Location Constraints and Restrictions - Admins

Admins can now impose constraints on locations, restricting the transfer of boxes, plates, and containers where they're not allowed. This prevents discrepancies between system records and physical inventory.

Location System Fields

Allows boxes, plates, and containers 

• Users with the proper permissions may set the ‘Allows boxes, plates and containers’ field to NO in order to prevent transfer of inventory items into that location.

Allowed inventory schemas  

• Allows users with the proper permissions to set specific location schemas that are allowed in that location. 
• For instance, admins may want to prevent loose containers being transferred onto a shelf or rack. In which case, they may set the allowed schemas to ‘10x10 Box’ and ‘96 Well-Plate’.

Inventory Capacity

• Allows users with the proper permissions to specify the maximum allowed number of inventory items in a particular location.

General Rules being enforced:

If ‘Allows boxes, plates and containers’ is false, creating or moving plates/boxes/containers in that location is not allowed.

If ‘Allowed inventory schemas’ is specified, any plates/boxes/containers being created or moved into that location are required to be one the specified schemas.

If ‘Inventory Capacity’ is specified, creating or moving in plates/boxes/containers in excess of that limit is not allowed.

If it’s already over capacity, no plates/boxes/containers can be moved in.

If it has n available spaces, n or less items can be created/moved in, but if n+1 are being created or moved in bulk, it will error.

Permissions Needed

In order to update the values of ‘Allows boxes, plates and containers’, ‘Allowed inventory schemas’ and ‘Inventory Capacity’, users must be granted access to ‘Edit location properties’ within access policies.

Configuration

Admins with adequate permissions may apply location restrictions in the following ways:

Create location modal

Update fields via a location’s metadata page

Create/Update location restriction fields via spreadsheet import

How locations can become invalid

After updating locations to include the new system fields, some locations may become invalid. Locations may become invalid if: 

1. Admin specifies a location as not allowing boxes, plates and containers, but there are boxes, plates and containers currently in the location. 
   1. E.g. Allows boxes, plates, and containers = NO; Current location has containers
      1. Forced to resolve: Move out all inventory items. 
2. Admin limits the permitted inventory schema types within the location, but there are existing item types in the location that do not conform to these restrictions.
   1. E.g. Allowed inventory schemas = 10x10 Box, Bottle; Current schema types in location = 10x10 Box, Bottle, Cryovial, 96 Well Plates
      1. Forced to resolve: Move out all Cryovials and 96 Well Plates or adjust the allowed inventory schemas to allow these item types.
3. Admin specifies a maximum capacity that is lower than the current capacity of the location. 
   1. E.g. Inventory capacity = 10; Current number of items in location = 15 
      1. Forced to resolve: Move 5 inventory items out of the location.

Find locations that are invalid

In Global or Inventory Search, filter for locations that have a ‘Location Validation: Status’ that is “Failed”. Optionally, filter for locations that have failed due to a particular reason i.e. Search for locations that are “Over capacity”. 

Resolve location validation errors

1. Navigate to Feature Settings > Registry Settings > Location Schemas 
2. From here, you’ll see the tenant’s configured location schemas, along with a column for ‘Validation Failures’

3. Click on one of the numbers in this column or click into the location and navigate to the ‘Validation Failures’ tab. 
4. Here, you will find all of the locations of that location schema that are invalid. 
5. Following the link will take you to an expanded search view with all the locations of that schema that are failing validation. Move items out to resolve the error. 
6. Once items are moved out and the validation failures are resolved, the validation error banner will disappear.

Create Lab Manager Dashboard

You can use the insights SQL blocks in this article to create a Lab Manager Inventory dashboard. This dashboard will include:

• Surface occupied, available and total capacity for locations with these fields configured. An occupied space percentage and a true/false value for “is over capacity” are also included. These can be turned into a visualization as desired.
• Surface occupied, available and total capacity for matrix plates and boxes. An occupied space percentage is also included. These can be turned into a visualization as desired.