Ranked Sample Results

Ranked columns can be used to maintain a "Final" or "Best" value for a given analyte. This gives you the ability to reconcile results coming from different methods or even different labs. You can set the order in which results should be considered to derive a final value. A typical scenario would be to set over-limit methods with a higher "rank" than the regular methods (e.g. Gravimetric results over AA results). You can also specify the desired output unit of measure for the ranked result, and Deposit will apply any required unit conversions (e.g. "%" to "ppm", "ppb" to "ppm") automatically. When sample results are released from the Assay & QAQC module, each ranked column value is derived based on the defined unit of measure and the order of the candidate columns.

Configuration of ranked columns is done at the activity level as part of the Sampling step. After you have defined the Sample Analysis Workflow that you are using and added it to the activity, you can then configure one or more ranked columns based on the Sample Analysis Workflows that are in the activity. Since you can have multiple Sample Analysis Workflows in an activity, spanning one or more labs - you can include results from any of these sample flows in your ranked columns.

How it Works

When deriving a ranked column value (at the point of release), Deposit will look to the first candidate column in this list (#1), and if there is a result for that value - then that is what will be returned. If there is no value for candidate column 1, then it will look to column 2 for a value, and so on down the line. If the unit of measure of the candidate column does not match the unit of measure of the ranked column - Deposit will automatically convert the result to the different unit. 

If you are adding a new ranked column and you already have released sample results, Deposit will perform a background re-calculation of the ranked column to populate the ranked column value for all existing results. From that point on, the ranked column value is only derived when a sample result is released. Similarly, if you make changes to an existing ranked column (e.g. change the output unit, add or change the ranking of candidate columns), Deposit will again perform a background re-calc to repopulate the changed ranked columns with values that reflect the new settings. This background re-calc happens at the time that you close the activity configuration screen and will continue to run in the background until it is complete. If you view or export ranked results while the background re-calc is running, Deposit will prioritize your current request and immediately return the ranked result values for the samples you are viewing or exporting. You will always see the correct ranked result values, even immediately after adding a new column or changing an existing one.

Create a Ranked Column

To create a ranked column:

1. Open the configuration menu.
2. Under “Logging” click on “Activities”
3. Click on the activity where you want to create a ranked column.
4. On the "Sampling" step (along the bottom), scroll down to see the "Ranked result" section.
5. Click the "Add ranked column" link.
6. Enter the column name that will be used to identify this ranked result (e.g. "Au Final").
7. Select the desired unit of measure for this ranked result. All candidate results will be converted to this unit of measure when the ranked result is derived. The selected output unit will determine the list of available candidate columns as only convertible results can be considered (e.g. can't convert "kg" to "ppm").
8. Select the candidate column(s) to be considered when deriving this ranked result. You can search the list by using the search box. The list of results shown here represents the results that are part of the sample analysis workflow(s) that are part of the same activity.
9. Once you have selected one or more candidate columns, click the "Add column" button to create the ranked result column.

To change the ranking of candidate columns:

1. Expand the ranked result column by clicking on the "+" icon to see the current rankings of the candidate columns.
2. Click and drag each candidate column to set the desired ranking/order.
3. The ranking works top-down, where the highest ranking results are at the top (#1) and work their way down.

To edit a ranked column:

1. Click on the more menu "..." of the ranked result column you want to edit.
2. Make the desired edits in the edit window (e.g. change unit, add/remove candidate columns).
3. Click the "save column" when done editing.