Hi AMMRL,
Huge thanks to the many of you willing to provide feedback on this
topic. I'm not certain about the outcome for my facility, but this has
been quite valuable in discussions here. I got 23 replies, most listed
below. First is a copy of the initial email, then a summary, then the
individual listings.
Looking forward to a better rest of 2021!
Charlie
************** Initial email *************
On 3/8/2021 5:10 PM, Charles Fry wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Our facility is reviewing procedures for working in the on-going
> pandemic for our automated spectrometers. A big question is whether
> we can relax requirements for social distancing that we currently have
> in place: one person per 150 ft^2, and 15 min intervals between
> occupancy of that space. It is the time distancing interval that has
> us providing a service mode for automated use. Pre-covid it wasn't
> unusual for us to have more than 10 students per hour visit the
> spectrometer+robot during busy parts of the day. Currently, NMR staff
> perform all sample placements and removal to/from the robot, and
> handle all direct interactions with the spectrometer keyboard and mouse.
>
> I am hoping for feedback on this issue, which I can summarize for the
> group. In particular, for automated spectrometers what are your
> procedures? I am happy to distill more lengthy responses, but would
> like the following info as a minimum:
>
> 1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
> interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
>
> 2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a
> mechanism to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
>
> 3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
> facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
> the proper context.
>
> If you would prefer your responses be kept confidential, or sanitized
> for the summary, let me know.
>
> Best wishes,
> Charlie
*************** Summary ****************
There were 23 replies to the email. One institution had indications
that COVID had stricken an active user. They closed and cleaned, and
all has been well after that. Similar to us at UW-Madison, many
institutions don't receive sufficient information to connect positive
cases to the facility. Even so, the minimal feedback across many
institutions suggests that NMR Facilities are not spreaders for the
disease, almost certainly due to good practices with proper distancing,
use of PPE, and cleaning and disinfecting.
Pushing further, the survey results suggest that temporal spacing for
automation is not a key criteria for safety. Higher air turnover in our
facilities might be a mitigating factor, along with users not being at
the spectrometer for long periods of time; this in addition to masking,
other PPE, and cleaning regimens that are consistently in place in our
facilities.
In terms of temporal spacing for automation instruments, the results
broke into three broad categories:
13 institutions have no temporal spacing for all or major components of
their automation.
3 institutions have no temporal spacing, where webicon or off-hours work
minimizes overlap of users with small temporal spacing.
5 institutions use calendared slots (10-15 min) for automation that help
minimize overlaps of students with small temporal spacing.
2 institutions are included for information content, but have no
automation component.
************************ Individual replies ********************
************** Greg Wylie, Texas A&M
Here at TAMU we have 2 Bruker 400’s in the same room with a shared
platform to access the sample changers on top of the NMRs. We only allow
2 people in the room at a time and only 1 person on the platform at a
time. The NMR computers are ~20’ from each other. Most of the students
have done a really good job following these rules the past year.
All other systems are in individual rooms so automated or not there is
only 1 person in the room at a time. We have never had a dead time in
between users but we do recommend they clean the keyboard and mouse
before and after use. So far this seems to be working for us.
These policies have been in place since we re-opened last spring.
************** John Decatur, Columbia
> 1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
> interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
We have one robot in moderate use. No service. Users can operate themselves.
>
> 2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a
> mechanism to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
There is a maximum number of people allowed in the NMR room at one time
based on sq ft. People are expected to adhere to the 6 ft separation on
their own accord.
>
> 3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
> facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
> the proper context.
no stats but we have had several cases in the department.
************** Letitia Yao, U Minn (Chemistry)
We have been using the web-ICON interface for Bruker instruments. We
have users submit their information online, then go to the lab and place
their samples in the SampleXpress cassette, then go back to their
computer (or phone) and hit the "submit" button. IPA washbottles and
kimwipes are available at each spectrometer. From reopening in May 2020
to Nov 2020, we had users add info via web-ICON, then put their tubes in
a central location, then NMR staff loaded the cassettes and submitted
samples at least 2x/day. This was stressing the NMR staff.
The 2 autosamplers and one hands-on instrument are in one room, and
another hands-on instrument is in the other room. Since magnets require
physical distancing, this helps to enforce social distancing. I did
implement one person/instrument rule since the NMR lab was a convenient
gathering place pre-pandemic. Users are pretty good at keeping their
distance when more than one is waiting to add tubes to the cassette.
The ones that aren't typically belong to the same research groups and
have been close to each other anyway. I was going to make people use
our scheduling system to reserve time to bring down their tubes, but
that was another program people would have to learn and they were all
stressed enough and suffering information overload.
Users who needed hands-on access (kinetics, VT, DOSY,
air/water-sensitive samples) had to request permission and leave 10-min
gaps in the reservation system. Most research groups are on shifts, so
our population of users is about 50% of normal at any given time.
We don't allow anyone in the lab during our nitrogen fill times anymore.
There was one cluster of 4-5 people who tested positive in our dept that
could be considered community spread (but not necessarily NMR spread),
but that was contained by quarantining and testing. Of course, we are
not officially informed of any positive cases.
************** Darcy Burns, U Toronto
Our facility houses 10 NMR spectrometers in one large room (70' x 50').
We have moved to a mixed service model here in the CSICOMP NMR Facility
at the University of Toronto.
1. *SERVICE COMPONENT SET-UP*
1. *BUSINESS HOURS *(8:30a - 5:00p)*: *
--> CURB-SIDE DROP-OFF (staff only / no clients on site)
2. *OFF-HOURS *(7:00a --> 8:30a / 5p --> midnight):
--> OPEN-ACCESS (client / student only / no staff on site)
--> students are allowed to interact with automation
spectrometers / robots during open access
2. *SEPARATION OF STUDENTS AT SPECTROMETERS*
--> separation of students occurs via physical distancing and not
temporal distancing
--> max 3 ppl in the facility at one time;
--> on-site clients occupy one of three stations exclusively
(entrance / sign-in / all spectrometers collectively as one station
/ exit).
--> only one person is allowed to interact at each station at any
given time
--> students must follow a dedicated path of travel from a) North
entrance door --> b) sign-in station --> c) a spectrometer --> d)
South exit door. The entrances / exits / stations are separated by
at least 6' physical distance (often by more). Students must wait
for a station to become free / available before moving from their
current station.
--> a window in the North entrance door permits easy assessment of
entrance station availability. Overflow students are required to
wait in the adjacent hallway (6' separation) if the entrance station
is occupied.
--> students are not permitted to linger in the facility waiting for
experiments to finish. (i.e. students should submit and leave).
Students must re-enter and follow the above SOP to pick up samples.
--> there is no mechanism to separate students from spectrometers
according to time intervals (other than the time required to move
from the sign-in station to a spectrometer.)
--> ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES: Students must don fresh gloves at
the sign-in station, must wear masks, and must wipe down surfaces
(keyboards / mice) with IPA following each use. Spent gloves are
disposed of at a dedicated waste bin located at the facility exit
door. Students are required to read the associated open-access SOP
and have been trained on open access procedures prior re-opening (or
during new student training sessios)
3. *COVID STATISTICS*
--> to my knowledge, there have been no exposures / active cases in
the facility since re-opening (July 2020 to March 2021, inclusive)
(knock on wood!)
************** Ion Ghiviriga, U Florida
We have an automated service, users leave their samples in a tray on
the hallway, and every 3 hours we pick them up and set the run. Their
requests are logged in on a web form, and they retrieve the data from
their directories. More detail at
https://nmr.chem.ufl.edu . This was
the only mode of operation from May last year until a couple of months
ago, when we opened two spectrometers for in person use. The
spectrometers are in rooms where no one else works, and they have to
leave 10 minutes between bookings.
************** Bob Berno, McMaster
Thankfully vaccinations are starting to ramp up and I can at least see a
light at the end of our COVID tunnel.
Before answering your specific questions, I will say that automation has
really saved us. And, the fact that our spectrometers are located in
five different rooms in two different buildings has also been extremely
beneficial. Those groups who need to be able to drive the spectrometer
"manually" tend to be in labs that do not have high traffic.
> 1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
> interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
We only have a service component for external clients. Internal users
acquire their own NMR data. However, since COVID, most users have
minimal physical interaction with the spectrometers (see #2).
> 2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a
> mechanism to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
At the start of the pandemic, we limited the total number of users who
come into the NMR labs. Each research group designates one person per
shift (the larger groups have up to three shifts) who is responsible for
bringing all of the samples for the group to and from the NMR labs.
That designate will remove their old samples from the sample changers
and add new ones, taking very special care to note which samples went
where. Then that person leaves the lab, having spent only a minute or
two in the lab. Then each individual researcher would login remotely to
the spectrometer using the IconNMR web interface to submit experiments
to their own sample(s).
By limiting the total number of different people who need to enter a
lab, and greatly reducing the amount of time an individual spends in the
lab, we have not had a problem with having too many people queued up
waiting for access.
This system has been working quite well for almost a year now, and we
have seen no reason to relax any restrictions.
> 3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
> facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
> the proper context.
We have had zero cases of infections of anyone who uses this facility.
************** Ryan McKay, U Alberta
1.) service component for ALL non-departmental samples
Internal department samples run by department users on all instruments.
Clean samples and hands at door, clean keyboard/mouse/chair when you start.
2.) nope…we limit to 2 people in the room at any one time, masks all
times, clean hands and samples at door before entering
3.) None so far
************** David Labrecque, U Maine
1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
/Trained users are allowed hands-on access, but they are limited to one
at a time, encouraged to minimize their hands-on time by setting up
their automated experiments and leaving. They are also encouraged to
spray the area with disinfectant after they are done. (Keyboards are
covered with plastic protectors.)
/
/Hands-on access is further limited by doing all NMR training with Zoom
remote control sessions, where users control the NMRs remotely from
their computers./
2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a mechanism
to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
/Our NMR scheduler website only allows one user at a time.
http://chemistry.um.maine.edu/ <
http://chemistry.um.maine.edu/>/
/We could have implemented time separation between use, but it didn't
seem necessary./
/The NMR room is large and very well ventilated and only has 3
instruments in it. Furthermore Covid is transmitted lung to lung, not so
much by transmission across surfaces./
3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
the proper context.
/We are fortunate to be in Maine in a somewhat rural area that has not
been hit that hard by Covid./
/The University has done a good job with implementing safety issues like
masking and social distancing. All students on campus wear masks, even
outside.
/
/Students and faculty are tested weekly, so that any outbreaks are
immediately addressed. We only have about 15 cases currently on the
entire campus./
As far as I know, our department has not had any cases.
************** David Vander Velde, Caltech
We tried doing automation for people for about a month after reopening,
but with grad students spread across 2 shifts covering 18 hours of the
day, this got to be too cumbersome.
We mandate a 5 minute break between scheduled users of our manual
instruments. There is no formal break between automation users, but we
have an overall limit of not more than 4 people in the lab at the time.
It's a large room as drafty as an old barn with 7 instruments spread >
2000 square feet.
The number of cases we've had on campus has been smaller than I
expected, and has been particularly low of late with cases declining in
our area. There are about 3,500 staff total and I think about 2,500
people come to campus at least once a week. There is no in person
instruction going on here and just a handful of undergraduates who have
special dispensation because they are doing on campus research. Everyone
coming to campus does 2 saliva based screening tests per week. In the
height of the most recent surge in January, this was turning up maybe 3
cases per day. But we just went from Feb. 26 to March 8 with no known
cases at all on campus. (Someone could find out they are ill through an
off campus test and choose not to tell their supervisor, though I hope
that isn't happening.)
Since July, there have been a couple of times we were told that someone
diagnosed later had been in the NMR room while they were potentially
contagious. We had to close the doors and have a cleaning crew come
through and disinfect. There were no known subsequent problems connected
to NMR and it seems the amount of workplace transmission has been slim
to none. Some of that is good luck, most likely, but we have had few
cases among the NMR users and have (crazy) high lab airflow potentially
working for us.
As of March 1, university staff (including grad students) have been
vaccine eligible in California, and I think a lot of our people
(including me) have received their first vaccination. So I hope we are
on the down slope of the actual risk, although campus policies will
probably change more slowly than conditions.
************** Martha Morton, U Nebraska
I have relaxed my COVID protocols on timing. We have a maximum of 4
people in the lab at one time. It's rare for us to have that many.
Restricting instruments so they have 15 minutes between people didn't
work well for us. People kept running over their time. I have all the
NMR keyboards (general use) wrapped in plastic including instruments
without sample changers. People are supposed to wipe these down with
cleaning solution after each use (10% Windex and 90% ethanol (200
proof)). I change the plastic daily. I also have people wear gloves at
the keyboards. Everyone is doing their own work. We try to maintain
physical distance and everyone wears a mask in lab spaces and offices,
when they aren't alone. More people are using TeamViewer for experiments
run for long periods of time or metabolomic runs.
1. I do not have a Service Component specific for COVID. We don't have
enough staff for it.
2. We aren't using time separation because it didn't work for us. We
are adhering strictly to mask protocol and gloves. The biggest
problem with COVID is respiratory droplets. Cleaning touch points
and having increased air flow through the lab is more important for
eliminating this hazard. Our groups are mostly working in shifts to
reduce occupancy in labs, so instruments also see these shifts.
3. We don't have any reporting that gets back to me.
************** Bill Hillcox, WSU
1.Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
At WSU we have both. Most-almost all-of our usage on our automated
instruments is by direct user interaction. The instruments, up until
now, have been reserved by a calendar booking program that gives each
user a time slot of 15min or more, according to their anticipated needs.
The automation features are used such that the users’ time reservations
limit the extent of automated routines to the reserved time. We bill
from the calendar. There is a 15 minute window required between
reservations, and users are expected to sanitize the workstation
surfaces before leaving the instrument suite. Each instrument is housed
in a separate suite within a very large facility.
However, we will probably go to a fully automated system for our new
Bruker 500 Neo, such that users could walk up virtually anytime to load
their samples into the sample case, and input their sample data and
requested experiments. That will dovetail with loosening requirements
for distancing, as we transition to a post vaccine Covid return-to-work
stance, which will allow greater contact between researchers.
We also provide for service samples to be submitted along with a form to
fill out with sample and experimental details, for those who do not feel
comfortable coming to the lab to run their own samples. We haven’t had
much demand for that.
2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a mechanism
to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer? Yes, see above.
3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
the proper context.
To my knowledge, we have had no instances of documented covid
transmission within research facilities at WSU during the restricted
use period of the pandemic-thanks to the fairly rigorous protocols
in place for distancing and masking within the research community.
As a side note, we anticipate a return to in-person classroom
instruction up to 100 students at a time, with some precautions,
this coming fall, but it is unclear whether vaccination will be
required of students, staff, or faculty.
************** major university in Great Briton
To summarise how my facility is operating:
Researchers bring their sample to the instrument, insert the sample in a
spinner and place it into the autosampler, noting the position number.
They then use either their mobile phone or computer in their office/lab
to queue the sample to run through the automation.
NMR staff remove the samples once completed and place in the facility
entrance for collection. Spinners are wiped down with IPA before going
back into circulation.
Only one person is allowed at each instrument at a time and there is >2
m distancing in place where there are multiple. As users are typically
in the NMR lab for less than 1 min it is rare that social distancing is
required. Masks are work at all times in communal areas, including the
NMR facility, in our building. If the room is occupied then there is a
queuing system (we are Brits after all!) in the corridor. I have never
seen more than one person waiting.
We run around 300 samples across 4 (Bruker) instruments each day using
this approach.
Some users are granted the privilege of remote access to the instruments
via ssh/vnc to modify parameters or run samples through the topspin
software. For less experience users, NMR staff perform these tasks.
We have had <30 confirmed cases in our building of >600 researchers with
no confirmed transmissions between researchers within the building or
NMR facility.
************** Ivan Keresztes, Cornell
We require face coverings at all times in the NMR labs, even when
working alone. That, combined with ~8 air exchanges/hour, is probably
the single most important intervention. We are also requiring users to
either wear gloves while in the labs or disinfect their hands at the
door as they enter and as they leave.
1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
We are relying on IconWeb for experiment setup and submission. Users are
allowed into the room to place samples into the changers. They are not
allowed to touch the computer in the room.
2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a mechanism
to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
We are using Microsoft Bookings (it's serviceable and included with the
university's MS package) with 10-minute blocks, but we will probably
remove the scheduling requirements because people spend so little time
in the rooms. If they can use elevators, they can put samples into a
changer.
3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
the proper context.
We have had a few cases in the department but none of them were
associated with the facility.
************** major U in Great Britain
I am in the UK and we reopened the walk-up facility in June last year.
I am on my own dealing with 3 walk-ups, 2 “research” spectrometers and
160 students so we decided it was important to keep the walk-up running.
We have an allowance of one person per room (I am lucky that for now
each spectrometer has their own room) and a socially –distanced queue in
the corridor.
We went with the option of donning gloves before entering the NMR room
and do everything with that pair of gloves and discarding them once
outside the room. Not the cheapest option but we have managed to source
gloved all the time – (although only just in December)
Recently, I ordered “food handling gloves” from Amazon – my fear was
that they would be a bit slippery, but the researchers liked them and
asked me to buy more – they are much, much cheaper and we don’t feel so
wasteful. I have been using marigold gloves (reusable!) for fixes and
setting up exp for some Masters students.
We have had a few scares (4 or 5) but each time, the person tested
negative. Only one person in the building (not using NMR) has tested
positive for the virus since June.
Since Nov, people have been wearing face mask in the Analytical
facility corridor and NMR room (because of the UK variant).
We started off with 33 post-doc allowed in the building in June for 3
weeks, and progressively went up to 75% occupancy in the building. We
had to revert back to 50% occupancy in the building at the start of
January 2021 with our new national lockdown.
Initially, I was very thorough with daily cleaning of handles and
touchpoints (mouse, touchpad for autosampler, etc) as an extra
precaution – it was OK in the summer because the facility wasn’t too
busy but I have to say I haven’t had the time to do as much cleaning
recently.
************** Dan Holmes, Michigan State U
1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
We have a direct interaction by users for our automated
systems. We provide service for those users who request it.
2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a mechanism
to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
In order to maintain social distancing and limit interactions,
all users must reserve a 10-minute slot on an instrument for sample
submission as well as for sample pick-up (i.e. they must reserve a slot
to enter the room). We use the FACES reserve system from UGA.
Everybody at the university is required to wear masks in public
spaces or any shared space. All users are required to put on a fresh
pair of gloves prior to entering the lab (gloves provided at table
outside of lab) and to dispose of those gloves after exiting. This is
to minimize the amount of contamination of the keyboard, mouse,
spinners, etc. Frequently touched surfaces are disinfected once a day.
3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
the proper context.
We have had no reported cases of COVID from our facility.
**************Joe Dumais, Biose State U
We were only "fully" shut down for a short period of time last spring
and then the University allowed faculty to petition for a "research
exemption for critical research" to reopen the research labs. We were
back to open access by the 1st of May and possibly even earlier. The
Chemistry department research groups using NMR all received that
exemption and our two systems returned to walkup use. This is a
primarily undergraduate research effort here with a few MS students.
Users with access were back in the NMR lab mid spring and I was working
from home most of the time and only coming in as needed. Users were
instructed to clean door knobs, keyboard and mouse, and table tops after
their sessions. I did a moderate cleaning whenever on site and tended
to wear gloves as much as possible. I resumed training new research
students in-person during the summer. We resumed in-person lab
instruction in the fall and had our majors at the keyboards for Organic
Lab learning how to use the system and we also ran in-person sessions
for the 20 or so Advanced Synthesis students. This spring we have the
Organic Lab with about 15 majors running the NMR 5 times this semester
and we also are running Spec ID with about 27 students each getting
about 90 minutes of NMR training in-person. This NMR lab was built from
what had been office space as I understand it and is only ventilated as
office space and not as lab space so it has a reduced airflow as
compared to true lab space. It is about 25 feet square with an office
carved out of that space in one of the corners. I bought long monitor
cables and one wireless keyboard/mouse so I can sit at a work table
which is about 7 feet away from the stations at the spectrometer.
1. Do you have a service component setup, or have you enabled direct
interaction by users of the automated spectrometer and robot?
Mixed mode but mostly walk up and then one-on-one instruction with 30 to
90 minute sessions at about 6 feet of separation with everyone wearing
masks.//The instruction is mostly from me with ~27 SpectID students and
15 organic lab chemistry majors. Totaling to about 100 in person
sessions this semester. I ran one batch of 110 submitted samples for
non-major Organic labs. Plus I have trained new researchers in the lab.
2. If users can perform automation tasks directly, is there a mechanism
to enforce time separation of users at the spectrometer?
No, we have back to back appointments and run both systems
simultaneously with a third person in the lab when training is in
progress (usually me) forming about a 6 foot triangle. The users have to
pass between the vertices of the triangles (people) to get in and out
from the second system. Some students work closely to each other during
their 15 minutes or so in the NMR lab, sitting side-by-side in the NMR
lab on occasion. I got tired of frequent close passing issue during
training sessions so I am now booking the other system during training
to block users from that access.
3. If you can provide statistics concerning covid infections in your
facility (hopefully none to very few), that will give the information
the proper context.
I know of only one verified case within the NMR user community and the
student was totally asymptomatic. I do not know of anyone in the
department who has been contacted for the purpose of contact tracing.
************** Jeff Walton, UC Davis
I am attaching our Covid safety SOP. Basically one person at each
spectrometer at a time. Waiting is outside the room on the marked spots.
Wash hands. Wear mask, wear gloves at the spectrometer, wipe down with
Isopropyl when done.
The spectrometers are accessible via card key. We tell users to not hold
the door open for the next person. Each Person should use their own card
to gain entry. this is so we can do contact tracing if necessary.
They are also required to fill out a symptom survey everyday and email
it to me. And they are required to get a Covid test once a week…..
************** Dean Olson, U Illinois Urbana-Champaign
As shown here on our campus Covid dashboard,
https://go.illinois.edu/COVIDTestingData
<
https://go.illinois.edu/COVIDTestingData>
… the current running 7-day average positivity rate is 0.11% (Sunday,
March 14, 2021). Everyone on campus continues to get the Covid saliva
test twice weekly. I just took my 65^th test today. Results, all
negative so far, typically come back in less than 8 hours. It’s a
two-gene test, so false negatives are rare. Meanwhile, all six of us in
the NMR Lab staff are vaccinated at least once, including two
undergrads. In about 2 weeks, we will all be twice vaccinated. Some
grad students who host face-to-face labs or classes with students are
also fully vaccinated. Everyone on campus is still wearing masks while
near others. In the NMR Lab, when we the staff interact directly with a
student, we both wear a mask and a face shield.
The county has administered most vaccinations in coordination with the
campus. A federal program has conducted vaccinations at local drugstores.
For the use of all NMR spectrometers, we follow the rule of
one-at-a-time, and the occupied space is about 150 square feet per
person. But, we do not have, and have never had, a rule that requires a
15-min “rest period” between users. Back-to-back, even with brief
encounters, is acceptable, including hallway discussions. Spectrometer
keyboards are in a plastic sleeve and mice are under a plastic sheet.
Both sleeve and sheet are sanitized 5 times daily, Monday through Friday.
For automation, we do require a reservation to simply walk up and put
a sample on the queue. This provides the one-at-a-time use mentioned
earlier. We let students do this and submit samples directly. NMR
Staff do take out finished samples, but only because it is overall
helpful to facilitate instrument use.
Sample pick-up from the automated instrument (just one) is not
controlled, except that the pick-up point is about 12 feet from the
drop-off point. The reasoning is that any related physical encounter
would be momentary.
We all know on campus that talking between two people in a confined
space, even with masking, is unwise after about 10 minutes. Social
distancing is practiced at all times. For NMR tutoring, we now use a
long stick to point things out on a large monitor.
We work in the School of Chemical Sciences. It consists of three
departments. It is my understanding that over the course of Covid
testing since last early July, 20 infections have occurred, but I have
not heard of any student infections. Instead, staff seem to get infected
off campus. Details are sketchy here, even though I wish they were not.
************** Robin Stein, McGill
For the automated spectrometers, we have two: a Bruker AVIIIHD 500 MHz
and a Varian 300 MHz Mercury. When I am in, I set aside four or five
hours per day to run non-chemistry samples (non-chemistry people are
only allowed inside the building as an exception, so for routine NMR
work samples are left at the loading dock and I pick them up) and
chemistry samples left by people who don’t feel like running them
themselves or that they want run during that time. That is on the 500.
The 300 is always available, but then it isn’t very popular.
We use the program booked for the four non-automation instruments and
we set it up to add 5 min between users. At the end of each person’s
use, they wipe spinners and depth gauges spray keyboard and mouse with
ethanol.
Each NMR room is about 600 ft2 and has three instruments (one
autosampler, two non-autosampler). In principle, only three people are
allowed in each at any given time, but this isn’t rigidly enforced, so
people can pass from one room to another or wait their turn on the
autosampler without causing panic. We used to be stricter about this
than we are now. It is still frowned on for two people to work together
at one instrument and there is in fact only one chair per instrument.
As far as I know, there have been two cases in our department and
neither was associated with the NMR room or other instrument
facilities. Also, we haven’t really changed our procedures since we
reopened last spring. Over the first couple months, fewer instruments
were available, until we moved furniture around to completely separate
desks, but since then things have been consistent. Oh, I forgot to say,
hand sanitizer or 70% ethanol is available at every instrument and users
clean their hands before and after each use.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles G. Fry, Ph.D. Tel: (608)262-3182
Director, MR Facility Fax: (608)262-0381
Chem. Dept., 1101 University Ave, Univ. Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53706 USA email:fry_at_chem.wisc.edu
Received on Mon Mar 22 2021 - 11:47:12 MST