Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Operations System: Version 4.0 - system requirements specification

Abstract

This document is intended to provide an operations standard for the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory OPerations System (EMSL OPS). It is directed toward three primary audiences: (1) Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) facility and operations personnel; (2) laboratory line managers and staff; and (3) researchers, equipment operators, and laboratory users. It is also a statement of system requirements for software developers of EMSL OPS. The need for a finely tuned, superior research environment as provided by the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory has never been greater. The abrupt end of the Cold War and the realignment of national priorities caused major US and competing overseas laboratories to reposition themselves in a highly competitive research marketplace. For a new laboratory such as the EMSL, this means coming into existence in a rapidly changing external environment. For any major laboratory, these changes create funding uncertainties and increasing global competition along with concomitant demands for higher standards of research product quality and innovation. While more laboratories are chasing fewer funding dollars, research ideas and proposals, especially for molecular-level research in the materials and biological sciences, are burgeoning. In such an economically constrained atmosphere, reduced costs, improved productivity, and strategic research project portfolio building become essential to establish and maintain any distinct competitive advantage. For EMSL, this environment and these demands require clear operational objectives, specific goals, and a well-crafted strategy. Specific goals will evolve and change with the evolution of the nature and definition of DOE`s environmental research needs. Hence, EMSL OPS is designed to facilitate migration of these changes with ease into every pertinent job function, creating a facile {open_quotes}learning organization.{close_quotes}