Streamlined Laboratory Commissioning via Brain of Materials – From Test Plan to Order in Minutes

Laboratory Coordination as a Bottleneck in Materials Quality Assurance

In the automotive and plastics industries, the commissioning of laboratory tests remains one of the most resource-intensive steps in the quality assurance process. Once a test plan has been defined, organizations face the operational challenge of identifying suitable laboratories, communicating precise testing requirements, and ensuring that results are returned in a structured, comparable format.

In practice, this process is frequently characterized by:

• Time-consuming manual identification and selection of qualified testing laboratories

• Lengthy coordination cycles to clarify testing scopes, conditions, and parameters

• Ambiguities in the communication of customer-specific or standard-referenced requirements

• Inconsistent result formats that require manual post-processing before integration

• Limited traceability between commissioned tests and returned data

These inefficiencies accumulate across projects and suppliers, resulting in delayed approval timelines, elevated process costs, and reduced scalability – particularly for organizations managing complex, multi-material test programs across global supply chains.

Direct Laboratory Access through Brain of Materials

Brain of Materials addresses this bottleneck by providing direct access to a network of over 50 accredited testing laboratories through a single platform. Once a test plan has been created within the system, laboratories can be contacted and commissioned directly – eliminating the need for separate procurement workflows, individual negotiations, or fragmented email-based coordination.

This integrated approach enables organizations to:

• Select from a broad network of qualified laboratories based on capabilities, accreditations, and availability
• Commission tests directly from within the test plan, ensuring a seamless transition from planning to execution
• Reduce coordination overhead significantly by centralizing all laboratory communication on one platform
• Accelerate the overall testing cycle from weeks of manual coordination to a streamlined digital process

By consolidating laboratory access within the same environment used for test planning and
data management, Brain of Materials removes a critical discontinuity in the testing workflow
and creates a continuous process chain from requirement definition through to result
evaluation.

Test Plan Configuration in Under Five Minutes with Unique TestIDs

Central to the efficiency of this process is the TestID (TID) – a unique, machine-readable
identifier that precisely defines each testing requirement, including its associated methodology, parameterization, and conditions. By leveraging TestIDs, the configuration of a complete test plan can be accomplished in under five minutes.

The TestID ensures that:

• Every testing requirement is unambiguously defined, leaving no room for interpretation between the commissioning party and the laboratory
• Customer-specific variations, standard references, and parameterizations are encoded directly into the identifier
• Laboratories receive a complete, structured description of what is to be tested, under which conditions, and according to which specification
• The need for iterative clarification between stakeholders is virtually eliminated

This clear, standardized communication of testing requirements drastically reduces the
interpretation effort on both sides and constitutes a prerequisite for truly scalable, digitized
testing workflows. In the context of VDA 231-301, the TestID functions as a BusinessKey that
enhances the data model with unambiguous references – bridging the gap between normative text and operational testing practice.

Automated Result Integration and Direct Utilization

Once testing has been completed, the results generated by the laboratories are automatically fed back into the Brain of Materials platform and mapped to the corresponding TestIDs. This automated feedback loop eliminates the manual transfer of result data from laboratory reports into internal systems – a process that has historically been a significant source of errors and delays.

The structured, TestID-referenced result data can be utilized directly for:

• Automated comparison of actual test results against defined requirement specifications
• Cross-project and cross-supplier benchmarking on a consistent, comparable data basis
• Construction of comprehensive requirement plans that consolidate historical and current test data
• Audit-proof documentation of the entire testing chain, from commissioning through to
  evaluation

By closing the loop between test commissioning and result utilization, Brain of Materials
establishes a fully integrated, end-to-end testing data chain that operates without media
discontinuities.

Summary

The efficient commissioning of laboratory tests and the structured return of results are decisive factors in the performance of any materials quality assurance process. Brain of Materials transforms what has traditionally been a fragmented, coordination-intensive workflow into a streamlined, digital process.

Key advantages include:

• Access to over 50 laboratories directly through a single platform
• Test plan configuration in under five minutes using unique TestIDs
• Unambiguous communication of all testing requirements to the laboratory
• Automated feedback of test results into the TestID system
• Immediate usability of results for comparisons, requirement plans, and system integration

Organizations that integrate laboratory commissioning into a standardized, data-driven process chain will benefit from significantly reduced lead times, lower coordination costs, and enhanced data quality across their entire supply chain.

Curious?

Would you like to understand how the integrated laboratory commissioning and TestID-based testing workflow can be implemented within your existing system and process landscape – and what efficiency potentials can be realized through structured, standardized data exchange?

In our complimentary webinar, we will demonstrate practical applications of how Brain of
Materials can serve as an operational infrastructure for testing and material data. Together, we will analyze typical integration scenarios, automation potentials, and specific use cases along the supply chain.

Secure your appointment now and discuss your individual requirements directly with our
experts.