Managing an Onyx Workstation

An Onyx workstation is a key component in the experimental setup of your study. The Workstation page allows you to manage this important piece of research equipment.

The main reasons you need to manage a workstation are:

• To set up the workstation so that participant interviews can be carried out as easily as possible. For example, since a particular set of instruments is always used with a particular workstation, the Workstation page is used to register and reserve those instruments for the workstation. After instruments are registered and reserved for the workstation, Onyx will automatically identify the instrument that will be used for a measurement. Staff members do not have to scan an instrument barcode each time they take a measurement.
• To store data about the experimental setup. For example, to calibrate instruments and to log experimental conditions.

This chapter covers these topics:

• The Workstation page and its important features
• Key Concepts related to the Workstation page
• Procedures related to instruments and experimental condition logs:
  • Registering an instrument
  • Setting the status of an instrument
  • Editing instrument information
  • Calibrating an instrument
  • Viewing the calibration log for an instrument
  • Exporting the calibration log of an instrument - available soon
  • Logging experimental conditions
  • Viewing experimental condition logs

The Workstation Page

The Onyx Workstation page allows you to register information about a particular Onyx workstation—the one on which you are currently working.

Mainly, you go to the Workstation page when you need to add or calibrate the instruments that are used to take physical measurements on the workstation and to log experimental conditions required for your study.

You access the Workstation page by selecting the Workstation tab. this figure shows the Workstation page and points out its main features.

• The Instruments section of the page allows you to register, edit, delete, and calibrate the instruments used with this workstation. This section contains:
  • The Register Instrument button opens a dialog that allows you to add an instrument to the list.
  • The Instrument Status indicates whether the instrument is available for the current workstation. The status can be: Reserved, Shared, or Out of service.

The Experimental Condition Log section of the page allows you to record the experimental conditions that affect the instruments used to collect data. These logs are a customizable feature of Onyx. If your study has not defined any, the Workstation page will not have an Experimential Condition Log section.

Key Concepts

This section contains key concepts related to the Workstation page:

Instrument

A device used to take a physical measurement required by the study. All instruments that will be used with a particular Onyx workstation need to be registered on it. A particular instrument can be used for several types of measurement and during different physical measurement stages (for example, a tape measure). Even if an instrument is not electronic (for example, a grip strength dynamometer) or is not physically connected to the workstation (for example, an electronic scale), it must be registered on the workstation.

Laboratory instruments, used for the analysis of biospecimens, do not need to be registered on Onyx workstations.

Registering vs. Reserving an Instrument

Registering an instrument means adding it to the list of instruments used on the workstation on which you are currently working. See the procedure Registering an Instrument.

Reserving an instrument means that the instrument will only be used on one workstation. When you register an instrument on a particular workstation, its status is automatically set to Reserved, which means it will only be used with that workstation. If an instrument will be used with several workstations (for example, a grip strength dynamometer), its status must be set to Shared on one of the workstations. Then the instrument can be used with any workstation at the site. See Setting the Status of an Instrument.

Why Register Instruments?

The advantage of registering and reserving instruments (or setting their status to shared) is that Onyx will automatically identify the instrument used to take measurements during interviews. If no instrument is registered for a particular type of measurement, staff members will have to scan a barcode or enter an instrument ID manually before each measurement.

Instrument Status

The status of an instrument that has been registered on the current workstation— meaning the workstation on which you are viewing the Workstation page.

An instrument's status appears in the Status column of the Workstation page. The possible values for status are:

• Reserved — This status means that the instrument is used exclusively on the current workstation. If an instrument's status is Reserved, the instrument will only be listed in the on the workstation on which it was registered.
• Shared — This status means that the instrument can be used on the current workstation and other workstations at the site. If an instrument's status is Shared, the instrument will be listed in the Workstation page of all workstations at the site.
• Out of service — This status means that the instrument is not available for some reason. The reason can be a technical problem or any other reason. If an instrument's status is Out of Service, the instrument will be listed in the Workstation page of all workstations at the site.

Calibration Log

A record of the dates and times at which an instrument was calibrated. The log contains an entry for each calibration that includes comments about whether the calibration was successful and if not, the error message that was generated.

In order for it to be possible to calibrate an instrument, your study must have configured Onyx accordingly.

Procedures

This section contains procedures related to managing and calibrating instruments and maintaining logs of experimental conditions.

Registering an Instrument

When an instrument is going to be used with a particular workstation, you must register it on that workstation as explained in this section.

A particular instrument can be used for several types of measurement on a workstation. For example, a tape measure could be used for measurements in several different physical measurement stages. After you register an instrument for one measurement, you can register it for additional measurements as explained in Registering an Instrument for Additional Types of Measurement.

If an instrument is going to be used with several workstations, the instrument must be registered on each of those workstations as explained in this section. Then its status must be set to Shared on one of the workstations as explained in Setting the Status of an Instrument.

Prerequisites

To register an instrument, you need to know certain information about it. It is best to determine this information before you start the procedure:

• Measurement — The type of measurement that the instrument is used for. This information is required.
• Barcode — You can use a scanner to complete this field or manually enter the number on a barcode label. This information is required. If the instrument does not have a barcode label, you must find a value to enter in this field.
• Name — Your assessment centre may have come up with a scheme for naming instruments. It could include the instrument type and location. For example: Lab 1 Blood Pressure. This information is optional.
• Vendor — The manufacturer of the instrument. This information is optional.
• Model — Usually indicated on a label somewhere on the instrument. This information is optional.
• Serial Number — Usually indicated on a label somewhere on the instrument. This information is optional.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Register Instrument button. The Register Instrument dialog is displayed. See this figure.
   The Register Instrument dialog

   

3. Select the arrow beside the Measurement field and select the type of measurement for which the instrument is used.
   Measurement list in the Register Instrument dialog

   

   The types of measurement that appear in the list is customizable so the list may contain different items in your version of Onyx.

4. Complete the Barcode field by scanning the barcode (the number is displayed in the field) or by entering a value manually (if you don't know what value to enter, see Prerequisites.
5. Use the mouse or tab key to select the Name field. When you do this, a message is usually displayed:*Instrument is unknown, please enter the following information:*You do not see the above message if the instrument was already registered on this workstation. Onyx automatically fills in the remaining fields on the page and you cannot edit them—skip the next step.
6. Enter values in the Name, Vendor, Model and Serial Number fields. These fields are optional so you can complete them later if you don't have the information now. If you need help completing these fields, see Prerequisites. this figure shows an example.
   Example of how to complete the Register Instrument dialog

   

7. If you decide not to register the instrument, select the Cancel button. The Register Instrument dialog closes and the Workstation page is visible again without any new items in the instrument list.
8. If you want to register the instrument, select the Register button. The Register Instrument dialog closes and the new instrument now appears in the list on the Workstation page. See this figureBy default, the instrument's status is set to Reserved. If the instrument will be used with several workstations, you must set its status to Shared as explained in Setting the Status of an Instrument.
9. If you need to register the instrument for another type of measure, do so as explained in Registering an Instrument for Additional Measurements.
   After you register an instrument, it appears in the Workstation page

   

Registering an Instrument for Additional Measurements

A particular instrument can be used for several types of measurement. For example, a tape measure could be used to measure waist and hips in one stage and to measure arm circumference in another stage. If an instrument has already been registered for one type of measurement, you can register it for additional measurements as explained in this section. When you scan or enter the barcode of the instrument, Onyx will recognize that it was already registered.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Register Instrument button. The Register Instrument dialog is displayed. See this figure.
3. Select the arrow beside the Measurement field and select the type of measurement for which the instrument is used. See this figure.
4. Complete the Barcode field by scanning the barcode on the instrument or by entering the value manually.
5. Use the mouse or tab key to select the Name field. When you do this, the remaining fields are filled in automatically with the values previously registered for the instrument. You cannot edit the values.
6. Check the information to confirm that it is the correct instrument.
7. If you decide not to register the instrument, select the Cancel button.
8. If you want to register the instrument, select the Register button. The Register Instrument dialog closes and a row for the new measurement appears in the list on the Workstation page. See this figure
   After you register an instrument for an additional type of measurement, an extra row for it is added to the instrument list

   

Setting the Status of an Instrument

When an instrument is registered, its status is automatically set to Reserved for the workstation on which you registered it. You may need to change an instrument's status as explained in this section for one of these reasons:

• If the instrument will be used with several workstations, you need to set its status to Shared on each of the workstations.
• If the instrument is defective or cannot be used for some reason, you need to set its status to Out of service.
• If an instrument was Out of service and is now ready to be put back in service, you need to set its status back to whatever it was before being taken out of service (either: Reserved or Shared).
• If a shared instrument will now be used with just one workstation, you only need to set its status to Reserved on that workstation (the instrument will automatically be removed from the other workstations with which it had been shared).

Prerequisites

To set an instrument's status on a particular workstation, the instrument must have been registered on that workstation, or its current status must be Shared or Out of Service.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Edit link for the instrument whose status you want to change. The Edit Instrument dialog is displayed.
   The Edit Instrument dialog

   

3. Select the status you want to change to (Reserved, Shared or Out of service).
4. Click the Save button. The Edit Instrument dialog is closed and the Workstation page is redisplayed with the status changed to the value you just selected. See this figureIf you changed the status to Shared or Out of Service, the next time you look at the Workstation page on any of the other workstations on the site, that status will be displayed.
   After you change an instrument's status, the Workstation page is updated

   

Editing Instrument Information

If you need to change any of the optional information that is stored for an instrument (name, vendor, model, serial number, status), you can do so as explained in this section.

You cannot change the barcode of an instrument after it has been registered. If the barcode is incorrect, you must delete the instrument (as explained in Deleting an Instrument) and register it again (as explained in Registering an Instrument).

Prerequisites

To change the information stored for an instrument for a particular workstation, the instrument must have been registered on that workstation, or its current status must be Shared or Out of Service.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Edit link for the instrument whose information you want to change. The Edit Instrument dialog is displayed. See this figure.
3. Change the values as necessary in any of the optional fields (Name, Vendor, Model and Serial Number). If you need help completing these fields, see Prerequisites.

Deleting a Measurement Type for an Instrument

If no measurements of a particular type were performed for an instrument, you can delete that measurement type for the instrument. The Delete link is only available if no measurements of that type were performed. See this figure. The study must keep information about any instrument that was actually used to acquire data. Deleting an instrument/measurement combination removes it from the list in Workstation page, as well as deleting its calibration log. The instrument itself is only deleted from the Onyx database when it is no longer associated with any measurement types.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Delete link for the instrument/measurement that you need to delete. A dialog is displayed asking you to confirm that you want to delete.
3. Select Yes to confirm that you want to delete the instrument/measurement. The dialog closes and the Workstation page is visible again—the row for the instrument/measurement combination you just deleted has been removed from the instrument list.

Calibrating an Instrument

The instruments used for physical measurements may require calibration. Some instruments can be calibrated through their own software. Others must be calibrated manually. Onyx supports automated and manual calibrations, and allows each study to define custom calibration procedures for the instruments they use.

Instrument calibration is a customizable feature of Onyx. If a calibration procedure has been defined for an instrument associated with a workstation, a Calibrate link will be available for that instrument in the Workstation page.

Prerequisites

• Your study must have defined a calibration procedure for the instrument you want to calibrate.
• Since Onyx does not schedule instrument calibrations, you must know the instrument calibration schedule for your site.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the Calibrate link for the instrument that you want to calibrate. A calibration dialog is displayed. this figure shows an example of a calibration dialog.
   An example of an instrument calibration dialog

   

3. Follow the directions in the calibration dialog box.
4. If you don't want to save the calibration data, select the Cancel button. The calibration dialog is closed and the Workstation page is visible again unchanged.
5. If you want to save the calibration data, select the Save button. The calibration dialog is closed and the Workstation page is visible. Today's date appears in the Latest Calibration column and an icon is displayed in the Log column. See this figure
   After you calibrate an instrument, the Workstation page is updated

   

Viewing the Calibration Log for an Instrument

If an instrument can be calibrated, you can view a log of all the calibrations that have been done for it. A magnifying glass icon at the end of the row for an instrument in the Workstation page indicates that a calibration log is available for the instrument. See this figure.

Prerequisites

Your study must have defined a calibration procedure for the instrument you want to calibrate. At least one calibration must have been done.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. Select the icon (the magnifying glass icon) for the instrument whose log you want to view. The Calibration History dialog is displayed. See this figure.
   The Calibration History dialog

   

3. Select the Close button or the button to close the dialog.

Logging Experimental Conditions

Onyx allows studies to log experimental conditions. These logs are used to capture any conditions that the study may wish to define, for example: room temperature and relative humidity.

Experimental condition logs are a customizable feature of Onyx. If your study has defined experimental conditions that it wants to log, the Workstation page will include an Experimental condition log section as shown in this figure. If the study has not defined any logs, the lower half of the Workstation page will be empty.

Prerequisites

• Your study has defined at least one experimental condition log.
• Since Onyx does not schedule log entries, you must know when entries are supposed to be made for each experimental condition log defined for your study. For example: weather conditions should be logged every morning, and room conditions should be logged once a week, and so on.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. If your study has defined more than one log, select the log you want from the list labelled Select a workstation log. If the log you selected already contains some entries, they are displayed near the bottom of the Workstation page.
3. Select the Add Log Entry button. A customized dialog for entering log data is displayed. See the example in this figure.
   Example of a dialog for entering experimental conditions

   

4. Complete the fields in the dialog box.
5. If you don't want to save the log entry, select the Cancel button. The dialog is closed and the Workstation page is visible again unchanged.
6. If you want to save the log entry, select the Save button. The dialog is closed and the Workstation page is visible. The new log entry appears at the top of the list of entries at the bottom of the page. See this figure.
   After you add an entry to an experimental condition log, the Workstation page is updated

   

Viewing Experimental Condition Log

Onyx allows studies to log experimental conditions. These logs can capture any conditions that a study may wish to define, for example: room temperature and relative humidity.

Experimental condition logs are a customizable feature of Onyx. If your study has defined experimental conditions that it wants to log, the Workstation page will include an Experimental condition log section as shown in this figure. If the study has not defined any logs, the lower half of the Workstation page will be empty.

Prerequisites

Your study has defined at least one experimental condition log.

Procedure

1. If the Workstation page (see this figure) is not displayed, select the Workstation tab to display it.
2. If your study has defined more than one log, select the log you want from the list labelled Select a workstation log. The log is displayed at the bottom of the Workstation page. Log entries are displayed in reverse chronological order with the most recent entry at the top.See this figure
   You view experimental condition logs in the Workstation page

   

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