01 / The Operations block
Who is the Operations block for?
The facility manager and the supervisors who run the rooms. When every lab runs the same process differently, in spreadsheets and email, you want your team to build the forms you already use and let the steps run themselves.
02 / The Operations block
What comes in the Operations block?
Eleven forms, one per job.
The work queue
9 facilities compared, 5 ways.
Cage wash checks
14 facilities compared, 6 ways, plus 1 too thin to place.
Room out of range
10 facilities compared, 5 ways.
Aquatic water quality
9 facilities compared, 4 ways.
Enrichment and exemptions
7 facilities compared, 5 ways.
Weans, splits and the census
20 facilities compared, 5 ways.
Animal transfers
13 facilities compared, 4 ways.
Service requests
15 facilities compared, 7 ways.
Per diem and service charges
19 facilities compared, 5 ways.
What managers track
10 facilities compared, 8 ways.
| Form | Code | Statuses |
|---|---|---|
| Husbandry task | HT | Open → Assigned → Waiting on lab → Done → Verified → Closed |
| Daily room log | DRL | Draft → Submitted → Issue raised → Reviewed |
| Cage wash check | CW | Recorded → Retest due → With manager → Out of service → Closed |
| Environmental deviation | ED | Open → With facilities → Back in range → Reviewed → Closed |
| Water quality log | WQ | Recorded → Out of range → Corrected → Reviewed |
| Enrichment record | EN | Standard → Exemption requested → Exempt → Review due → Back to standard |
| New cage | CSW | Set up → With facility office → On census → Closed |
| Animal transfer request | ATR | Requested → With receiving PI → Under review → Approved → Denied → Moved → Closed |
| Service request | SR | Submitted → Accepted → In progress → Done → Declined |
| Billing change request | BC | Submitted → With billing office → With facility supervisor → Done → Declined |
| Census and space review | CSR | Draft → With attending vet → Reviewed with deans → Closed |
03 / The Operations block
See how the work connects
The work queue at 9 facilities, the room round at 12 and new cages at 20. Below, the workflows that do each handoff.
Where does the room work start?
Facilities split · 2 ways
A manager or supervisor
5 of 9
Schedules or briefs the staff.
The PI or lab
3 of 9
Its own people give some or all of the care.
Not stated · 1 of 9
Where does a problem found on rounds go first?
Facilities split · 3 ways
A manager or supervisor
3 of 9
The PI or lab
2 of 9
The program office
1 of 9
Not stated · 3 of 9
The vet side hears of it
Step · 4 of 9
4 of 9
The daily room log is kept on paper at the room
Step · 10 of 12
10 of 12
Who reads it first?
Facilities split · 3 ways
The procedure says part of it is copied by hand into a second record
Step · 6 of 12
6 of 12
How does a new cage get its card?
Facilities split · 5 ways
A ready-made card, with a strip or number sent back
6 of 20Most common
The office makes it on request
4 of 20
The lab's card, then the office's
3 of 20
A card on the cage, and nothing sent
3 of 20
Entered in the facility's software
1 of 20
Not stated · 3 of 20
When does the census hear of it?
Facilities split · 3 ways
The same day
2 of 20
When the office handles the strip, card or request
12 of 20Most common
At the next count or daily log
2 of 20
Not stated · 4 of 20
| Area | What the workflows do |
|---|---|
| Husbandry | Assign task emails Priya Sood her room work. Raise an issue on the room log emails the manager; Verify locks a task once it is checked. |
| Cages | A New cage record tells the facility office, which marks it On census once it's in the census system. Both PIs sign a transfer. |
| Service | Noor Adler's lab sends a request. The facility accepts it and marks it done, which emails the lab. |
| Billing | A billing change request takes a new account or a disputed charge to the billing office. Every change stays in the audit trail. |
04 / The Operations block
What will the manager see?
Of 10 facilities' manager reports, 7 give a census, 4 space, 4 money and 0 open work. These views show it.
Board
Today's tasks by person
The supervisor's board.
Calendar
Weekend tasks
The weekend's work.
Table
Open problems
Exceptions not yet verified.
Chart
Temperature by room
Highs and lows over time.
Morning email
New cages not yet on the census
12 of 20 facilities wait on the office.
Board
Open service requests
Outstanding work, by status.
Pivot
Cages by PI and month
From the census and space review.
05 / The Operations block
Make room for your way of working
It starts from the most common way; each other way is a few changes.
A paper log at the room
The default: one record per room per round.
4 of 12A log plus concern forms
Concern found tells the vet team.
3 of 12Paper plus a team chat
Raise an issue posts to Slack or Google Chat.
1 of 12Paper, then retyped
The census is a field; export the month.
1 of 12Paper plus electronic logs
Floods and deaths get their own forms.
1 of 12One log per study
Kept per protocol.
1 of 12Scan at the cage
A view shows each room's last round.
1 of 12
- New cages (20 facilities): a ready-made card plus a strip or number sent back at 6, the office making the card at 4.
- Billing (19): the bill made in a census or billing system at 6, posted by the office at 6. The request form fits both.
06 / The Operations block
Find your starting point
Your first yes is where to start.
Question 1
Does a supervisor or manager schedule or brief your husbandry staff?
See every question
- Does a supervisor or manager schedule or brief your husbandry staff?
- Is your room log a sheet on the door?
- Does the facility office make the card for a new cage?
- Does a lab ask for special care or a service by form or email?
- Start from the work queue: Like 3 of 9: today's tasks by person.
- Start from the room log: Like 4 of 12, the default.
- Start from new cages: Like 4 of 20.
- Start from service requests: A web form at 5 of 15; a PDF or email at 5.
- Start from billing change requests: Account changes and disputes, beside your bill.
07 / The Operations block
Keep what already works
- The census and the bill. Streamcell sits beside your census and billing systems. It does not count cages or issue invoices.
- The card on the cage. Make it as you do now; the New cage record holds what it shows.
- The cage in SoftMouse. Records link to it; moves are made there.
- One thing Streamcell can't do: an if-then step. High and low limits run as two workflows.
08 / The Operations block
What do buyers ask operations software to do?
From 23 public procurement documents for animal facility software.
10of 23
ask for census tracking.
8of 23
ask for per diem and service billing.
7of 23
ask for cage cards.
4of 23
ask for anything in husbandry.
3of 23
ask for service requests.
The block starts where buyers' lists are thinnest: husbandry and service.
09 / The Operations block
