Miami University

New Policy For Construction Projects

  1. Primary Investigator (PI) will contact Instrumentation Laboratory (IL) about doing a project. Meeting will be held between the director, the designer, and the PI. Construction needs will be discussed and IL will take input from the PI.
  2. The designer(s) of the project will break the project down into 5 parts and estimate the amount of time needed to complete each phase and inform the director.
    1. The 5 Parts are:
    2. Planning & Design
    3. Parts Acquisition
    4. Construction
    5. Testing
    6. Modification
  3. The director will evaluate incoming construction projects by the following:
    • Criteria
    • Cost Effective (Material & Man hours)
    • Man hour limit on projects will be 200 hours.
    • Appropriateness
    • Is it cheaper to buy than to build?
    • Is it available on current market?
    • Should project be farmed out?
    • Has PI attempted funding via grant/other means?
    • Timeliness
    • Can PI's deadline be met?
    • Other
    • Is there agreement between the PI and the IL on how to construct the project?
    • Does job require special tooling? Who will pay for it, if needed?
  4. The project is accepted or rejected by the director.
    • If project is accepted, it is placed on the appropriate waiting list. [ "mechanical", "electrical" or "software"]
    • If project is rejected, IL will attempt to find other means for PI to accomplish project.
    • Project notes, estimates will be kept in "rejected projects" file to be used for future staffing and work related discussions.
  5. PI is notified when project moves from waiting list to the queue
    • PI is given an approximate start date.
    • PI is informed that the IL will contact them again closer to their start date, so the IL and the PI can go over any last minute changes to the project.
    • PI should understand that IL's #1 priority is repair work and that the repair workload could effect the approximate starting date, but will not effect their place on the waiting list or in the queue.
    • PI should understand that any changes, either requested or required could significantly delay the completion date.
    • Disagreement between the PI and the designer about the most effective method of designing the project can also delay the project completion date.
  6. When project is ready to be started:
    • PI and director will sign the Project Agreement form
    • A project file and log should be started to track the progress of the project, significant events, technical notes, notes of conversations with the PI, etc. (including a copy of the Project Agreement form).
    • The PI will be given a completion date at this time and the project will be placed in the appropriate queue. [ "mechanical", "electrical" or "software"]
    • If one of the queues is full, a project that only requires man hours in one of the other queues may be moved up from the waiting list to make the most effective use of IL staffing.
  7. Director will make sure project stays on track and on time and will ensure that designer and PI both have same idea of what is expected. This will facilitate good communication between the PI and the IL staff.
  8. All decisions on construction project work are at the discretion of the director of the Instrumentation Laboratory.