About inventory groups

Who should read this

Read this topic if your lab automation system has an incubator or random-access storage device, such as the Labware MiniHub.

Inventory groups defined

An inventory group is a group of labware or slots that is a subset of the labware listed in the inventory.

Types of inventory groups

There are two types of inventory groups:

•	Location group

•	Plate group

Location groups

Location groups are used to move labware to and or from a specific location in the storage device.

Example:

In this example, a location group that contains slots 1–10 in cassette 1 is created.

When an Unload task uses this location group, the robot moves whatever labware are in cassette 1, slots 1–10, regardless of the identity of the labware, out of the storage device and into the system.

When a Load task uses a location group, it moves the labware that are in the system into cassette 1, slots 1–10 of the storage device, regardless of the identity of the labware.

When to use

Location groups are used when:

•	The storage device is being filled or emptied.

•	The groups of labware are removed from the lab automation system and replaced with other groups of labware on a regular basis. This would be done by replacing a cassette of labware with a new one.

Plate groups

Plate groups are used to move specific labware to or from the storage device, but without regard for the location. Plate groups can be used when operators do not routinely remove and replace whole cassettes of labware.

When a labware is first moved into the system by the system’s robot, such as when it is downstacked, it is assigned an identifier in the database. After that, the VWorks software tracks where that labware is at all times. This tracking does not require the labware to have barcode labels. The VWorks software tracks the movement of each labware through out a protocol.

Note: You cannot use a plate group with a Load task, unless a native location or location group is associated with it— you must specify a location. You can associate a plate group with the location group so that the labware that are loaded are simultaneously loaded into a plate group as well.

Note: When you load into a plate group you must also load into a location group, native location, or choose return to original locations, otherwise the software will not know where to put the labware.

Example:

A plate group in a storage device contains the following microplates:

•

Plate 1

•

Plate 26

•

Plate 31

•

Plate 41

These microplates are scattered around the storage device, not necessarily in adjacent slots of the same cassette. When the Unload task uses this plate group, it moves these microplates out of the storage device and into the system.

When to use

Plate groups are typically used in compound management systems where labware are housed in the storage device almost permanently.

For each protocol, a different plate group is unloaded, run, and then loaded back to a storage device. As long as the identification of the labware is tracked, the labware can be stored in any open location.

Group membership

A single labware can be a member of more than one plate group.

Related information

 

For information about...	See...
Creating a location group	Creating and managing location groups
Creating a plate group	Creating and managing plate groups
Moving labware in and out of a storage device	• Adding labware information in the inventory database • Removing labware information from the inventory database • Moving labware between storage devices
Incubating labware	Using a plate group to process labware
Using barcode input files	• Creating a plate group with a barcode input file • VWorks Automation Control User Guide