Instron introduces TrendTracker module for Bluehill Central software

Instron (Norwood, Mass., U.S.) has released the TrendTracker, a module in Bluehill Central — a laboratory management software tool — designed to accelerate the data analysis workflow of a user’s single or multi-location materials testing laboratories. The company notes that an intuitive interface enables a quick search, display and analysis of results over time and across multiple samples and test systems.

With the TrendTracker add-on for Bluehill Universal, Instron frames can automatically send test results to a centralized database to be viewed in Bluehill Central. The TrendTracker module’s statistical process control (SPC) tools are said to make it easier to identify and remediate inconsistencies in a manufacturing process.

Customizable searches query the database for the data needed and display it using sortable tables and a variety of control charts to evaluate the product’s performance.

Available control charts include run charts, Xbar charts, R charts, S charts, box plots and histograms. Available SPC measures include fundamental statistics such as mean, median, maximum, minimum, standard deviation and variance, in addition to more comprehensive measures such as acceptance limits, control limits, process capability metrics (Pp, Ppk, Cp, Cpk) and Western Electric Co (WECO) rules.

According to Instron, Bluehill Central is a networked lab management solution that enables lab managers to remotely manage all test systems running Bluehill Universal, regardless of the number of systems or their location in the world. TrendTracker is one of the available modules for results analysis. Traceability and Lab Management are additional modules for centrally managing Instron files and tracking the changes associated with those files.