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Instrumentation Laboratory

Policies

Policy For Construction Projects

  1. Primary Investigator (PI) will contact Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) about doing a project. A meeting will be held between the Director of the IL, IL staff, and the PI. Construction needs will be discussed and IL will take input from the PI.
  2. IL staff will separate the project into 5 parts and estimate the amount of time needed to complete each phase and inform the Director of the IL.
    • The 5 parts are:
      • Planning & Design
      • Parts Acquisition
      • Construction
      • Testing
      • Modification
  3. The Director of the IL will evaluate incoming construction projects by the following:
    • Criteria
    • Cost Effective (material & work hours)
    • IL’s work hour limit on projects will be 200 hours.
    • Appropriateness
    • Is it cheaper to buy than to build?
    • Is it available on the current market?
    • Should the project be farmed out?
    • Has PI attempted funding via grant/other means?
    • Timeliness
    • Can PI’s deadline be met?
    • Is there an agreement between the PI and the IL on how to construct the project?
    • Does the job require special tooling? Who will pay for it, if needed?
    • Other items
  4. The project is accepted or rejected by the Director of the IL.
    • If a project is accepted, it is placed on the appropriate waiting list. [ “mechanical”, “electrical” or “software”]
    • If a project is rejected, IL will attempt to find other means for PI to accomplish the project.
    • Project notes and estimates will be kept in the “rejected projects” file to be used for future staffing and work-related discussions.
  5. PI is notified when the project moves from the waiting list to the queue
    • PI is given an approximate start date.
    • PI is informed that the IL will contact them again closer to their start date, so the IL and the PI can go over any last-minute changes to the project.
    • PI should understand that IL’s #1 priority is repair work and that the repair workload could affect the approximate starting date, but will not affect their place on the waiting list or in the queue.
    • PI should understand that any changes, either requested or required could significantly delay the completion date.
    • Disagreement between the PI and IL staff about the most effective method of designing the project can also delay the project completion date.
  6. When the project is ready to be started:
    • PI and director will sign the Project Agreement form
    • A project file and log should be started to track the progress of the project, significant events, technical notes, notes of conversations with the PI, etc. (including a copy of the Project Agreement form).
    • The PI will be given a completion date at this time and the project will be placed in the appropriate queue. [ “mechanical”, “electrical” or “software”]
    • If one of the queues is full, a project that only requires work hours in one of the other queues may be moved up from the waiting list to make the most effective use of IL staffing.
  7. The Director of the IL will make sure the project stays on track and on time and will ensure that the designer and PI both have the same idea of what is expected. This will facilitate good communication between the PI and IL staff.
  8. All decisions on construction project work are at the discretion of the Director of the Instrumentation Laboratory.

Glasswork Policy

If you have a glasswork request (repair or modification), please reach out to the Director of the Instrumentation Lab (IL): Mike Weeks at 513-529-7216 or weeksmr@MiamiOH.edu