lab2lab has automated transport re-tries that will be executed if the vial fails to arrive as expected. If a vial is being sent to the Router but the vacuum sensor fails to detect it within a set time limit, lab2lab will attempt to blow it back to the device from which it was sent. If it is seen to arrive there i.e. the device’s cap sensor sees the vial’s cap, then lab2lab will again try to send it to the Router. If this still fails and the vial is again returned, lab2lab will mark that device as being in error and generate an email to report this. The rest of the system will continue to function. This logic applies to Senders, Receivers and the Buffer.
If the Buffer is off-line, lab2lab will function slightly differently; the “Retain in Buffer” option in the Clients will be disabled (i.e. the only On Completion option will be “Send to Waste”) and unknown vials will only be brought from Senders to the Router if there are instruments available and the database has received vial registration information for vials that have not
yet been submitted.
If, following an attempted transport recovery, a vial’s location cannot be determined, then lab2lab will go into error and no vials will be transported until the missing vial has been located. Once it has been found and the cause of the failure rectified, the vial’s location must be edited manually. The system can then be reset.