Dear all,
One thing that is clear from the responses thus far is that there is no
general solution, it depends on demand (a, if not the, dominant factor), the
type of work being conducted, and the mentality and attitude of users, as
well as ultimately simply personal preference. I have worked at various places
with various policies in place, some places were more successful than others
in terms of efficient use of the instruments, limiting access abuse, and
minimizing arguments amongst users. With changes in instrumentation, users,
etc. etc. matters could improve and, naturally of course, deteriorate. The
best system I worked under, and admittedly this may simply have been down
to the limited demand, was a hybrid system where booking was not necessary
but an online booking system was in place and users were free to book the
instrument as necessitated, even for long runs during business hours. Users
were simply instructed to be considerate of others and to use their common
sense, e.g., if demand was high, leave or schedule long runs for out-of-hours,
but otherwise by all means put on long runs during business hours if the
instrument was idle. The good thing about a booking system is that users
could see if the instrument was available before heading over to the NMR
unit (and of course email notifications serve the same purpose but a booking s
ystem seems much more robust to my mind), but, and this is the crucial point,
if a user had booked a sizeable block they were encouraged to indicate if
interrupts were or were not possible for others to run some quick spectra.
Interrupts were not only possible if a user was doing a large number of
shortish runs, but also for long runs such as carbons or 2Ds. Topspin allows
one to halt a spectrum and then continue on with it, for 1D spectra adding
to the already accumulated scans and for 2D, picking up where you left off.
It works superbly for carbon I have to say. I even had a simple a macro that
users could use to halt a long run (halt the run, save the shim file, eject
the sample, etc.) and then when they had finished their short runs, simply
re-insert the interrupted sample, make sure they were in the right directory
(helps to leave a note), then lock onto to right solvent and enter another
macro to get things going again (read the saved shim file, tune, shim, start
the accumulation, etc.). The system worked great and it is just a pity that
icon cannot do such things and so for interrupts to be an option, the spectra
have to be acquired manually, thus more work not only for the user of the
long run, but also for others and also more training is required.
Kind regards,
Karel Klika
________________________________________
> From: Sukenick, George <g-sukenick_at_ski.mskcc.org>
> Sent: 06 October 2023 22:02:10
> To: main_at_ammrl.groups.io
> Subject: Re: [AMMRL] Managing instrument use
All our instruments are walkup, with time policies.
Our users for the most part prefer this method, even when instruments were crazy busy.
Occasionally we had new researchers come in proclaiming how their former place had a
reservation system that was like perfect clockwork (oooo-kay).
I ask the other users what they think and every time only the new researcher wants
a formal reservation system.
Informal reservations are possible with us so long it is within our time policies;
the rare formal reservation that is actually necessary is made through me and if
it doesn’t fit our policies, I find a time they can use the instrument
(night, weekends, or I contact other users).
If I had people who consistently needed time outside usual policies, then yes, it
would be a good idea to set (and post) certain days/times when the instrument(s)
are to be used in that manner so that everyone knows what to expect or, as you
suggest, 24 hours notice (I would ask for more…) – then post
and send out blast emails.
For your situation, you could have some limited days/time when reservations
are possible, but if no one reserved time then walk up is welcome.
I’d think that setting aside specific days might be best.
Now, in the case when someone formally reserves time, that means that others
have will likely not try to use the instrument or have made other plans in
their research – they need to be charged at least some amount if
they don’t show up. If they reserve the instrument and use even 3
minutes out of every ½ hour, they should be charged for the full time
as it disrupts other researcher’s work. If they have multiple bookings,
then no disruption, the other time is available to others, so they should be
charged for the actual usage per policy.
VT work – at least for high temperature, I give those researchers
special training and have automation set up so that they can do it automatically
when they need and the automation records this work so I know when this
occurred, and I can check the instrument afterwards. I also put in the AU programs
a check to make sure for other users the temperature is at the standard
temperature and if not, it resets the temperature if the researchers did not
follow directions properly.
This mistake hasn’t happened under automation, but it has happened a few
times by forgetful researchers under manual use.
That’s fun – besides talking to the VT user, then I had to
chase after users who ran their sample at elevated temperature to inform them.
Setting up a list of events in automation seems a bit more fool proof than
someone puttering around following instructions on paper.
For low temperature where LN2 is involved, then that is a manual task and it
must occur at a time when the facility can monitor or help – if things
are not done properly, then potential probe repair.
Since VT work requires more tech time (even if the researcher runs it themselves)
and there is a risk, they are charged a premium for VT work.
George Sukenick, Ph.D.
Associate Lab Member/Head
NMR Analytical Core Facility
Sloan Kettering Institute
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
417 E. 68th St ZRC 2164
New York., N.Y. 10065
Main: (+1) 646-888-2237
g-sukenick_at_ski.mskcc.org<mailto:g-sukenick_at_ski.mskcc.org>
> From: <main_at_ammrl.groups.io> on behalf of Kenneth Sharp-Knott <kknott_at_vt.edu>
> Date: Friday, October 6, 2023 at 1:55 PM
> To: "ammrl_at_groups.io" <ammrl_at_groups.io>
> Subject: [EXTERNAL] [AMMRL] Managing instrument use
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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