Badger Lab Management Software

Summary form only given. Stanford University has actively supported the development of lab management software since the late 1990's. The Coral application, developed at Stanford, was popular for over a decade. The latest offering in this evolving process is Badger Lab Management Software. The Badger application is a robust and flexible, client/server architecture application that can support multiple labs while embodying diverse strategies for equipment reservations, equipment rates, runtime data and member access control. Badger Lab Management Software allows the implementation of extensively customized lab operational parameters. Complex reservation strategies can be embodied within the xml specified, rule based reservation engine which results in efficient and equitable equipment resource utilization. Runtime data can be flexibly defined, captured and manipulated to provide process related research information. Equipment usage rates and related runtime costs can be combined with staff consulting, training and other charges on a per device basis. These may be rolled into monthly billings that include subscription fees and inventory charges. All cost data may be subject to lab specific rules such as expense caps based on volume usage within a lab or by groups of equipment. Finally, automated cost recovery data can be uploaded to university financials with online account validation where supported by the institution. System status information is available on a real- time basis. Equipment status is graphically displayed as are lab member current equipment enabled. Updates to reservation activities, historical usage information, staff charges and inventory status are pushed to active client sessions. Actions of interest, such as changes in equipment status and maintenance activites may also be disseminated via user defined mailing lists on a per device basis. IP addressable equipment interlocks ensure accurate capture of equipment utilization time and serve as a positive access control system resulting in enhanced security and automatic enforcement of training requirements. The Badger application can easily be provisioned over the internet, eliminating the need for local servers or in-house technical expertise. Badger's architecture provides superior performance and a better flow to application use eliminating the hesitation and latency often found in browser based applications. Badger Lab Management Software provides a rapidly deployable solution for efficiently managing multiple research labs at disparate locations within an institution.