The Chain of Custody Report
- Sam Goddard
As Remote Sampler app users collect physical items during the sample collection process and move them from place to place, the Remote Sampler system maintains a chain of custody for each of the items. For each item, the system records:
The item location
Who moved it
When it was moved
GPS co-ordinates from the time of the move action
User signatures
Problem comments
Linked items
To view the chain of custody for a specific item, click on the Report menu item in the web hub and click the Chain of Custody option.
On the left-hand sidebar, select a suitable date and then choose a specific item from the list to see its chain of custody data.
The individual item movements will be plotted on a live map at the top of the screen as shown below.
The starting point of the chain of custody is the item collection location. This link in the chain is shown with a large green flag.
Subsequent item moves will be shown in chronological order below this with blue chain icons.
The final location in the chain of custody, representing the end destination of the journey for the collected item is shown with a red flag. Any signatures that have been collected are also displayed on-screen.
Problems during Collection
If there has been a problem during the movement of a collected item at any stage of the custody process, this is displayed with a large yellow warning triangle. A description of the problem details will also be shown.
With the App
If a user of the Remote Sampler app records a problem with a specific item, this will appear on the custody report with a large yellow icon like the image below.
Without the app (third-party courier)
When a third-party courier records the collection or drop-off of multiple items in one action, they are not expected to identify specific missing items as this would be impractical for large numbers of items. As a result, Remote Sampler records the difference between the expected number of items and the actual number moved by the courier. Any comments are also recorded. In this case, it is not possible for Remote Sampler to identify exactly which items are affected and each of the items that was involved in the move action is marked as a problem item. There is uncertainty over exactly which item was lost or damaged.
A detailed summary of the issue is displayed as shown below.
Where more than one item has been moved in a single action, the Linked Item box appears at the bottom of the move record to show the other items that were moved at the same time.