

Click on an equipment row or click Edit.
Modify any fields.
Click Save.

Changing QC parameter limits on existing equipment does not affect historical QC records. Changes take effect for future checks only.

Deactivating Equipment

When equipment is retired or no longer needs QC tracking, deactivate it in either of these ways:

Open the equipment, switch Equipment Status to inactive, then click Save.
Click the Deactivate icon on the equipment's row in the list. This takes effect immediately.

Inactive equipment no longer appears in QC, maintenance or verification workflows. Its history is kept, and it can be reactivated.

Always deactivate rather than delete. Directors, QA Managers and Network QA Managers can also delete equipment permanently, which removes it together with its QC records, corrective actions, maintenance history and verification records. This cannot be undone.

Equipment Types and Templates

Equipment types serve two purposes:

Categorization — Grouping equipment by function for clarity.
Default templates — Pre-configured QC parameters, maintenance tasks, and verifications that auto-populate when you add new equipment.

Some equipment types (Thermometers, Pipettes, Balances, Microscopes) are configured without a daily QC schedule by default, since these items are typically verified periodically rather than checked daily.

Directors, QA Managers and Network QA Managers can add their own equipment type names with Manage Types. When you add a custom type you can pick a standard type it "behaves like". The custom type then inherits that type's default QC parameters, maintenance and verification tasks, and its daily-QC behavior. A custom type with no "behaves like" type has no inherited defaults. Renaming a custom type also renames it on existing equipment.

Best Practices

Use descriptive names — "Incubator 1 - Embryology East Wall" is more useful than "Inc1" when staff need to identify equipment during a QC check.
Record serial numbers — Serial numbers are essential for asset tracking, maintenance contracts, and regulatory documentation.
Set appropriate schedules — Not everything needs daily QC. Weekly or monthly schedules for less critical equipment reduce staff burden while maintaining oversight.
Review default parameters — Auto-suggested parameters are a good starting point, but always adjust limits to match your specific equipment manufacturer specifications and lab standards.
Enable EOD checks thoughtfully — Only enable EOD for equipment where post-use monitoring adds real value.
Add maintenance tasks at setup — Configure preventive maintenance tasks when you add equipment, not after a failure.
Deactivate rather than delete — Preserve the historical record when retiring equipment.