Case Study: Scaling Scientific Operations with CellarioOS

How A Centralized Automation Facility Scaled Scientific Operations with CellarioOS

An Anonymous Case Study on Workflow Orchestration at Scale

In the world of drug discovery, efficiency and consistency are everything. One centralized automation facility at a major biopharma site has reimagined how assay development and screening are managed across the organization, transforming from a fragmented, homegrown system to a streamlined, site-wide orchestration platform powered by CellarioOS.

A Centralized Automation Hub for the Enterprise

This internal automation facility serves dozens of labs across the organization. Scientists from any department can engage with the facility to execute complex workflows such as assay development and screening, all without needing deep automation expertise themselves. The facility is built to scale: development teams build new automation protocols, while an operations team runs and maintains daily throughput on shared instrumentation.

The Power of CellarioOS

Before CellarioOS, the team relied on custom-built internal software to handle scheduling and requests, an approach that was inflexible and slow. Now, CellarioOS acts as the connective tissue for their entire automation operation.

For the operations team, the change has been significant:

• Modern user experience replaces outdated interfaces
• Clear daily schedules ensure efficient resource allocation
• Consistent data output removes operator variability
• Centralized protocol management links development and execution seamlessly

From Protocol Development to Scientific Execution

When a scientist wants to run an existing workflow, they simply log into the system, select their request type, and define plate sets and parameter values. For new request types, they work with the automation development team to build the protocol in Cellario. Once validated, it’s handed off to the operations group.

Here’s how the process works:

1. Protocol sync: The CellarioScheduler library populates the system with validated protocols.
2. Request creation: Ops uses the “Create Scientific Protocol” interface to map required parameters, add request-specific inputs, and define how the system should run.
3. Instrument-agnostic scheduling: Scientists schedule requests without selecting specific instruments; operations later assign work to available resources using a built-in calendar view.
4. Execution & data review: Ops runs the protocols, inspects the raw data, and manually uploads output files to the request.
5. Automated notifications: Scientists receive an email alert when their data is ready.

Standardized Data. Smarter Decisions.

Previously, the quality and format of results varied depending on the operator. With CellarioOS, results are consistent and reproducible. Every request is logged, tracked, and linked to specific billing codes, allowing the organization to analyze utilization by team, application, and instrument type—data that directly informs future purchasing and resource allocation decisions.

A Foundation for Scalable Science

By replacing legacy homebrew tools with CellarioOS, the facility now delivers scalable, efficient, and traceable science across the enterprise. From screening to scheduling, this centralized approach empowers every lab to access automation on demand while giving the operations team the control they need to execute flawlessly.