Maintenance, Operation, Research, and Radiation Zones (MORRZ)-
A Design/Operation Tool for Intelligent Buildings
with Application to the
Advanced Neutron Source (ANS)
It was during the definition of the ANS conceptual design that the MORRZ design tool was developed The scientific community and the operators, maintenance personnel, designers, and other
laboratory support staff were involved in a process that defined research and operation needs. Numerous interviews, discussions, and a workshop were held to assist the user community in identifying the relevant design issues.
It is common to hear complaints about as-built environments, yet when provided
with an opportunity to produce a new design, many of those concerns are
overlooked. The new arrangement should not reflect preconceived ideas but
rather a design based on objective needs. Recommended solutions, therefore,
were discouraged during the initial interviews. Instead, a carefully designed
interview/questionnaire extracted information based on objective needs. Some of
the questionnaires focused on personnel tasks and system functions within
specific environments. The questionnaires were completed by users and designers
for a variety of scenarios. Each of the users was asked to identify and
describe tasks and routines reflecting the dynamics of operation during
research or reactor operation. For an ANS scientist, for example, the scenarios
included (1) general study and experiment planning, (2) experiment and
instrument design, (3) fabrication and set up, (4) experiment calibration, (5)
experiment operation and data acquisition, (6) dismantling an experiment setup,
and (7) data analysis and publishing. For a reactor operator, the tasks change
dramatically from full operation (neutron production) through shutdown.
Resources, which include people, materials, lay down spaces, traffic patterns,
equipment, time, and links to other systems were recorded for each phase. Where
possible, information on security, industrial hygiene, and a variety of unique
standards were also documented for the system in question. A variety of input
(questionnaires) and output displays was tailored for the different war and
design disciplines. Figures 2 and 3 are samples of two such questionnaires.
Fig. 2. General information questionnaire.
Fig. 3. Operation and maintenance questionnaire
The information gathered was categorized and then stored in a data base according to preestablished data fields. Additional information included descriptions on general ANS design philosophy; architectural and engineering requirements; experiment and security operations; safety, radiation monitoring and control, and industrial hygiene requirements; and general information by function and by space. The data were capable of being queried, sorted, retrieved, or grouped by any of the data fields. Quick and efficient access to the large manipulatable data base afforded the design team with the opportunity to examine many aspects of the design and evaluate the impacts of proposed solutions.
Through MORRZ, the ANS team developed an understanding of the:
MORRZ allowed the designer to retrieve the information in a manner that focuses on the specific issues under study and their effects on the user, on reactor operation, and on other activities outside his/her normal and immediate scope. Because of the ability to group information in any desired format, MORRZ was very effective in displaying conflicts and redundancies. MORRZ also provided a basis for establishing a dialogue between the designers and the users to resolve many outstanding issues. Figures 4 and 5 are two examples of the many data displays.
Fig. 4. Data display of prompt gamma activation analysis requirements
Fig.. 5. Sample maintenance data display.
[ Next | or | Return to Index | or | ANS Home Page | or | Hanna Shapira's Home Page ]
Revised by hbs 3/21/95