Shipment Batches

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Shipment batches can be used to track specimen receipt by the repository. The batch represents a package(s) being sent from an outside facility to the repository. A manifest of specimens to be shipped can be added to the shipment batch. Discrepancies between the manifest and the physical shipment can then be noted and resolved. A shipment batch is always followed by either receipt of specimens that already exist in BSI via a requisition or creation of a Data Entry Add batch for specimens that have never existed in BSI before.

Shipment Status

The status of the incoming shipment is determined by its current stage of processing.

  • In Transit - The incoming shipment has not been marked as received.

  • Received - The incoming shipment has been marked as received.

  • In Process - Some specimens in the incoming shipment have been scanned or otherwise marked as received.

  • Completed - No unresolved discrepancies are in the shipment and all specimens in the shipment have either been commited to the database, marked as Received in Requisition, or marked as Not Received.

  • Rejected - No specimens from the shipment will be committed to the database.

Shipment ID

When initially saved, each incoming shipment is given a unique ID in the form I YYYY:999999. All shipment IDs start with the letter "I", representing an incoming shipment, followed by the four digit year in which the shipment was created.  After the year is a colon followed by a six digit ID number.

To simplify typing, the incoming shipment IDs can be abbreviated on the Shipment Manager Filter, reports, and other search functions throughout the system. The "I" is optional. The year can be typed as four digits, two digits (defaulting to the current century), or eliminated entirely (defaulting to the current year). The six-digit number after the colon does not require leading zeros.

For example, to a user searching on March 26, 2019 for a shipment:
  • 08:20 means I2008:000020

  • 24 means I2019:000024

Create specimens in a shipment batch

The main advantage of using the Shipments manager to enter new data into BSI is the ability to track and verify each specimen has been received as expected from an outside organization. To start the process:

  1. Navigate to the Shipments manager and select New. The Shipment Properties dialog will open.new shipment batch
  2. Enter property values for the incoming shipment. Select OK.
  3. Save the shipment. Enter specimen data via one of the following methods:
Import:
Manual Data Entry:
  1. Select Import Specimens from the File menu.
  2. Use the instructions provided on the Import wizard to upload your data file.
    • If you are creating new specimens in the database, do not select any matching criteria.
  • Type data directly into the fields, or use the Mass Change and Change Values features to edit data.
  • You can also copy/paste data between table cells.

 

  1. After all data has been entered, you are ready to receive the shipment. At any point after saving, the shipment can be saved again, closed, and reopened later to continue adding specimens or to receive the shipment.
  2. From the shipment editor’s File menu, select Received Properties. Alternately highlight the shipment on the Shipments manager and select Receive.shipment received editor
  3. Enter the shipment's Received Properties and select OK.
  4. Now that the shipment as a whole has been received, the individual specimens inside of the shipment must be received and  discrepancies can be added if found. Receive specimen by:
Scan to Receive Specimens:
Manually Receive Specimens:
  1. Select Scan Specimens from the Tools menu on the Shipment editor.
  2. Follow instructions for the Scan dialog to set matching and location data.
  3. Scan the specimens. As a specimen is scanned, it will be marked as Received in the Shipment editor.
While highlighting the specimen(s) you wish to receive, select Mark Specimens as Received from the RMB column header menu.

 

  1. During the receiving process, if you notice any discrepancies between the virtual specimen records and the physical specimens you are receiving, you can add a discrepancy in BSI.
  2. shipment transferOnce all specimens have been received, highlight all specimens and select Transfer to Batch from the Tools menu.
  3. A notice will pop up saying you must save your changes before proceeding. Select Yes. The Shipment Transfer dialog will open.
  4. If you want to create a new Data Entry batch to commit these specimens with, select the New Batch option, otherwise enter an existing Batch ID to add specimens to an existing batch.
  5. After selecting the batch, you may also select from the following two checkbox options:
    • Automatically open the Data Entry Batch Editor – The specified new or existing Data Entry batch will open for editing.
    • Save and Close Shipment Automatically after Transfer – The Shipment batch will be saved and closed.
  6. Select OK.
  7. Open the Data Entry batch, if not already open. Use the Assign BSI IDs and Assign Locations tools to generate unique identifying numbers to the specimens and specify their storage locations.
  8. Select Check Level 1 & 2 Errors from the Tools menu. A notice will pop up saying you must save your changes before proceeding. Select Yes. If any errors exist, correct them.
  9. Select Commit.