UW CORAL Web Front End : Definitions Tab

Qual Protocol

This tab allows the creation and modification of qual protocols. The original concept for qual protocols was to allow staff to record the regular qualifications done on the instruments, such as uniformity measurements. We also now use qual protocols to record user data, such as requirements for a future run, recorded at reservation time; materials used and observed performance parameters, recorded while the equipment is enabled or at disable time.

Most qual protocols are specific to a given instrument, though they do not have to be: 5-point intensity, for example, is applicable to many instruments. Some qual protocols are not meant to apply to any instrument at all; for example, particle counts are instead recorded in locations within the lab. Because qual protocols can be edited by lab staff, however, every qual protocol is specific to a given lab.

The variables that define a qual protocol can be broken into Header Variables and Qual Variables.

Variable Definitions

Header

The header variables for qual protocols are:

Name

The display name of the qual protocol.

Lab

The lab within which the protocol is defined.

Item

If this qual protocol is specific to a given instrument, it should be indicated here. This field does not assign the qual protocol to be the at-reserve or at-disable protocol for that instrument.

Process Template

If this qual protocol is used as the at-reserve protocol for an instrument, the process field for that reservation will be overwritten by the process template, with any strings {{v}} replaced by the value of the variable whose identifier name is v.

Infer location from equipment

If this box is checked, the location field of each record will be overwritten with the equipment's location of record. This prevents data appearing on different graphs when some users enter a location and others do not. If, however, the qual protocol is meant to be used in different locations, possibly independent of equipment, this box should be left unchecked.

Qual Variables

In addition to the header variables, staff can assign other variables to a qual protocol that define what is being measured. The type of these variables (integer, real or string) must be specified when they are created, and each variable must be given a display name. All of the variables thus defined will appear on the user input form.

Identifier Names versus Display Names

Each variable is assigned a unique identifier name under which its data are recorded. You may change the Name with impunity, because the identifier name never changes (but cf. "Removal of variables", below). When you first add a variable, the identifier name will be shown beginning with "u", because identifier names are not assigned until they are saved.

The meaning of each column in the variable table is as follows.

Name

The display name of this variable.

Type

The type of the variable (int, real or string). The type can be changed only as long as the identifier name begins with "u", i.e., it is a brand new variable. Once the type is saved it can no longer be changed. If you need to change the type of a variable, delete its name and create a new variable of the intended type with the desired name. (Note that the data, if any, will not be transferred to the new variable.)

Tied?

If a variable is designated as "Tied", it will be displayed on the same line as the previous variable on the input form. Otherwise, it will be placed on its own line. If several variables are to be shown on the same line, all but the first should be "tied".

Mandatory?

Data must be entered into a mandatory field before the form may be submitted. No indicates that a field is not mandatory; Users indicates that it is mandatory for ordinary users but not equipment super-users or lab staff; All indicates that it is mandatory for everyone regardless of status.

Condition

If Condition is set on a variable, graphed variables will generate one graph for each condition. The condition variable should use Discrete Values in order to avoid a multitude of meaningless graphs. If you accidentally set a variable to be a condition variable and later decide that you won't want any condition variable, set the last, unnamed variable to "condition" and save; this will remove the condition marker altogether.

Update

If this variable should be automatically generated based on the values of other variables, you can enter a SQL expression that will generate this variable in the blank. The SQL expression is limited to arithmetic expressions; variables are referred to by their identifier name. Be careful that you never divide by zero: you can use COALESCE(NULLIF(expression, 0), 1) in a denominator to force a denominator of 1 when it would otherwise be zero.

Plot

Choose how and whether the variable is plotted in a time series. Usual values for this field are none, do not plot; or value, plot the value over time. You may instead plot differential or cumulative values if desired.

Upper Limit

If set, adds a line on the graph indicating the notional upper limit of the data. Data that are equal or above this limit (depending on whether "<" or "<=" is chosen) are considered to be out of spec. You may also choose an upper limit of +3sd, meaning three standard deviations above the mean. Please note that +3sd will not have the intended meaning if the graphed data do not follw a normal distribution.

Lower Limit

Very similar to Upper Limit, but a lower limit.

The order of variables in the form may be changed by pressing the Move buttons (move to top, or move to position N).

Removal of variables

To remove a variable from a qual protocol, delete its Name and save. Un-named variables are not graphed and do not appear on the input forms. Note, however, that their data are not removed, so if you later add another variable of the same type with the same identifier name, the old data will reappear. This is usually undesirable, unless the interpretation of the data is the same (a variable was removed and then restored with the same definition).

Discrete Values

It is often desirable to provide a drop-down menu for one or more fields instead of allowing users to enter data free-form. You can define values for them using the Discrete Values button at the top of the tab. (The variables need to exist before you can apply discrete values to them, so pressing the Discrete Values button saves the qual protocol first, as if you had pressed Apply.)

In the popup, choose a variable and assign it a value and a displayed value. As you populate the fields, more lines will appear to accommodate more discrete values.

To delete a value, clear its Value blank before saving. To change the order of values within a given variable, press the up and down arrows.

Assigning a Qual Protocol to an Instrument

Once created, a qual protocol can be assigned to an instrument by opening that instrument's properties and changing its "Qual at reserve" and/or "Qual at disable" properties.

Retrieving and Editing Qual Records

Records can be created, listed and modified using the Lab>Quals tab, and entries for at-disable and at-reserve protocols can be entered on the disable screen and the equipment calendar, respectively. Qual records are summarized on the Equipment>Log and Equipment>Status tabs.