PULLMAN – The Office of Research has partnered with iLab Solutions to implement web-based software that streamlines research operations for core facility management.
One of the first centers to receive the new software is the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Center. Since implementation July 14, 2011, iLab Solutions has helped to advance the technology of research by allowing researchers to schedule time on lab equipment from any location, including their own homes.
Billing made easier
iLab Solutions also can decrease billing time, which in the past has held up fiscal reporting activities.
“Prior to iLab, billing was done from the instrument logs,” said Bill Hiscox, assistant director of NMR. “I would dump the logs periodically and enter the hours … then generate a report so that someone could then generate internal invoices.” iLab Solutions will assist with automating the uploading payment process information from the reservations directly to the billing system.
With the new iLabs software, researchers in some of our core research facilities can more easily track hours and provide detailed information of who is using which equipment in the lab. “We did not track this (work done by research assistants) before, but several departments were asking us for a detailed breakdown of who was doing what on each instrument in our lab,” Hiscox stated, “This was not easy with the system we had.”
Inventory and facilities use
Other modules allow for reporting to assist managers with inventory and more efficient use of their facilities.
As the Office of Research expands this service to other area centers on university campus, further streamlining and technological advancement will impact prominent research areas.
Access by other institutions
iLab Solutions also has been implemented to allow other research institutions to explore and use the associated research labs, exposing WSU’s world class research centers to external researchers and other iLab users.
For further information about this software, please contact Sabrina Martinez at 509-335-5238 or snmartinez@wsu.edu.