Configurable Autonomy — You Set the Oversight Level
The market is shifting from AI as point solutions to AI-orchestrated lab operating models. ZONTAL supports the full spectrum — from supervised autonomy with human approval gates to fully autonomous execution for routine operations. You configure the oversight level per workflow. Approval gates and change control are embedded in the pipeline.
Lab Automation Is Stuck in Manual Mode
Pharma labs run increasingly complex portfolios, but orchestration remains manual. Three systemic barriers prevent closed-loop automation from reaching production scale.
Manual QC Workflows
Lab scientists manually route samples, trigger analyses, review results, and log decisions. At portfolio scale, this manual orchestration limits throughput to the speed of human task-switching — not the speed of the instruments.
GxP Compliance Barriers
Regulated environments require traceability, audit documentation, and approval workflows for every automated action. Most automation solutions bolt compliance on after deployment — creating validation debt and audit risk.
Fragmented IT/OT Landscape
Lab automation spans IT systems (LIMS, ELN, data platforms) and OT systems (instruments, liquid handlers, robotics). No single orchestration infrastructure connects both worlds with governed data flow and exception handling.
Configurable Autonomy — Four Pillars
ZONTAL delivers closed-loop lab automation through four reinforcing capabilities. Universal connectivity, GxP-by-design compliance, configurable autonomy workflows, and fleet-wide intelligence — all on governed infrastructure.
Universal Connectivity
Connect across ecosystems, orchestration engines, and workcell automation. System-agnostic integration spans IT and OT landscapes with plug-and-play connectors.
GxP by Design
End-to-end auditability, data integrity, and validation-ready controls embedded in every workflow step. Approval gates and change control are part of the pipeline — not bolted on after.
Configurable Autonomy
Oversight levels are configurable per workflow — from fully autonomous execution for routine operations to human approval gates for regulated decisions. You define the boundaries.
Fleet Intelligence
Real-time device failure classification, error categorization, proactive alerting, and orchestration workflow tracking across the entire instrument fleet.
Validate Automation Workflows Before Production
Running an unvalidated automation workflow on a production instrument in a GxP environment is a compliance risk. Every instrument adapter includes simulation mode — the full automation loop (instrument command → data acquisition → decision → next action) can be exercised on an engineering workstation without touching production hardware. Approval gates, audit trails, and exception handling are all tested before commissioning.
Principles Compounding to Close the Loop
Closed-loop automation compounds from four principles working together. Each principle adds capability that the next principle builds on — from connectivity through intelligence to autonomous execution.
Closed-loop execution requires governed, contextualized, traceable data
across all principles.
Evaluate readiness with the
five-question framework →
Integration Industrialization
Data Hub connects 150+ vendors and 400+ instrument models through governed Integration Factories. Every data point is validated and traced from source instrument to scientific context with full provenance. Universal IT/OT connectivity ensures consistent, validated data flow into automated workflow pipelines from every instrument type.
- 150+ vendor instruments supported
- 400+ instrument models connected
- 8 core techniques · 80+ variants
- IT/OT instrument connectivity for automated workflow pipelines
Scientific Context & Lineage
Digital Lab and Platform Modules build the scientific context graph — ontology mapping, cross-system identity reconciliation, and full lineage from instrument through result to insight. Every automated action is documented in the governed lineage graph with GxP-compliant change control records and approval gate audit trails.
- Ontology mapping across all data domains
- Cross-system identity reconciliation
- Full lineage graph: instrument → method → sample → result
- Every automated action documented with GxP-compliant audit trail
Scientific Intelligence
Cross-program analytics surfaces trends, anomalies, and predictive signals that manual review misses — proven AI capabilities running on governed, validated scientific data. Proactive failure classification, error pattern detection, and predictive maintenance signals convert device data into actionable operational insights.
- Cross-program trend detection and comparison
- Anomaly detection and signal identification
- Predictive modeling on governed data
- Device failure classification and predictive maintenance signals
AI-Enabled Decisions
AI-assisted workflows consume governed data, scientific context, and intelligence to generate actionable outputs — with configurable oversight from full autonomy to human-in-the-loop approval gates. Agentic workflow orchestration with configurable oversight levels — from fully autonomous routine execution to human-supervised regulated decisions, all on governed infrastructure.
- Guided workflow orchestration
- Configurable oversight — from approval gates to full autonomy
- Role-based views and reporting
- Agentic workflow execution with exception routing and escalation
How This Outcome Applies Across Scientific Domains
GMP Automation with Configurable Oversight
The same closed-loop automation architecture that accelerates R&D workflows extends to GMP manufacturing — batch release automation, environmental monitoring triggers, and in-process control feedback loops. Configurable oversight ensures regulated actions have approval gates and complete audit trails while routine operations run fully autonomous.
- Batch release automation with governed approval workflows
- Environmental monitoring triggers with exception routing
- In-process control feedback loops across unit operations
- Complete audit trails for regulatory inspection readiness
Real-Time Process Control
Closed-loop automation in manufacturing requires real-time process intelligence. synTQ provides the process control execution capability: multivariate statistical process control (MSPC), Critical Process Parameter (CPP) monitoring, and real-time Critical Quality Attribute (CQA) prediction. Used by ~65% of leading pharmaceutical companies across 200+ installations worldwide.
- Real-time quality prediction enabling feedback control loops
- Vendor-agnostic PAT instrument orchestration across the process fleet
- GxP-compliant knowledge management with 21 CFR Part 11 audit trails
- Scale-up from lab through pilot to full-scale continuous manufacturing
Closed-Loop Analytical Workflows: ELN → Instrument → Analysis → ELN
NMR + LC-MS Closed-Loop Verification
A synthetic chemist triggers a structure verification from Revvity Signals ELN. ZONTAL Operations drafts sample lists, routes to open-access NMR and LC-MS instruments, and captures raw data as measurements complete. SciYGears automates reprocessing and analysis — combined NMR and LC-MS structure verification with pass/fail scoring. Results are visualized in SciYNova Web and documented back to the ELN automatically. On failure, ZONTAL escalates to the expert core team for high-resolution 2D NMR and accurate MS/MS structure elucidation.
- Sample lists auto-drafted from ELN context (compound structure, solvent, batch)
- SciYGears automated NMR + LC-MS reprocessing, analysis, and verification reporting
- SciYNova Web browser-based spectral visualization embedded in ZONTAL or the ELN
- Pass/fail branching with automatic escalation to expert analytical core teams
Chiral Separation Workflow Orchestration
ZONTAL orchestrates chiral separation from ELN request through method screening, preparative separation, and quality control. SciYGears scores method screening conditions and reports the best separation method. synTQ controls liquid handlers for fraction collection and pooling. Full parent–child–fraction lineage is preserved — from racemic input through each purification step to the final enantiomeric excess confirmation by LC-MS QC.
- Automated chiral method screening with configurable scouting conditions
- Preparative separation with fraction lineage tracking
- synTQ-orchestrated liquid handling (NX Liquid Handler, Gilson GX-281)
- QC pass/fail with review-by-exception — results documented to ELN
Trusted by 6 of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world
And leading biotechs and agrochemical companies
“Digital analytical methods are meant to help free up more time for the scientist to do science.”
Build the Foundation for Closed-Loop Automation
Walk through the reference architecture for device health monitoring, workflow orchestration, and failure classification — and discuss how it maps to your instrument fleet.