Hello everyone,
We are fortunate (in my opinion) to have automation available on 5 of our
seven instruments and run all in a walkup queued use mode most of the
time. This allows for the most efficient utilization of instrument time
and is the easiest to manage as well as handle billing. Users pay only for
experiment acquisition time as all processing is done remotely. Requests to
reserve this instrument for kinetics or VT work are made through the staff
and the instrument is simply dropped out of automation for that period of
time.
However there is a growing competing need for 'reserved use' time on one
particular instrument featuring a LN2 cooled broadband probe. I'm trying
to decide on the best way to manage this instrument and still maintain
efficient use of it.
I have thought about making it available for reservation (at least 24 hours
in advance) 2 days out of the week.
I'm curious about how other facilities handle this situation. In our case,
this particular instrument is in high demand by all of our user bases, so
the most efficient use in a walkup queue mode works well - for most.
Another question relates to billing. If someone reserves the instrument
and doesn't show - do you charge them for the time? If they book it for 8
hours to run a 3 minute proton every 1/2 hour, do you charge them for 8
hours or 48 minutes?
I personally loathe to go back to a reservation system as it required far
more oversight and work. I vastly prefer the efficiency of a queued walkup
system, but not everyone's needs suit this model.
Looking forward to your thoughts and experiences.
--
Ken Sharp-Knott
Manager of Analytical Services and the NMR Facility
Department of Chemistry
Virginia Tech
(540)267-6502 (Cell)
(540)231-0885 (Office)
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Received on Fri Oct 06 2023 - 10:55:42 MST