The Project Control Meeting
Agenda for Monday August 30, 1999 will be:
(Meeting time: 10:30 am Pacific Time)
Fluorel seismic seats to be replaced
Optics:
---------------------
(D. Cook)
Well we managed to install the ITMx and the FMx
this week into BSC7.
Thanks to all who helped. Again the folding mirror
was difficult to
align because of its weak return signal to the
laser autocollimator. We
will be monitoring the optical levers on some
of the core optics to
better characterize their accuracy. It was hoped
that they would be
useful in repositioning the optics tables after
changing out the flourel
spring seats. BSC4 holding the BS-2K and
BSC7 holding the ITMx and FMx
will have their seats replaced. This means that
the optics tables will
be raised up, with the optics attached, rotated
and after the seats are
replaced, repositioned close to their original
orientation. This will
require that the optics be realigned. The alignment
procedure will need
to be modified also as our line of sight to many
of the optics is now
obstructed by other installed components. The
ETMy installation will
wait for seats to be changed out also.
Core Optics Support:
--------------------
(B. Weaver)
Mike Smith, Ken Mailand, and Steve Bell are here this week to assemble
and align the APS_PO telescope that will eventually be installed in
WHAM 10, and the ETM Telescope for WBSC 6. The assembly has been
completed as of today, after a few problems with missing pieces, and
the
bench alignment is now taking place. It sounds like it is going
well,
and the crew will probably head back to Caltech Friday. The
installation of these telescopes has been put off for a few more weeks.
We are currently baking our last load of Beam Dump stuff (except for
what LLO is going to process for themselves), with Load #54 consisting
of three horizontal support tubes, one vertical tube, and some misc.
fasteners to be used in WBSC 2. I made up the horizontal support
assemblies for WBSC 7 and am planning to install them this afternoon
with Doug Cook and/or Steve Bell. Summer student Jonathan is
making
up the actual beam dumps for all of the LHO assemblies today.
We
will store these for later installation. This morning, Doug and
I
installed the elliptical baffle on the ITMy in BSC 8 and unclamped
the
optics in preparation for replacing the chamber door.
Seismic Systems:
----------------------
(C. Gray & H. Radkins)
Fluorel Seats (and any other Walker-ized items)---
The Fluorel Seats which had been "Walker-ized"
(processed to remove
excess Fluorine) have proven to be too "wet"
for the Vacuum System. Due
to this turn of events, some installation work
has been curbed pending
tests conducted on the Fluorel items. Once
the Seats are processed in
an acceptable manner, a switchout of the Seats
will be conducted on all
chambers with these seats (at LHO--BSC4, BSC7,
& BSC6; at LLO 2 BSC
chambers and 3 or 4 HAM chambers).
BSC5(x-mid)
Stack build up was put on hold due to Fluorel Seat problem. The
dome
was therefore put back on the chamber and the chamber was pumped down
for Bellows leak tests. Results of the testing was that
one of the
small conflats is a leaker.
BSC2
Alignment of Adapter Plates being conducted for eventual Actuation
Stack
build up.
BSC7
Received Coarse Actuation System (CAS) cabling and this has been
partially installed.
2k HAM
Support Tubes, Support Tables, and Optics Tables were received from
Allied this week. In-vacuum installation will begin next week
(HAM 4
& 1 are first).
Computing:
----------
(C. Patton)
The Cisco router and other network equipment has all been put on a UPS
system so that the network will stay online for at least a half hour
during any future power outages.
Secure Shell 2.0.13 (SSH2) has been installed on rainier. During
installation, I found a README file which says, "... users who want
to
connect an SSH2 server with SSH1 protocol should explicitly use the
ssh1
command." So, anyone wanting to connect to an ssh1 server or
client
should use the ssh1 command. The PC version of SSH2 is available
in the
standardsys folder on rainier for each PC user to upgrade to the new
version.
I have filled out all the necessary forms at Caltech to get access to
the ITS ftp site in order to download the AutoCAD software which is
available under the Caltech site license.
Did the usual backups, ordered more supplies, added new user accounts,
helped with several printer and PC problems and kept the GC accounting
paper work up to date.
Detector Installation: BSC#2: removed dome, installed both Support
Tubes, moved Support Tube Roller System over BSC#1's outer door for a temporary
clean room. The Roller System will be used as a framework covered by plastic.
This is necessary to
be able to pull BSC#1's door for access to BSC#2's chamber for Down-Tube
installation. Removed BSC#1's door, installed BSC#2's Down-Tube staged
V-blocks and baffles for installation tomorrow and Friday. (Rich Riesen)
Beam tube bakeout: BT temp at LX2 is now at 163C and holding. Problems with power supply 1 overheating were overcome by using a water mist to cool the water cooling heat exchanger. We hope to get through the warm weather on LX2 with creative fixes and conditions should be much improved by the time for LX1. Data collection system continues to operate well and all other systems are also in nominal condition. (Allen Sibley)
Optics: We tested the suspension test stand. We remade cables to connect the satellite box and OSEMS (the cable we previously made has wrong connections between the pin numbers of the connecters). The new cable worked properly and we could measure open voltage for two OSEMS. They were 1.914 V and 1.692 V. We are still waiting for PAM brackets to come. We will assemble the other OSEMS and make voltage measurement after we receive the brackets.We measured the strength of the fifty magnets shipped from UF and made six sets of magnets that have the strength close to each other within +- 5%. With Helena and Janeen, we ordered basic things we need in the optics lab. These include a microscope, a vacuum pump to degas glue, and other small tools such as tweezers. (Sany Yoshida)
We are also fabricating a portable cart for the CO2 gun, and began modification of the transfer lift per Doug Cook's design at LHO. Will relocate one of the tall lab cabinets to allow the suspension test stand to be placed closer to the assembly and test table. Designed and requested quotes for straddle clamps to span the suspension test table (Jonathan Kern)
Facilities: Several power failures over the weekend caused the
OSB air conditioning system to shut down. We have started to monitor the
incoming power, but had no more problems for the rest of the week.The
contractor (R. Price) has resumed work on the access road. By the end of
this week, the soil cement stabilization should be complete. Provided that
the asphalt supplier is on schedule, we should have the road completed
within the next two weeks. (Gerry Stapfer)
----------------------------------------------
Interferometer Sensing and Control -- M Zucker
(WBS 1.2.1.1.6, 1.2.1.1.7)
----------------------------------------------
ISC implementation (Fritschel/Mavalvala/Daw)
-------------------------------------------
no reports
# DHS but they are working hard on IO testing at LHO.
ISC fabrication & installation (Matt Smith)
-------------------------------------------
All of the ETM transmission monitor parts have come in and fit
mechanically. I just received the quade diode and will fit check it
and
test the assembly tomorrow.
I sent out drawing packages for the balance of ETM Transmission monitor
parts. I should get quotes by the end of this week. I had redesigned
the back plate for the laser cable so that the laser can easily be
removed.
IAS Initial Alignment (K.Mason)
---------------------------------
This week was spent in Hanford assisting in the alignment of ITMx.
Alignment of ETMx has been delayed. Two optical levers for FMx and
ITMx
were set up, nulled, and
monitored overnight. I am currently calibrating the optical levers
and
running stability tests. On both the ITMx and FMx I was able to climb
on
the support structures, the
beam position moved drastically but returned to its original position
when
I stopped. CDS has begun monitoring all optical lever position data.
A plan was devised with Mike Smith to realign all optics following
the
replacement of the seismic isolation seals.
-------------------------------------------
Lasers and Optics -- J. Camp
(1.2.1.1.2, 1.2.1.1.3, 1.2.1.1.4,1.2.1.1.5)
--------------------------------------------
Prestabilized Laser -- Peter King
--------------------------------------------
- Lightwave Electronics have sent out parts to be manufactured for
retro-fitting the existing 10-W lasers with the new intensity control
actuator. The expected timescale for delivery is about a month.
- During the process of debugging the LLO 4k
IFO PSL frequency stabilization
servo a suspected problem was found with the
PZT on the NPRO master
oscillator inside SN #109.
When a frequency sweep of the reference cavity
was performed with the
fast actuator (the PZT) the transmission signal,
which should be a smooth
Airy function, consisted of a number of discrete
steps as if the signal
was heavily digitized. Repeating the frequency
sweep with the slow
actuator (the thermo-electric cooler) yielded
the expected smooth
transmission signal. Whilst it may not be the
reason for the behavior
observed with the frequency stabilization servo,
the behavior of the PZT is
not expected.
This will be checked out next week, when SN #103a
will be placed back on
the IOO/PSL optical table and the experiment
repeated.
- In an exercise aimed at seeing just how field
replaceable the new
intensity controller would be, the power amplifier
of SN #107 was lifted
out of the laser and re-installed. Simulating
one of the required steps
for the actuator retro-fit. No degradation in
laser performance was
observed. Thus we could perform the retro-fit
ourselves, should we choose
to do so.
Input/Output Optics -- Dave Reitze, UF
-----------------------------------------
LHO 2k (Dave Reitze)
- Rough alignment through the recycling mirror complete.
- The upper PZT tip-tilt stage on the periscope is acting strangely;
tip-tilt action doesn't correlate with drive voltage
- IOT7 moved in place for re-locking the MC (See ISC report for more
details).
LLO 4k (Sany Yoshida)
- We tested the suspension test stand. We remade cables to connect
the
satellite box and OSEMS (the cable we previously made has wrong connection
between the pin numbers of the connecters). The new cable worked properly
and we could measure open voltage for two OSEMS. They were 1.914 V
and
1.692 V. We are still waiting for PAM brackets to come. We will assemble
the other OSEMS and make voltage measurement after we receive the brackets.
- We measured the strength of the fifty magnets shipped from UF and
made
six sets of magnets that have the strength close to each other within
+-
5%.
- With Helena and Janeen, we ordered basic things we need in the optics
lab. These include a microscope, a vacuum pump to degas glue, and other
small tools such as tweezers.
Mechanical Design (Dan Dickrell)
- Ordered new Mitutoyo mic heads for the SOS positioners (when the
new
heads are in I can complete the redesign) Almost finished the new 4k
PSL
layout (waiting on Ramsey's angle calculations)
- Received drawings from Ken Mason on the SOS tower mover.
Dave Tanner - no report received.
Core Optics Procurement and Metrology -- GariLynn Billingsley
-------------------------------------------------------------
No report received.
Core Optics Coatings -- Helena Armandula
--------------------------------------------------
>From Livingston: We are getting the lab ready to process optics. Locating
parts. Cleaning and air baking fixtures.
Core Optics Support -- Michael Smith
------------------------------------
(Mike is at Hanford this week working with the ETM and pickoff
telescopes.)
--------------------------
Isolation Group -- M. Fine
--------------------------
Seismic Design (Mike Fine)
--------------------------------------
1. Electronics Rack:
Hytec has completed assembly of the final rack on Tuesday. They have
now begun the 2-week burn-in to QA the rack. The rack is scheduled
for
a September 10th shipment. Hytec will complete the rack documentation
prior to shipping the final unit.
2. Scissors Tables:
Hytec is waiting for the final scissors table delivery from Hand Precision,
who expects to deliver all 16 scissors tables to Hytec by the first
of
September.
3. PZT and Controllers:
All the PZTs and controllers have been shipped to sited except 6 units,
which
Hytec is holding on to help with debug and calibration issues. These
PZTs and
controllers are scheduled to be shipped to LHO on September 17.
4. Hytec Close-out:
Hytec is preparing for the contract close-out. A number of shipments
have been scheduled to complete the Hytec hardware responsibilities.
August 27th - A shipment to Allied will include the downtube assembly
and
leg elements for cleaning.
September 3rd - A shipment to Allied will include the support tubes
and
additional leg elements. The shipment will also include the crossbeams
and V-block tops to be delivered to LHO. Other CAS hardware may accompany
this shipment if room permits.
September 10th - A shipment to LHO will include the electronics rack,
CAS
hardware, cabling, junction boxes, and possibly 4 or 8 of the remaining
20
scissors tables (4 spares included).
September 17th - A shipment to LHO will include the remaining scissors
tables, cabling, junction boxes, PZTs and controllers.
Suspension -- (Janeen Hazel/Mark Barton/Mike Fine)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Report from Janeen:
-Helena and I are in Livingston getting the labs ready for suspension
work.
---------------------------------------------------------
Detector Systems Engineering -- D. Shoemaker/D Coyne
(WBS 1.2.1.1.9)
---------------------------------------------------------
Global Diagnostics System
(Daniel Sigg, John Zweizig)
This week I continued to work in the trigger generation API
and incorporating and testing elements of the Trigger API
into the revised data monitoring background environment.
I also tested the revised background in the root context with
the immediate result that I isolated a bug in the root interpreter.
Apart from this bug, which the root development team has
promised will be fixed in the next version, it seems likely that
the monitoring environment will allow free transport of code
between the foreground and background environments.
Finally, in collaboration with Alex and Rolf, we are testing
and debugging the multicast version of the data receiver
which makes frame data available to the monitors via shared
memory. We installed both the gigabit ethernet and the
reflective memory board into an Ultra 30 running Solaris 2.6.
A modified version of the frame builder (with disk storage
capability removed) was installed and first tests shows that
frames are indeed send to the DMT.
The configuration of the diagnostics test tool has been
consolidated into one library which queries availability
of services (arbitrary waveform generator, test point
manager, network data server, etc) over the network--
eliminating individual configuration files all together.
Physics Environmental Monitor(Matt Smith, David Shoemaker)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Telecon on LHO PEM installation/test/operational issues.
-----------------------------------------
Control and Data System -- R. Bork
(WBS 1.2.2)
-------------------------------------------
PSL
*********************
1. Finished construction and testing of the LSC I&Q Demodulator
board.
The board and test results have been turned over to Dale Ouimette for
his
use. Nine other boards are available for stuffing if need be.
Schematics
are available from the DCC (D990511)
2. Resumed work on the PSL with a goal of getting the upgraded
frequency
servo card released. This will take a few weeks due to the complexity
of
the layout and certain redesign goals.
3. Returned from commissioning trip to LLO. The Frequency servo system
is
now functional and in the loop noise performance exceeds the
requirements.
There is an issue with the fast piezo actuator that has yet to be
resolved
with the manufacturer.
2K One-Arm Test CDS: (DAO)
=======================
The First Article I&Q Demodulator board is
built and tested. Many thanks
to
Rich Abbott. A second board (spare) is
being assembled now. The servo
amp
should be back from PCB fab this Monday. Parts have been ordered for
the
filter board. The board is in PCB layout. The tuning components for
the
photodiodes are here waiting for me to get to them to complete the
photodiode assembly. I should have the first one tested next week.
Timing System CDS: (DAO)
=======================
Sent two more modified GPS Clock Drivers to Hanford this week. The
final
version is still in PCB layout. We are having problems with the Protel
file
and have been working with the people at Protel to fix it.
Data Acquisition
=============
- Frame multicast system is up and running at Hanford on the gigabit
ethernet to the GDS Data Monitor; undergoing tests. (Alex)
- Dataviewer upgrades are complete and being tested at Hanford.
(Hongyu).
- Installing DAQ crates in remaining Hanford buildings (MX,EY,EY) this
afternoon. (Rolf).
ASC (Rolf)
=========
- ASC front end tested with ISC supervisor system. Initial
communications tests were successful. ASC front end now being dismantled
to take parts for end station DAQ (until we get more timing boards).
- Pentium processors up and running with PMC reflected memory cards.
More tests will be run at Caltech over the next few weeks.
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 06:39:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Syd Meshkov <syd@ligo.caltech.edu>
1. Work has continued on preparations for Publication of the Proceedings
of the Amaldi Conference. Official notification to participants on
how to
proceed awaits final approval of the overall Conference Budget status.
2. Preparation of the material for the poster for the year 2000 Aspen
Winter Conference on Gravitational Waves, Feb. 20 -26, 2000 is underway.
Contributions for the end of August Quarterly Report are requested by Friday, September 17, 1999. The last Quarterly Report can be found at Quarterly Report.
Change Control/Contingency (Lindquist)
The following change requests have
been submitted:
| CR-990001 | WBS 1.3 | Return Unused Budget for Construction Related R&D to Contingency | P. Lindquist |
| CR-990005 | WBS 1.1.4 | Livingston Site Fiber Optics Cable Installation | F. Asiri |
| CR-990017 | WBS 1.4.1 | Administrative Account Closeout | P. Lindquist |
| CR-990018 | WBS 1.1.5 | Beam Tube Bake - EAC | W. Althouse |
Press for the latest Contingency Needs Projection
Assisted the Project Office R&D with packaging and shipping of Machine Parts to Galli & Morelli of Acquacalda, Italy, attention M. Morelli, account number P38494.
Assisted the Project Office R&D with packaging and shipping of a Power Supply for repair to Crown International of Elkhart , IN, attention A. Smith, account number P38494.
Assisted the Projector Office R&D with packing and shipping of a Verburator for calibration and repair to Bruel & Kjaer of Norcross, GA, attention Brandy Hodges, account number P38494.
Assisted the Project Office R&D with pick-up machine parts from California Machine of Gardena, CA, attention M. Combs, account number BCB.5048H LIGO - 1.1 - NSFLIGO.5048HO.
SUMMARY
From: Sarita Moore<moore_s@ligo.caltech.edu>
Press here for ACCOUNTS PAYABLE HISTORY DATA.
From: Kris Duncan <kris@ligo.caltech.edu>
No report this week.From: Florence Kaufman <fkaufman@ligo.caltech.edu>
Spent the week identifying problems with the data from the Oracle system. Problems identified:
From: Cindy Akutagawa <cindy@ligo.caltech.edu>
I have been working with WEBSTER to collect the JULY data for my reports. I have discovered a lot of mistakes (made during the conversion) and have spent much time tracking them down to get them corrected.
Remember that a listing of the ORACLE POETAs and the corresponding LIGO Account Names has been placed on the WEB. Its location is: http://docuserv.ligo.caltech.edu/docuserv/home/accounts.html.
No report this week.
Biplab Bhawal
* Working in India to validate multi mode summation cavity code of
adlib
Matt Evans
* Working on the new implementation of the modal model in adlib
Ed Maros
* Fixed a bug in Alfi3 which resulted in a core dump when loading a
file.
* Worked on updating Conrad's code for CVS commit
[Bruce Sears]
* (BS) Ilog system:
- Developed graphical interface
for use in
maintaining
the ILOG group configurations in
a relatively
simple manner by any group manager.
* Allows change of group name.
* Adds users to group configuration
(including all web access and password files).
* Deletes users.
* Modifies user access permissions.
* Addition of group keywords.
* (BS) VRVS Video-Conferencing System:
- Continuing
to investigate possible video-
conferencing
system for general LIGO use.
[Nathan Yospe]
[AL Note: Nathan comes to us through Raytheon
from the Univ. of Hawaii and
is taking over C++ programming from Dave Farnham
who returns to graduate school
at Caltech in theoretical phsyics]
* (NY) Reviewed white paper, requirements, technical notes, Data
Model, Metadata specs, software
specification, etc.
* (NY) Reviewed Swig documentation, relevant portions of user's
Guide, etc.
* (NY) Reviewed GenericAPI requirements, documentation
* (NY) Studied Dave's C++ source for GenericAPI, FrameAPI, and
libs associated with them
in depth
* (NY) Reviewed baseline requirements for the DataConditioningAPI
and began considering approaches
to design and development
of C++ components
[Masha Barnes]
* (MB) Had a discussion on LIGO_LW format with Roy.
* (MB) Added tracking functionality for getLwAttribute.
* (MB) Implementing getLwData function for lwAPI.
[Xhao Hu]
* (XHU) worked on stored procedure
* (XHU) worked on perfmance test on deneb
* (XHU) worked on preparing perfmance test on metaserver
* (XHU) added triggers for database
* (XHU) created ilwd files and tables for dbEasy test purpose
[David Farnham]
* (DWF) Continued working on Documentation for Generic API,
Frame API, ILWD library,
FrameCPP library and General
Library.
* (DWF) Met with Nathan to discuss layout of the LDAS system.
[Edward Maros]
* (EFM) Got first test of multi-row inserts working
* (EFM) restored spirca:/mirror
[Barbara Kratochwill]
* (BK) Modified the Export facility in the CDS web
application so the export
file is written back
to the browser. Then
the user can save the
file anywhere they wish.
The ball is back in
Rolf's court for testing.
[Phil Ehrens]
* (PSE) Added error handling to the frame API to deal with
anomalous behaviour
of the frame builder. This was
necessary to avoid
the propagation of spurious errors
resulting in "file
not found" or "no files match
request parameters"
reports.
* (PSE) Continued modifications to existing API's to
accomodate multiple
data channel management
based on assistant
manager i.d.
* (PSE) Began benchmarking file access, read, and conversion
performance of the
frame API using the new frameAPI.so
[Lazzarini]
Attended a workshop hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory to explore
possible uses of LIGO for geosciences. The findings will be documented
in
a formal procedings that willbe edited by LANL.
It was interesting to hear seismologists' views
and questions on the LIGO design.
An initially healthy skepticism eventually evolved
into a sense of team-building. There seems to
be a promise for and interest in developing a
cross-disciplinary program using LIGO
for geo-sciences. The proceedings could be the
basis of a (yet another) white paper.
[W. Majid]
I have made some further progress with generating templates for binary
inspirals on the fly using the stationary phase approximation.
I have
implemented all but one of the 5 phase factors. I have put some
checks for
self consistency in the code as prescribed by the algorithm spec sheet.
I
will finish the last phase factor and will then proceed with validating
this with what Bruce has in Grasp.
Hardware - related:
(EFM) restored spica:/mirror
(SBA) Setup archive pipeline for upcoming 40m data run.
Resynchronized/Restarted remaining LDAS software mirrors after EFM
finished
restoring the last spica filesystem. Reconfigured LIGO ATM addresses/routes
to incorporate the upgraded CACR ATM/HPSS configuration.
Purchased NTI monitor box for LDAS at Hanford. Unit has arrived at CIT
and will
be shipped to Hanford.
Working with Ed M. on a e-mail issue with the LDAS units at Hanford.
Started looking into the hardware purchases needed for the Livingston
Observatory.
Livingston:
Tom E. has received a new disk drive and has started setting it up
to handle the
increased number of users at the Observatory.
Also, there has been a network problem between the Observatory and
LSU. It is
being investigated.
Hanford:
The Cisco router and other network equipment has all been put on a
UPS
system so that the network will stay online for at least a half hour
during any future power outages.
Secure Shell 2.0.13 (SSH2) has been installed on rainier. During
installation, I found a README file which says, "... users who want
to
connect an SSH2 server with SSH1 protocol should explicitly use the
ssh1
command." So, anyone wanting to connect to an ssh1 server or
client should use
the ssh1 command. The PC version of SSH2 is available in the
standardsys folder
on rainier for each PC user to upgrade to the new version.
I have filled out all the necessary forms at Caltech to get access to
the ITS ftp site in order to download the AutoCAD software which is
available under the Caltech site license.
Did the usual backups, ordered more supplies, added new user accounts,
helped with several printer and PC problems and kept the GC accounting
paper work up to date.
CIT:
Barbara K. researched Sean's installation of Webalizer on LIGO -- found
the
files,read the documentation, etc. We should install Version
1.3, available
since July. Sean ran the updates by hand; we may want to set
up a cron job.
Researched the lost authors and keywords in the DCC database so reentry
should go quickly. Regenerated PubDocs this time without any
problems.
Wrote a batch job and installed an NT scheduler named Time Target to
make
daily backups of the Docs and Log databases.
Copied all the PDF documents in dcc/docs and dcc/AsBuilts to the new
directory structures. Worked with Larry to set up web links and
network
access.
Suresh installed Sun Workshop 5.0 and the license for it in sirius.
The new
Workshop binaries are located in the path:
/export/apps3/workshop5/SUNWspro/bin
Both versions 4 and 5 are available in sirius. Similarly, Workshop 5
has also
been installed in pollux, but yet to obtain the license for it.
Installed recently released security patches in most of the LIGO servers.
This will continue to workstations as well. These patches block the
security
hole in Solaris's calendar database manager rpc (rpc.cmsd).
Put one PC in 125 subnet in Lauritsen building.
Setup two new user accounts.
Worked with Larry on a recovery from a NIS+ corrupted table as well
as tracking
down some network problems.
Ed Maros installed patches on spica.
Have received more hardware for installation but it will have to wait
until the
new air conditioner installation is complete.
Installed another modem and will have another one installed this week
for the
modem pool. One of the new modems will be put into the 1-800 rotation
and the
other will be set strictly for local users.
Generated the NIS+ tables to start testing out the new NIS+ server.
Working a number of procurements.
Working the VPN issues and some network issues at Livingston.
Dorothy Lloyd
On a well-deserved vacation.
Irene Baldon
Worked on preparing the paper work for 7 new trips taken recently (7 Purchase Requisitions and 3 Advance Requests). There are approximately an additional 11 new trips in various stages pending completion of travel arrangements before the paper work can be completed.
Completed 37 Expense Reports, some of which were extensive, involving 2 or more pages each. Many of these reports were still not taped or completed by the Traveler, and required additional time for completion. Also worked on a number of problem issues which required a good portion of my time. There are 20 Expense Reports still to be done, plus approximately 6 that require extensive work to complete.
I continue to push for both Advance and Expense Checks already submitted. "The System" is extremely slow in processing these. Performed normal recording and filing associated with Travel and Reimbursement.
Travel has yet to be worked out in regards to ORACLE and things are still in a state of extreme confusion. Things change many times from hour-to-hour. It is very difficult to get things through or out of "The System."
Prepared Travel/Vacation Itinerary for the Week of August 23rd, 1999.
Performed miscellaneous duties as requested by various members of the LIGO Project here at Caltech, as well as from members of the staffs of each of the two (2) sites. I continue to do MIT's travel to the sites for installation activities.
Rita Torres
Attended a 3-hour class on Passport (P Card). The card should facilitate purchases for the Detector Group.
For I. Petrac FedExed MOU for signature to University of Texas at Brownsville. Also formatted and numbered Attachment A and Z to MOU with University of Michigan. Did change order No. 1 to Specialty Components, change order No. 4 to Astro Pak, and change order No. 4 to Pegasus. FedExed MOU for signature to LA Tech. Helped close 3 JPL work orders.
For E. Jasnow FedExed to the NSF, revised MMR Construction contract documents. For J. Camp distributed science article. For P. Lindquist prepared viewgraphs for Project Controls meeting. For M. Zydowicz revised the Report Summary for the safety audit at LHO in August. Updated eye exam records with SURF student information.
For D. Coyne and J. Romie formatted and did edits to spreadsheet and backup, also updated site trips. Got a chance to purge email repeats. Late last year and earlier this year many incoming messages repeated themselves an average of 6 times, I removed them to free up space. Ordered then distributed office supplies.
Elizabeth K. Wood
Made emergency phone calls on behalf of Criselda the P-card Czarina in order to get some P-cards reconciled. The problem was that one P-card needed to be reconciled by August 20, but the holder of the card wouldn’t be back until a few days later. The other problem was a computer glitch problem in which the holder of the card pushed "DONE" several times but the message never got through the network to Criselda. Criselda was able to take care of both problems, but not without sweating bullets.
Did payroll. As we all know, payroll has taken on a new form. While it is true that exempt employees do not have to sign or turn in their forms if they haven't taken any exception time, they still should turn in a signed form indicating the dates and hours taken if they took a paid leave (vacation, sick leave, jury duty, etc.) just like the pink forms. This procedure is likely to change sometime---again. Please bear with me until it gets straightened out. New forms should be arriving at the sites early next week.
Assisted Cindy in determining which accounts some of our undergraduate employees are being charged to and why some people who haven’t worked for LIGO since last November are suddenly showing up on LIGO salary accounts again. Continuing the quest of getting new hires on the correct accounts. A series of phone calls, emails, and notations on preliminary rosters has not yet produced the desired corrections. One of these days, someone in the provost’s office is going to inquire why a LIGO employee is being charged to one of the provost’s accounts.
Have again begun the hunt for yet another missing petty cash reimbursement.
Attended a meeting of the LIGO End-of-Construction Celebration.
Prepared and sent a preliminary list of LIGO employees, their office addresses, and phone numbers to the Personnel Directory. I should be getting a list back from them sometime in the future so I can verify that everyone is listed.
Tracked down the missing Hanford new ID cards. They were found and should
have been FedExed up there by now.
For additional information about this report, contact sanders@ligo.caltech.edu