Archibus

  1. With the system being non UK based, does the system comply with current UK regulations? Will it comply with the new UK regulations about to come out?Do we have to ensure it will comply? Is the system recognised by UKAS, HSE or any other recognised body? To our knowledge it is not compatible with a UKAS accredited method of survey.
  1. Archibus is not an asbestos management program and the UoE are the trialling the system for them and we have to ask for any updates required i.e. remove use of American terminology, imperial measurements etc. instead of a purpose built system which has a wider user base and is updated with new ideas and is ensured to comply, and these changes are included in theannual fee.
  1. The system was not set up correctly initially and the system is to lose the survey number, this is an example of the UoE trialling the system and encountering basic problems.
  1. Some items which we were assured changed by MAS i.e. imperial measurements, and item under quantity, survey names and not numbers are still to be changed on Alcontrol PDA’s although I was assured that these specific items had been changed.When something like this happens, each entry has to be individually inspected and corrected as necessary which is very time consuming and costly.
  1. Some issues raised with MAS which we were told could be easily corrected and that are no problem to fix such as default select site as University of Edinburgh are still not done.
  1. The system is far from streamline with each box having to be individually filled in, with the only automatic fill through being the “no asbestos” tick. Data entry is therefore extremely time consuming.
  1. The system which has had fix upon fix added to it. This will continue to be the case as the system develops and more and more technical problems are likely to result from these patches.
  1. Doubts over how the system will cope in the future i.e. cope with demolition surveys (Type 3) information, Changes required to comply with new regulations, other teething problems with resurvey data. Other systems can have detailed tracking, re-inspection, remediation and removal information.
  1. Some problems with the system have to be remedied by persons in Canada which take time to complete.
  1. The range of function within the reports which can be produced is poor, i.e.
  • There is not facility for recording remedial action other than the complete removal of an ACM;
  • There is no method for altering the management team when re-inspections are due.

MyEd/ MyEd Channel

Evidence from the contractors questionnaires and in-house staff that the system is not being used.

  1. Multiple problems with external viewing of drawings on MyEd due to version of Java used, this information is from contractors.
  1. There are problems with information shown i.e.Buildings drawing colours which appear to have changed for no apparent reason, (rooms now showing as white). Both Lisa and Gordon had previously checked these and were confirmed as ok. Lisa was unable to check what had happened as she could not rerun the scripts before she left, this issue has been ongoing since November 2007.
  1. Concerns that changes could have happened to other colours which are not so evident. This will not be known until we know what caused to white rooms
  1. Anything surveyed or altered in Archibus since Nov. can not be quality checked and may not be correct on MyEd.
  1. Some of the rooms are green when they should be red, and vice versa, we know from end users that the majority only look at the colours on the plan and not the data table. This incorrect colouring could mean that people are being exposed to asbestos materials.
  1. The plans are poor:
  • They provide only the footprint of the building with the room outline, no detail such as doors to be able to orientate the user;
  • The room numbers on large buildings are impossible to view;
  • Users find the drawings very difficult to navigate around.
  • The colour coding on the plans means that risk scoring is not emphasised e.g. rooms are red for damaged sprayed coating and sink pads with no distinction.

8.The layout of the asbestos channel is confusing and people do not know where to look for specificinformation – the system is not simple enough to be effective

  1. Buttons / links are not clear and take different routes i.e. when you open a photo and want to go back to theprevious screen you have to go back to the start.

9.The MyEd channel is often offline and unavailable.

  1. All pictures related to a room / area show for every entry, this can be confusing as even “no asbestos” entries show and the relevant photo may not be the first shown.
  1. There is nothing on the channel that tells the user whether the information is up to date i.e. last modified date. For example buildings that undergo refurbishment will have internal changes these are not reflected on MyEd for sometime (partlydue to the fact that the MAS system for resurveys is still under development but also due to the timescale involved in some refurbishment works). The same is true of areas where ACM removal has taken place.
  1. There is no function for producing or printing full reports i.e. Type 2 report for each building including limitations/caveats etc.

PDA

  1. PDA’s are notorious for losing Data
  1. Data carried in PDA is in a different format than the same information on MyEd And Archibus
  1. Photos are not loaded into the PDA for resurveys, this means that a print out of the photos has to be carried with the surveyor (some buildings have over 150), the photos have to be identified and there id noted by hand to enable any kind of cross referencing on site.
  1. To upload of data from the PDA to the Archibus system takes 1-2 hours and means that the person doing it can not do any other work in Archibus while this process takes place.
  1. Since the change to the new background programme (MAS) there have been very time consuming and costly problems with the transfer of data from PDA to computer. Gill has to ask Jane who in turn has to ask MAS, this can take days/weeks to be resolved and in some cases leads to the loss of data and the need to resurvey buildings.
  1. Some Archibus entries are appearing on the PDA to be resurveyed and they do not appear to be relevant to the building being surveyed. They cannot be opened on the PDA so further investigation by EBIS is required.
  1. The programme for resurveying is still under development.

General

  1. No undercrofts, attics or ducts are included in surveys as the information is linked to Space management
  1. Resurvey Data entry is extremely time consuming and labour intensive as the information is loaded into a PDA then onto the Archibus system which is then shown on MyEd, this also leads to problems as the final information is displayed completely different from the previous entries.
  1. More user friendly systems are available which are based on the more easily recognised Microsoft programmes.
  1. Some systems allow the data to be updated on an Ultra mobile with Microsoft programmes which show the data as the end users sees it.
  1. Training is done online by some companies to allow users to use the system.
  1. Alcontrol “U” drive not remapped to Morton in October and the problem was not identified until March. All photos loaded on in small conference room were loaded into wrong area so had to be renamed and remapped (751 entries), this problem was not picked up as it was assumed that the photos were unable to be viewed due to the scripts not being able to be run, this implies that the systems requirements are not understood fully.
  1. There are no system alerts to ensure re-inspections are carried out at the correct times, other systems send out e-mails or other alerts to enable checking to be programmed.
  1. Other systems can track users and show who has checked what information, when.

Resources

  1. Currently there is only one (part time) member of the EBIS team who can deal with problems relating to Archibus, the PDA’s or MyEd.
  1. Problems within MIS have meant a 5 month delay with access being grated for Gordon to the server where the asbestos survey photographs are held.
  1. Gill is currently up loading and downloading information to and from the PDA’s. When she leaves who will take over?
  1. EBIS does not always have time to include for asbestos problems during the visits from MAS representatives as their time is limited. This can lead to problems dragging out or being forgotten about completely. Mohan is leaving MAS shortly.