Brian Jack's Weblog

Coda Corp USA - J & R Consulting Strategic Alliance Announced

Brian Jack — 2009-12-02T10:05:58-05:00

Companies regulated under Title 21 who require project assistance are often confronted with growing complexity in their projects, needing multi-functional expertise from their service providers.

To offer maximum quality, efficiency, and productivity to our clients, Coda Corp USA and J&R Consulting are pleased to announce the formation of a strategic alliance. This synergistic relationship will allow each company to offer to its existing and potential clients an expanded pool of resources available form both areas of expertise; Title 21 compliant quality systems and enterprising global automation solutions.

Coda’s Executive Offices released the following statement:

"We here at Coda Corp USA are energized by the formation of this strategic relationship. The core beliefs of both companies have always resulted in a perfect union of professionalism, quality and service. We are excited to formally align with J & R Consulting."

J & R’s Executive Offices released the following statement:

"In today's marketplace, the surest path to success is focusing on quality. We are thrilled to work with another company like Coda Corp USA that demonstrates that philosophy."

J&R Consulting Certified SQL*LIMS Professional Services Partner

Brian Jack — 2009-05-10T07:42:31-05:00

Applied Biosystems, a division of Life Technologies Corporation, has signed an agreement with J&R Consulting, a leader in laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and quality systems implementation and integration services, to expand Applied Biosystems SQL*LIMS professional services offerings for existing and new customers. These offerings represent best-in-class services for LIMS users in the pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries, as well as other regulated and non-regulated markets.

Applied Biosystems SQL*LIMS Global Professional Services organization is a leader in LIMS solutions, which are designed to increase operational efficiency, simplify deployment and improve integration. J&R Consulting’s team of skilled consultants with decades of experience in the LIMS field complements Applied Biosystems team of LIMS experts, increasing scalability for large projects.

“Our relationship with J&R Consulting enhances our ability to respond more effectively to the rapidly evolving needs of our customers,” said Pat Pijanowski, General Manager of Applied Biosystems Business Unit. “We are now able to expand our professional service capabilities serving the LIMS market, yet with no sacrifice in quality of service.”

Brian Jack, Principal Consultant at J&R Consulting, added, “We believe that a close association with Applied Biosystems will strengthen our ability to provide exceptional services to our customers by ensuring access to state-of-the-art LIMS technology and service. Working with Applied Biosystems will also allow us to address a much larger and more diverse market. Our joint expertise gives customers the best that LIMS has to offer.”

Customer Service Is Not a Commodity

Brian Jack — 2007-03-10T15:08:12-05:00

I had the chance last week to see opposite ends of the customer service spectrum- both involving restaurants. The message in each experience extends beyond the restaurant business, however.

Reader Mail I

Brian Jack — 2006-09-17T18:27:29-05:00

It doesn't happen very often, but every once in awhile, I get reader comments to my blogs. I am going to take the time to respond to two comments made in regards to blogs I have written.

Virtualization in LIMS

Brian Jack — 2006-08-05T12:12:41-05:00

There is no denying that virtualization is a hot trend in IT. Intel and AMD are baking virtualization into the next generation of chips and VMWare and Microsoft are giving away their software virtualization products for Intel-based servers. Could this trend apply to the LIMS industry, too?

Hello, my name is Brian and I did not plan

Brian Jack — 2005-10-01T21:12:52-05:00

Last week was a tough week. The week started off with me reading Bryan's first article for us: The Art of Planning. I thought it was a great article and a good way to kick off his series of insights for us. I just didn't know that it was going to be a foreshadow for the week.

Blogs That I Read

Brian Jack — 2005-06-19T07:28:53-05:00

When I came out of college as a chemist, I had a good understanding of computers, having used them practically my whole life growing up. But, I didn't have a handle on PC technology that was current at the time. Both IBM PC compatibles and Macs were foreign to me. I was amazed to see both types being used effectively in business upon starting my first job, so I resolved to learn as much about how they really worked as possible.

Follow-up: Where Does Quality Come From?

Brian Jack — 2005-05-28T17:42:58-05:00

Over the last couple of weeks, there have been several blog posts from my colleagues that I have wanted to comment upon with more than just an on site comment. My next several blogs will comment on these past articles. Where Does Quality Come From by Jeff Vannest

Follow-up: Decisions and Opinions

Brian Jack — 2005-05-28T14:54:34-05:00

Follow-up: Java Stored Procedures

Brian Jack — 2005-05-28T13:02:38-05:00

Java Stored Procedures in a LIMS Environment by Rob Sullivan

Milestones and Celebrations

Brian Jack — 2005-05-14T19:59:51-05:00

I attended a college graduation ceremony for one of my young cousins today. Barely into the 4 hour ceremony, I asked myself why we go through "Pomp and Circumstance" when we graduate from school. This is the same question I asked myself at my own graduation years ago. I decided then that it was silly. I didn't even want to attend, to be honest. I knew the graduation represented a celebration of an accomplishment (earning a degree), but I just wanted to get on the other side of the ceremony to the part where I start making money. In thinking about this today, I recognized that ceremonies like the one I attended are important, but not just for the obvious reason.

Quality, Models, and Statistics (and even a dash of football)

Brian Jack — 2005-05-13T20:14:49-05:00

When I read Jeff's latest blog about Quality, I had the same reaction as when I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Reading both, I could almost hear myself say out loud, "What do you mean, you can't define quality? I can define quality; surely you can!". After all, I worked as a chemist in a quality control laboratory. I know what quality is. I made sure drug products had it before being shipped! I can define it. Anyone who worked in a QC or QA unit knows the correct definition of quality: adherence to specifications. If your specifications are met, you have a quality product. Think about it: if you have no defects, you have quality. If you consistently do what you set out to do, you are producing a quality service. Easy.

I don't like writing blogs. That's why I do it.

Brian Jack — 2005-05-11T21:26:31-05:00

Ok, this is kind of like cheating - writing a blog about writing blogs. But since I hope there is a 'payload' somewhere in here, I think it still counts. I don't like writing blogs. It is hard - at least the kind of blogs that we write here. Here are the reasons I don't like it:

Project Management by Executive Meeting

Brian Jack — 2005-05-03T21:11:02-05:00

I was reminded again this week about my favorite project management technique for bringing a project that is starting to slip back on-track. The scenario goes like this: a project is defined by the business, and the management sets a deadline for the project. The project team creates a project plan around the deadline (not around the realistic and achievable end date), but because the project plan was forced to fit into the schedule, there is no contingency for tasks slipping. Invariably because of complex factors that the project team understands but management doesn't, the project starts to fall behind. The "solution": have executive management conduct daily meetings to pressure the project team to report that it is on-track.

Peopleware

Brian Jack — 2005-04-26T23:03:31-05:00

How many times have you been involved in a conversation with a LIMS project stakeholder where the talk eventually gets to the question, "If I can build a building in 4 months, why does it take 2 years to put a LIMS in?" I have heard this question a half dozen times. Of course, anyone involved in IT projects in general knows that there is no simple answer and that trying to explain that can be an exercise in futility. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that constructing buildings has been done for millennia; humans get the basic principles of that. IT projects are relatively new and each one requires a lot of human capital and a lot of knowledge invested in that human capital in order to actually pull it off.