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Manage lab batches

A lab batch is a group of samples a laboratory prepares or analyzes together, and it is the unit a lab's quality control is tied to — a method blank or laboratory control sample belongs to a batch, and that batch's QC governs every analysis run in it. Erde records batches on the Lab Report and lets each Lab Analysis reference the batches it ran in, preserving that quality-control traceability.

A batch carries exactly two fields — its Code and its Batch Type — and there are three types:

Batch typeWhat it groups
PreparationSamples prepared together — a digestion, extraction, or other preparation lot
LeachSamples leached together
AnalysisSamples run together on the instrument — the analytical QC batch

An extraction or digestion lot is recorded as the Preparation batch; the procedure itself belongs in the analysis's Preparation Method field, not in the batch. Everything else a lab reports about batch work — dates, analysts, instruments — lives on the analysis, not the batch.

Batch identity is code + type within the report. A batch code is unique per report per type, so the same code can legitimately name both a preparation batch and an analysis batch on one report — the same way EQuIS identifies a batch by id + type.

Before you start
  • Permission: You need permission to add or edit the project's data.
  • Prerequisites: The Lab Report and the analyses you want to associate must exist — see Manage lab data.

Create a batch on the report​

  1. Open the Lab Report (see Manage lab data), then select the Batches tab.

  2. Select Add Batch. The batch form opens.

  3. Enter the fields:

    FieldRequiredWhat to enter
    CodeYesThe lab's batch identifier (max 50 characters). Unique within the report for its type
    Batch TypeYesPreparation, Leach, or Analysis

  4. Select Add. The batch appears in the report's batch list.

Edit or delete a batch from its row. Deleting is refused with a conflict message while any analysis still references the batch — clear those assignments first.

Assign batches to an analysis​

A Lab Analysis holds at most one batch of each type — an optional Leachate Batch, Preparation Batch, and Analysis Batch. There is no list of linked batches beyond these three. A rerun or re-extraction is a separate analysis row, distinguished by its Run Type — never a second batch of the same type on one analysis.

  1. Open a Lab Analysis and select its Batches tab. It lists the batches currently assigned, with their Code and Batch Type.
  2. Select Edit Batches. The form shows three dropdowns — Leachate Batch, Preparation Batch, and Analysis Batch — each offering only the batches of that type from the analysis's Lab Report.
  3. Pick or clear each batch, then save.

The analysis must be linked to a Lab Report before batches can be assigned, and the lab report cannot be changed while batches are assigned — clear the batches first.

Result​

The report's Batches tab lists every batch with its Code and Batch Type. Each analysis's Batches tab shows its assigned batches — up to one of each type — tying the analysis to the preparation and analysis QC it was run under.

Most batches never need this page: a lab report import creates them automatically from the typed batch columns on its Analysis rows.