Empower Tip: Review Window and the Processing Method

In Tip 27, we learned how to use the Suitability Limits to flag results that are outside of a desired range. What about the Acceptance Criteria Limits on the Limits tab? What is it and when would it be used? For example, we can use the Acceptance Criteria Limits to check limits between chromatograms without the need to create custom fields. It may also be the case that you do not have the privilege to create custom fields. Not to worry, this is very easy to do in the Processing Method.

We begin by bringing a Sample Set into Review, open a Processing Method and Integrate/Calibrate a channel for a standard. The %Area for the Ethyl Paraben peak is 35.44. We are going to set the Acceptance Criteria Limit for this peak to be a %Area greater than or equal to 35.00.

Go to the Processing Method window, click the Limits tab and highlight Ethyl Paraben in the Suitability Components table. Then click in the Field Name in the Acceptance Criteria Limits table and select %Area.

Click in the Left Side field and the Formula Entry window opens. Either type or double click on %Area to add it to the Field area. Then click Finish.

Select GTE from the Operation list.

Click in the Right Side field and when the Formula Entry window opens enter 35.00 and click Finish.

Enter a precision of 2, select Error from the Warning/Error drop-down list, and select During Quantitation from the Check Relative Limits drop-down list.

Save the Processing Method, return to the Main Window and integrate/quantitate one of the samples. We see that the %Area for Ethyl Paraben is 36.21 which meets the criteria.

The next sample shows a %Area for Ethyl Paraben of 34.25 which is below the limit and it’s flagged.

You can include the acceptance criteria in your report. There is a selection in the table properties to include the acceptance criteria and report the value with the formula.

It’s that easy!