Example workflow Laboratory

How a Lab Can Keep a Tube Inventory per Freezer Box

Scan the freezer box or rack once, then every tube in it. The export lists which tube sits in which box, with the sample details from your own list.

This page shows how DataScan can be set up for this task. It is an illustration, not a report about a specific customer. All codes and values on it are examples.

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Lab technician scanning a sample tube barcode before placing it in a storage rack

The problem

Samples end up in racks, boxes and freezers. Writing tube numbers onto a box sheet by hand is slow, and a single transposed digit means a sample that exists but takes an afternoon to find.

The question a lab asks most often is simple: which box holds this tube, and what is in this box? Answering it from paper means opening freezers and reading labels with cold fingers.

When every tube and every box carries a barcode, scanning the box and then its tubes gives a clean inventory of positions in one pass.

The setup

One-to-Many Scan links each tube to the box or rack it sits in. An optional sample list adds the sample details to every row of the export; on iPhone and iPad, a pop-up also shows the study code after each tube scan.

Scan mode One-to-Many Scan, sub-mode One-to-Many (Groups)
Primary and Secondary Barcode Label Box and Tube
Primary and Secondary Column Header Box and Tube
Lookup data (optional) Your sample list as a comma-separated CSV: tube ID first, then study code, sample type
Enable Cross-Reference On, so on iPhone and iPad a pop-up shows the study code after each tube scan
Cross-reference with Lookup Data On, so the sample list columns are added to the export
Barcode Types The types on your tubes and boxes, for example Data Matrix and Code 128

Step by step

  1. Import the sample list Save your sample list as a CSV with the tube ID in the first column and import it in Lookup Scan.
  2. Scan the box Open One-to-Many Scan and scan the barcode of the freezer box or rack.
  3. Scan each tube in it Scan the tubes one by one. Each scan links the tube to the box with a timestamp, and the export adds the study code and sample type from your list. On iPhone and iPad, a pop-up also shows the study code after each scan.
  4. Next box Box done? Tap New Box, scan the next box label and carry on.
  5. Export the inventory Export as CSV or Excel. Filter by tube to see its box, or by box to see its contents, and keep the file with your lab records.

What you get out

Each tube becomes one row. With cross-reference on, the sample list columns are added with the prefix Secondary, because they belong to the tube:

Column Example value What it holds
Box FRZ2-BOX-014 The freezer box or rack scanned first
Tube S-2026-00117 A tube in that box
Timestamp 2026-03-14 10:31 When the tube was scanned
Secondary Study PRJ-07 From your sample list
Secondary Sample Type Serum From your sample list

The same columns are also added with the prefix Primary for the box, right after Timestamp. Delete them in the spreadsheet if your list holds tubes.

Fits well if…

  • Your tubes and boxes carry barcodes, or you can label them.
  • You want to know which box holds which tube without typing tube numbers.
  • You keep your sample inventory in a spreadsheet or can import a CSV file.
  • You re-inventory boxes when they are filled or reorganized.

Inventory One Box

Import your sample list, scan one box and its tubes, and look at the export. The free trial includes every feature.

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