Tasks related to Lab Registration

Last modified by Jim Repa, 10/3/2002

A. Help to coordinate the work for collecting Labs Registration data

1. Start by finding the first 2 or 3 DLCs who want to work with us in collecting Lab Registration data. The actual data entry should be done by EHS Office people, not the representatives from the DLCs. Tell the DLCs that the data collected will not be lost, although the interface and system used for collecting and displaying it may change.

   Who: Mitch or other EHS Office people who know departmental contacts

2. Decide on the hazard types

   Who: Mitch, Bill McCarthy, Jim Repa. Look at training rules as well as other needs.

3. Line up one or two people in EHS Office to help key the data into the web interface.

   Who: Melissa? + others?

4. Make sure the Lab Registration effort and the effort to renew the green sheet information are coordinated

   Who: Mitch, Katie Blass

5. Decide on changes to wording on Green Sheet

   Who: Katie Blass, others

6. Decide how to collect the extra information at the bottom of Mitch's form (if this is still going to be collected)

   Who: ?

7. After collecting data for the first 2 or 3 DLCs, decide on a schedule for collecting and entering into the system the data for the rest of the DLCs.

   Who: Mitch, etc.

8. During the collection of the data, we'll need to provide support, answer questions, and collect suggestions from people involved in the Lab Registration process.

   Who: JR, Dave

B. Technical work I would like help with

1. Figure out how to print green sheets

   The current prototype web UI to the Labs Database allows you to display a green sheet, and you can use Netscape to print this. This is accomplished with HTML. However, HTML is not a good protocol to use for generating printed sheets on a non-standard page size, and the green sheets are a non-standard page size. HTML-rendering depends on the specific fonts installed on computer or a printer, and so the green sheet may look a little different from each computer or printer used to print it.

   To print uniform page sizes for green sheets, we have at least two options:

   1. Always print the green sheets using the same computer and the same printer, for example in N52. As long as nothing changes, it should be possible to use HTML to print a uniform sized green sheet on one specific machine and printer. Care would need to be taken not to change font characteristics if the computer or printer are upgraded, or if they are, that the software generating the HTML is modified to compensate for the changes.

      The first step in doing this work would be to generate a static HTML sample document that prints to the exact right size paper on from a specified computer and printer. There is no need to start working with CGI code until after a static document has been written.

   2. Use something other than HTML as the protocol for printing green sheets. PDF is an option, and there may be other options. We'd need to do some research and find software for generating a document in PDF (or other) format. We could go through the web, but would not have to go through the web if we chose to print green sheets only in N52. (There might be a stand-alone application that is run only in the EHS Office.)

      I have no experience with generating PDF, but this is a commonly used protocol and there are certainly tools available to use it.

   This is an interesting problem, and I would like someone to help solve it.

2. Use BrioQuery (with direct connection to the Labs Database, temporarily before the data is uploaded to the Warehouse) to try out various reports that could be useful to EHS Office and the various DLCs.

C. Technical work that I can most efficiently do by myself

1. (Done) Make change to Labs Database to collect hazard_type information by room rather than by lab.

2. Get the Labs Database ready for data input by deleting test data and making final adjustments

3. Create a 2nd test instance of the Labs Database for further development and testing during data collection period

4. Do adjustments, modifications, and bug fixes to the Labs DB system during data collection period

5. Coordinate the upload of data to the Warehouse (scheduled for January, 2003)