What is SPINAL and why should I use it?
The billing for Open Access is now (since October 2011) done through the SPINAL reservation system and calendar. To make sure that billing is accurate and consistent throughout, you MUST use this system to log instrument use and to check instrument availability prior to physically using the instruments. SPINAL is designed to be a universal automated billing system that will minimize the potential for human error and increase consistency across platforms. Pre-existing users of our instrument need to get RC accounts and use SPINAL for logging in their samples prior to running them.
How to get started with SPINAL
To get started with using Open Access instruments in the lab, you MUST first make sure that both you and your lab admin have RC accounts. This will be necessary for the registration process. Pre-existing users need to do this starting in October 2011, as do new users. Once you have an RC account, you can log in to SPINAL https://webapps.sciences.fas.harvard.edu/spinal/. If you do not have an account or cannot remember the password, please contact RC and request a RC account or/and call the Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Facility at (617) 383-9585 and let us know that you are having trouble.
What happens the first time you log in?
The first time you log in, it will ask you to enter your lab admin's contact information so he/she can approve the billing code and its expiration date. Once the account and billing information is setup, it is simply a matter of selecting the number of "slots" based on the number of samples you will be running on our instrument prior to running them. In certain cases, you can make reservations by time.
Instrument Availability
It is highly recommended that you look at the calendar for the most heavily used instruments such as the Agilent ESI-TOF prior to coming over to run your samples at https://webapps.sciences.fas.harvard.edu/spinal/calendar/monthly/agilent-esi-tof/. We occasionally have reserved time slots during the day when the instruments are not available for open access use and the Easy Access software is off-line. Maintenance down-time will also be indicated on the Spinal instrument calendar. CALCIUM is no longer used with any of the open access instruments for reservations. Please do not using the Open Access instrument without logging usage on SPINAL. We will be checking to see if there are users who use the instrument without logging their usage through spinal for accurate billing.
It is Here! SPINAL Login Computer
There is a SPINAL login computer placed across from the ESI-TOF mass spectrometer which can be used to submit samples immediately prior to analysis. This computer can be used to reserve the correct number of slots as you run your samples on the Agilent ESI-TOF using EasyAccess.
Please see the page on Sample Preparation for Open Access as a guideline prior to running your samples on our mass spectrometers.
Please call us at (617) 384-9585 with any questions regarding SPINAL or come by and we will be happy to assist you!