EZChrom and Openlab alternate control of GC-FID

I don't think it would have a problem as long as you're not trying to connect with both software platforms at the same time.  I've seen other customers do similar things (GCMS/FID, using MSD Chemstation for MSD work and GC Chemstation for FID work).

MS systems have firmware tied closely to the software running it, but a simply GC with FID is more flexible.  The Agilent GC instrument driver is designed to be backward compatible, you shouldn't have any problems with bouncing the GC-FID between the two software platforms.  As Lance mentioned, just don't try to connect both software systems at the same time.

Since the firmware is not changing on the GC, it should not impact a hardware qualification of the GC.  Software OQs require an instrument for instrument communication testing, but the firmware or type of instrument is not specified as part of the OQ.  That said, ultimately questions about the validation status is always up to your validation department to make the final decision, as what is okay or not may depend on how the validation paperwork has been written up.

Many companies have undertaken similar approaches when switching to client/servers or upgrading client/server systems and need to test the new system while still having instrument capacity on the old system.

Hi Both

Thanks for your response. That sounds encouraging, just not sure on what validation activities if any would need to be repeated and by whom if we were switching between the 2 software platforms.

This may sound like I'm dodging the question, but that question can only be answered by your validation department or team.  Each company comes up with their own scopes of work about what would invoke a requalification.  For example company that has written their validation work very strictly would state if you slide that GC 1 inch to the left, the entire system has to be requalified.  Others don't write their validation that strictly and would be okay with sliding the instrument 1 inch if no actual changes were made to the instrument itself or the computer running it.

In your case it sounds like no firmware changes will be made to the GC during the testing, and testing a new set of software won't impact the old software as long as they reside on different computers, which I'm sure they do. 

I've delivered many GC hardware qualifications, and Agilent workstation and client/server qualifications.  Nothing about Agilent's hardware or software OQs would be impacted by what you plan to do.  In fact installing the new client/server system requires an instrument to complete the communication test of AIC software qualification.  

So if any type of type of re-validation is called for, it would be in your SOPs.  My guess is your SOPs aren't written that strictly but you would need to confirm with your validation department or team.

Hi camelia,

I just wanted to follow-up to see if your question has been answered. If so, please come back to the post, let us know what you found, and click Verify Answer on the response so it will make the solution more visible.  If you still need help, just let us know and we would be happy to continue working with you.

Hi,

Thanks for you replies. I have asked the question to the lab validation manager and the response is basically a no go as -  

Switching between the systems may be technologically do-able, but each time we did it, we’d be changing the status of a validated system. OpenLab relies on fixed IP addresses to find instruments, and I’d guess EZChrom does too, and swapping the GC network plug over between the two may cause conflicts or other problems. OpenLab would need the GC to have an IP on the secure network, while EZChrom would require a different IP as it’s not on the secure network, therefore we’d have to manually change the IP address in the GC settings each time it was swapped from one system to the other.

 There would be no guarantee that when we plugged it back in to OpenLab after a stint on EZChrom that it would connect up exactly as it had been previously. My understanding is that once it’s validated, we shouldn’t be changing IP addresses, pulling network plugs out or swapping them over without change control.

- for these reasons i have verified the answer from woody. If there are any further comments relating to this question I'm happy to hear them.

Thanks