LIMS User Manual

Project Materials Certification Module

Table of Contents

Purpose.................................................................................................................1

Project Review
Logging In the Sample (Begin Review).....................................................................1
Using the Notepad.................................................................................................5
Processing the Sample .........................................................................................7
Accessing the Sample...........................................................................................8
Approving the Sample (End Review)......................................................................10

Closing the Sample Out

Sample Post Approval Disposition (Response Received Letter Issued)....................12

Exception Screen
Exceptions...........................................................................................................15
Supporting Documentation..................................................................................19
Returning to a Previously Entered Exception ......................................................22
Using a Previously Entered Exception as a Template.........................................26
Printing the Exception Letter ...............................................................................29

APPENDIX
Certification Process Flowchart...........................................................................36

i
Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide training to Material Certification personnel

on the use of the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) with regards to
certification issues.

The process for completing a Final Project Materials Certification in LIMS can be found
in the Appendix.

PROJECT REVIEW
Logging In the Sample (Sample Log-In)

The sample log-in is the first step of the process and signifies the beginning of the
project review. The following screens will illustrate a step-by-step procedure for
entering a sample into LIMS

After logging onto LIMS, you will need to click the Single Routine Sample Login button
on the Login tab.

1
To start the process, you will need to populate the key fields in this screen. The easiest
and most error free method is to allow LIMS to do this itself. Typing a portion of the
Project FIN you are reviewing in the Project ID box (*wildcards* are acceptable) will
reduce the number of project in the search screen. You will need to click the  button
beside the Project ID after typing the project ID.

Once the search screen comes up, look for the 101 _ 1 Pay Item Number. This is
where the PROCER Material ID has been associated and is necessary to continue
with the log-in. Click on 101 _ 1, then click OK to continue.

At this point, the LIMS will automatically fill in the top two rows of information; complete
Project ID, Pay Item No. Matl ID, Level of Testing, and Resolution Sample. LIMS will
also fill in the Destination LabID. Check to be sure that this number is that of your own
lab or you may send your review away.

The remaining information entry is minimal.

2
The Date Sample is a critical entry. LIMS will not let you proceed without this
information. This will be the date that you started your review. For convenience, you
may type, CDCT and press Enter, a short-cut for Current Date-Current Time. This
is also the Begin Review date for the Certification Key Performance Measures (KPM).

3
Press the Tab key twice to take you to the Batch No. field. Enter the date (in
mm/dd/yyyy format) that you were notified of the Final Acceptance of the project.
NOTE: This is not necessary if you began the review prior to the project being Final
Accepted.

You may want to enter a sample number. The process is set up with the idea that you
only need to enter one sample per project review. If, in the process of the review, you
have created additional samples (see the flowchart in the APPENDIX), you can better
manage the process if you know which samples are which.

At this point, you will need to Initiate the sample by clicking the Initiate button. This
starts the Sample Life Cycle and assigns a LIMS Sample ID to the sample. You may
want to record this number so you can go back to the sample easily.

4
Using the Notepad

You can now open the Notepad function and begin recording your findings. As you
review the project data, production reports, etc. you can place your findings, questions,
and thoughts as they come up. Simply click the Notepad button and then type your
notes.

Make sure that you click the Save button so you do not lose you notes.

5
Processing (Saving) the Sample

You will need to Process the sample (by clicking the Process button) before you
close LIMS. If you fail to do this, your sample will be lost!

LIMS will prompt, Are you sure?; click Yes.

You do not have to be complete with the review to Process the sample. You can
come back to the sample as many times as necessary, adding items to the Notepad as
you wish. The sample only closes out after you Approve the sample, which we will
discuss later.

6
Accessing the Sample

Once you have Processed (saved) the sample, you can return to it and add more
findings to the Notepad at any time. Simply click the Status tab and then click the
Sample Status by Sample ID button.

7
This is where you need the LIMS Sample ID that was assigned by the system at the
Initiate stage. You can use *wildcards* in the Sample ID. The ID always begins with
the year (ex. 2004 = 04). Or, you can remember the last three digits (*007). Remember
to click the Search button after typing in the Sample ID.

When the Sample comes up, you can click on the Notepad and enter additional
findings. Remember to click the Save button to save the notes.

8
Approving the Sample

Once the review is complete, that is all of the issues have been looked at and the
findings are noted, the sample is Approved. This is important to the KPMs. The date
the sample is Approved is the date the review ends and the response time officially
begins.

To access the sample, click the Approve tab and select Approve One Sample.
Enter the Sample ID and click Search.

9
This will be the last time you can enter information into the Notepad. Since Approving
the sample comes at the end of the review, you will not be able to add any more details
to the Notepad. The Notepad is deactivated once the sample is Approved.

10
To Approve the sample, click the Approve button. The code, AC, is automatic and
need not be changed. LIMS will prompt, Are you sure?; click Yes.

If during the review of the responses, an issue comes up that could lead to an exception
and needs further investigation, we can create another sample to track the process of
the additional review. (See the flowchart in the Appendix for details.)

11
Closing the Review (Sample) out
Sample Post Approval Disposition

When the responses are accepted, the Project Materials Certification Letter can be
issued, and the Sample is closed out.

This is done by clicking the Approve tab and clicking the Post Approval Disposition
button. The samples are accessed on a project basis. Enter the project ID and click
the Search button.

12
You will need to scroll down to your sample and click the  button beside the sample.

A box will open with the Disposition Codes available for use. For our purposes, click
the AT code and then click OK. This is simply to indicate that action has been taken
concerning this sample.

13
Once the AT shows up beside the sample, you will need to click the Enter Data
button. This tells LIMS to process the sample and close it out. You will not be able to
modify this sample now.

On to Exceptions.

14
Exception Screen
Writing Exceptions

The Exception screen is accessed by clicking on the Maintenance tab and clicking
the Exceptions button.

Here is where you will type your exceptions for the Project Materials Certification Letter.

15
The Exception Title field comes with a drop-down menu contains four categories and
can be accessed by clicking the button. You will need to select the category that
the exception falls into per Materials Manual, Chapter 5.4.

A word on the categories:

Non-Standard Material is for those discrepancies involving failing pay tests or
composite pay factors < 90%.
Minimum Frequency is for missing tests, both Q and/or V level.
Documentation is for missing documentation. This should not become a catch-all
category. If there is a pending approval, it does not belong in the document
category (unless, of course, the approval is for a document discrepancy).
Qualification is for those discrepancies involving technician, laboratory or producer
qualifications.

16
The next field is the Project ID. This ties the exception to the correct project and can
be typed in or searched using *wildcards* and pressing the  button. Select the
correct Project ID and click OK.

17
The Specifications field has a drop down menu in which it is accessed by clicking the
 button. Once you select the Matl, the other fields will populate automatically. You
can have up to four Materials on an exception.

The Exception Description is a blob field, which means you can type free-form. By
clicking in the blob field, you can enter information similar to the Notepad.

Some points which need to be made:

1. The blob field does not cut & paste well. You can lose some of the pasted text if
it falls outside the limits of the table width.
2. The blob field does not wrap text. It is not a word processor. In the example
above, you can see that the word Factor was broken. As an up-side, insert
does work, just be aware of pushing the line of text out of the limits.
3. The blob field will scroll as it fills. It seems to be nearly unlimited in line length.
We were able to type 150+ lines into the table and retrieve them.
4. However, due to a print limitation, you should only type 60 lines per exception. If
you have more than 60 lines (straightedge is the only exception where you
should approach 60 lines), you will need to split the exception.

18
Support Documentation

You can attach data (from the Production reports) by first left-clicking (to activate) and
then right-clicking on the Attach Support Documentation icon.

19
A dialog box will open to allow you to locate and select the document to attach.

NOTE: The file you attach MUST be in Adobe (*.pdf) or Hypertext (*.html) format
for LIMS to open. Since the MetaFrame platform does not support MS-Office
programs, these files can not be accessed. However, they may be stored in
*.html format by selecting Web Page in the File Type field when you save the
file.

Select the document you wish to attach and click the Open button.

We need to talk about thisSince you are accessing LIMS from the MetaFrame
platform, you may be limited in the places you can retrieve your documents from. It is
strongly suggested that you take some time to determine if you have access to your
network drives or even your local PC. If you have questions, direct them to your local
Help Desk.

20
You now need to click the Add Entry button. This creates the exception in LIMS and
assigns an Exception Code, similar to the LIMS Sample ID.

Click Yes.

21
Returning to a Previously Entered Exception

Occasionally, you will need to modify an existing exception. [In the process of writing
the exception, additional information was obtained changing some of the details.]

To do this, you type in the Project ID where the exception exists and click the Search
button.

22
The screen will populate with the first exception. To choose the proper exception, you
can click the View Entries button.

23
Select the exception by the Exception Code assigned when the exception was
created. You can then load the information into the screen by clicking the Details
button.

Now you can add or modify the Exception Description as necessary.

Once you are satisfied with the exception, click the Update button. Be very careful
about this. If you click the Add Entry button, you will add another exception to the
database.

24
Because you are changing the contents of the database, you will need to enter a
reason. This actually helps to keep track of what is going on.

Notice the Revision Number now indicates 2 for the second revision.

25
Using a Previously Entered Exception as a Template

There will be times when you would like to use a previously entered exception as a
template for a new exception. This can be easily accomplished. To do this, you type in
the Project ID where the exception you wish to use exists and click the Search
button.

26
Click the View Entries button to get a list of all of the exceptions to choose from.

Here is where it can get tricky, you will need to know which exception you want. Select
the entry and click Details.

27
Modify the details as needed, then click Add Entry. Remember, if you are click
Update you change the existing entry. Clicking Add Entry create a new exception.

28
Printing the Exception Letter

The exception letter is a Crystal report. Click on the Maintenance tab and click the
Exception button. Select Exceptions by FIN Report.

Or, Click on the Report tab and click the Contracts Reports button. Select
Exceptions by FIN Report.

29
A Crystal report will open prompting for a Project FIN. Enter the Project FIN you wish
to report and click OK.

The report will look like this.

30
You can save (export) the report in a variety of formats by clicking the Envelope
button. In this example, we will save the report as an Adobe file, select the format
you wish the report in, click OK.

31
You will need to identify the page range you wish to save. Generally, you will select
All and then click OK.

You will need to select where and assign a name to the file you are saving. Click OK.

32
To retrieve the file for attaching, etc. you may use the Explorer function to go to the
location you saved the file. Simply click on the file. In the above example, it should
open with Adobe Reader. [NOTE: You will need to have the free Adobe Reader
installed on your computer.]

33
This is what you will see when you open the reader.

The only paper copy reports needed are those going to the FHWA and the only thing
needed is the cover letter which can generated from a form letter in Word.

Allen Hughes
February 27, 2004

34
NOTES

35
 APPENDIX
Certification Process in LIMS

Review Take Review ends Review New New Cert Letter

Begins Notes Contact PP responses findings responses issued

Sample #1 AC AT

Sample Use Note Pad Sample Post Approval

Log-In for recording Approved Disposition
findings
(Date Sampled)

Sample #2

Sample Use Note Pad Approval &

Log-In for recording Post Approval
findings Disposition

Exception Screen

Exceptions Exceptions Exceptions

written written written

Sample #3

Log-in + Notes +
Approval +
PA/Disposition