Caltest, LLC
The Caltest Sentinel Software
Below is an example of the Caltest Sentinel software when installed on our customer's computers. The computer requirements for Caltest customers are Windows 95™, a modem, pcAnywhere software™(Version 8 or 9), and a dedicated phone line for communication. Each product that Caltest monitors is listed on the display screen. The colors of the products indicate which products are certified (green) and which products have not been tested (yellow). Customers can enroll as many or as few products as they need. Products that fail certification will turn red.
The Sentinel program prompts the operator to perform daily diagnostics on the instrument. This allows us to monitor your instrument on a daily basis for performance. If the instrument fails the test, the program will indicate this to the operator and action needs to be taken. This should prevent analysis with an instrument that is failing.
In addition, the program prompts the operator when it is time to get NIR and reference data on his certified products (monthly or bi-monthly). The software also allows the operator to plot all previous check cell and diagnostic results.
The Caltest Program
The heart for the Caltest program is the NIR/Wet Lab Referencing. This "blind" duplicate sample analysis allows Caltest to establish the base line from which any adjustments of the calibration can be made. The customer's own samples and reference lab are used in this study. These samples are mixed and split (preferably using a splitter) and randomly numbered. The samples are then analyzed on the NIR instrument and sent through the reference lab. The customer can use their own wet lab or they can select an outside commercial lab. When the customer has all the data, the results are faxed to Caltest for evaluation. Based on these results the calibration is adjusted, if necessary, and certified.
This initial study is followed up with four split sample over the next month. Most customers go supplying four samples ever other month. The number of samples and frequency are adjustable to the individual customers preferences. Customers receive these "Caltest Certification Sample Requests" by fax.
As these samples are received by Caltest, they are evaluated and compared with the previous results to monitor the calibration performance. In addition, the hard copy of these results, the customer receives a file the can be plotted on the customers computer. This plot shows the current plot of the certification samples, the regression line of the current data and the regression line of the before adjustment data. New plot files are provided with each new set of data from the customer.
The Caltest Sentinel software is installed on the customer's computer to aid in the communication with the customer. The software monitors the diagnostics results. If a problem is encountered, the system status will turn red to indicate a problem. The software also downloads instrument performance and sample analysis data to the Caltest server both weekly and monthly. This data is evaluated and stored for future use. A monthly report is provided to the customer from this evaluation. Another function of the software is to back up the system data to another sub-directory or preferably to an external drive (Zip or Jazz) daily. This program allows Caltest to manage the customers data files, preventing the files from becoming to large or from being "lost".
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