A form that has to be perfect, on a clipboard
A sample collector fills in the custody form on site, signs it and seals the container. A courier signs when collecting. Reception signs on arrival and notes the seal condition. The sample moves to storage, to a preparation area, to analysis, back to storage. Every move should be signed for. The form travels with the sample, or in a folder beside it.
Months later, a client's solicitor or auditor asks for the custody record. The form is found, but one signature is missing and a time is illegible. Somebody has to explain.
Why paper custody records fail
- Paper forms get wet, torn or separated from the sample.
- Internal moves are often not recorded because signing a form each time is slow.
- Handwritten times and names are hard to read later.
- Gaps are only discovered when the record is requested.
- Forms from clients and couriers come in different formats.
The underlying problem is that recording each handover on paper is a chore, so the steps most likely to be skipped are the routine internal ones, and those are exactly what breaks an unbroken chain.
What an incomplete record costs
Where results may be used in legal proceedings, employment decisions or regulatory action, a weak custody record can undermine the value of the result, however good the analysis. Clients choose labs partly on the strength of their custody procedures. Staff time goes on reconstructing records from memory and other sources.
| Handover | Paper form | Digital custody record |
|---|---|---|
| Collection | Handwritten on site | Captured on a phone with time and location |
| Courier | Signature on the form | Scan and signature on the courier's device or at hand-off |
| Reception | Signed and seal noted | Scan, seal check and photo recorded |
| Internal moves | Often not recorded | Barcode scan at each location |
| Disposal or return | Separate log | Final entry on the same record |
How we build it
- Each sample, and its sealed container, gets a barcode or QR label that links to its custody record.
- Collectors use a phone app to record collection details, seal numbers and a signature, where your clients' procedures allow digital capture. Paper forms from clients who still use them are scanned into the record.
- Every handover, from courier to reception to storage to analyst, is a barcode scan by the person taking custody, with time, location and identity recorded.
- Seal condition and photos can be captured at reception.
- The record cannot be edited, only added to with a reason, so it forms a clear audit trail.
- A gap check flags samples whose record shows a missing step, while there is time to investigate.
- A custody report for any sample can be produced on request, in a readable format.
Your procedures define what must be recorded. The system makes it quick to record it and hard to miss a step. Whether a record is sufficient for a particular legal purpose is a question for your quality manager and your clients' advisers.
What your team notices
Recording a handover takes a scan, so it actually happens every time. Custody reports are produced from the record rather than assembled from folders. Gaps are found the same day. Clients see a lab with custody procedures they can trust.
Is your custody paperwork like this?
- Custody forms travel with samples on paper.
- Internal moves are not always recorded.
- Handwriting on custody forms is hard to read later.
- Gaps are found only when a record is requested.
- Producing a custody record takes a search through folders.