# UTILIZATION OF INTEGRATED PROCESS CONTROL, DATA CAPTURE, AND DATA ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION OF ACCELERATOR SYSTEMS \*

# V. Bookwalter, B. Madre, J. P. Ozelis, C. Reece ^+^

# Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, VA. 23606, USA

Abstract

Jefferson Lab has developed a web-based system that integrates
commercial database, data analysis, document archiving and retrieval,
and user interface software into a coherent knowledge management product
called *Pansophy*. *Pansophy* provides key tools for the successful
pursuit of major projects such as accelerator system development and
construction by offering elements of process and procedure control, data
capture and review, and data mining and analysis. Today, *Pansophy* is
used in Jefferson Lab's SNS superconducting linac construction effort as
a means for structuring and implementing the QA program, for process
control and tracking, and for cryomodule test data capture and
presentation/analysis. Development of *Pansophy* continues, with
improvements to data queries and analysis functions that are the
cornerstone of its utility. In this paper the present configuration and
operational environment of *Pansophy* is described, along with future
development goals. Additionally, specific examples of its use in an
accelerator construction project will be presented.

## Motivation and APProach

*Pansophy*, a web-based system conceived as a vehicle for collecting,
managing and exploiting the data from SRF accelerator subsystem
development and production efforts, began development in early 2000
\[1\]. Because data from the construction of the original CEBAF
accelerator was saved in paper form, it was cumbersome to search, and
trends were difficult to spot. Some electronic files, often in the form
of Excel spreadsheets, existed on individual computers, but there was no
coherent effort to save data in a searchable electronic format. This
resulted in hesitancy to search the archived documentation when data
were needed. It was believed that if data could be made immediately
available, and trends observed in near real-time, a feed-forward
mechanism could then be exploited, and lessons learned could be applied
quickly.

To make the most efficient use of development resources, the system was
conceived as a custom integration of several commercial software
packages.

Since its initial development, *Pansophy* has become a vital resource
for documenting and processing data from various SRF Institute
accelerator projects. Staff members within the SRF Institute and
Accelerator Division have begun making extensive use of its
capabilities.

## General Description

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="3.245138888888889in"
height="2.1631944444444446in"}

**Figure 1:** Overview of *Pansophy*

### Travelers 

The traveler, a central component of *Pansophy*, defines and controls a
process while gathering data particular to a part or assembly. It also
defines a unit of the database structure. Travelers are initially
generated by a scientific or technical staff member using a Microsoft
Word® template, while Adobe Acrobat® provides the final format for
archival of an electronic version of approved travelers. DocuShare®, a
document management software tool from Xerox, manages, archives, and
provides controlled access to travelers. The user interface is written
using Macromedia's ColdFusion®, and an automated process converts the
document from the MS-Word® format to ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML).
There are currently over 100 different types of travelers, which have
collectively been used about 2000 times. Traveler data, entered online
via a web browser, are directly uploaded into an Ingres® database*.*

### Traveler Features

In addition to the process control and data capture functions described
above, travelers also incorporate "hold points," a feature that
prohibits the completion of a traveler or section of a traveler (and
therefore process) until an authorized supervisor reviews the current
data. Additionally, the data recorded by the travelers are frozen once
the traveler is closed. These features contribute to satisfying quality
assurance requirements.

A specialized Non-Conformance Report (NCR) was developed to track
situations where inspections, processes, or tests have uncovered
deviations from acceptable parameters. A link is provided on each
traveler to initiate an NCR, which is automatically emailed to the
responsible engineer for resolution. Upon resolution and close of an
NCR, the results are automatically emailed to the NCR initiator and the
resident inventory manager. This automated process ensures the
appropriate project feedback is achieved \[2\].

Occasionally activities such as Electron Beam Welding or Niobium
Inventory Tracking may require a custom traveler design. This can be
easily accommodated.

### Access Control and Administration

The SRF Institute at Jefferson Lab has developed a hierarchical, (WBS)
project-based traveler naming convention consisting of five components,
plus a revision number and a sequence number. Authorized users can use
administrative pages to add new traveler components, modify the header
information in a traveler, and view current information.

*Pansophy* is divided into functional areas and tasks are divided into
levels. Authorized users are assigned privilege levels, thus providing
secured access to the various functional areas. For instance,
supervisors can have additional security levels for traveler data
approval, while administrators have appropriate security levels for
*Pansophy* configurations only. Most *Pansophy* security and
administration functions can be performed online.

### Logbooks

*Pansophy's* electronic Logbooks provide a mechanism for recording
time-stamped, non-editable, easily searchable entries of experimental
setups, procedures, data, and other information. In addition to this
customary usage, these e-logs have proven valuable as a source of
information for traveler development.

### QC/QA functions

### As Pansophy usage increased, additional functionality was added to facilitate meeting QC/QA program requirements. A calibration management tool was added which permits users to enter devices into a database with required inspection dates and durations and calibrator information. The tool automatically emails calibration reminders to device owners, as well as allowing owners to track the location of devices and instrumentation. 

In addition to the calibration system, a maintenance utility based on
similar requirements has been added. It is presently used to track and
record maintenance status of vacuum equipment operating in both the
accelerator facility (CEBAF) and the SRF Institute.

## USE in Accelerator Production

Recent *Pansophy* development has focused on providing and optimizing
database query functionality. This functionality provides the essential
capability for data mining of the traveler system, a primary motivation
for *Pansophy.* Both pre-defined and user-defined queries have been
implemented.

Pre-defined queries include simple searches based on Cavity ID, Serial
Number, and Vendor ID. Once user input has been entered, all travelers
whose data fields contain this label are searched for matches to the
user input. A list of travelers is presented to the user with links to
the traveler data, allowing the user to quickly find a traveler for a
particular cavity and then directly access that cavity's data.

Other pre-defined queries include searches of NCR status
(open/closed/all), listings of all instantiations of a selected
traveler, and tabular listings of all data fields for all instantiations
of a traveler. The NCR search provides an efficient means of tracking
NCR status. The data field grids provide overviews of traveler-generated
data and allow for initial review of current results from a given
production process, which enables feedback to production managers and
engineers.

The user-defined query is one of the most powerful, useful features of
the *Pansophy* system. Initially, users are presented with a list of
travelers from which to select. When a particular traveler is selected,
a listing of available data fields for that traveler is displayed,
grouped by traveler page number (Figure 2). The user then selects the
data of interest, defines the Boolean operators to be used (\>, \<, =,
LIKE, etc.), and selects the operand for the query (Figure 3). The user
submits the query to the database interactively and is presented with a
spreadsheet-style listing of the requested data. This data can then be
transferred to an application such as Excel for further analysis (see
Fig. 4). Queries and analyses like those in Figure 4 provide a quick and
efficient means for tracking trends and performance during the
production run.

## future development

The ultimate functionality and utility of Pansophy is explicitly linked
to the ability by users to extract, analyze, and benefit from the data
captured. Recognizing this, future development of Pansophy will
concentrate on developing even more flexible and useful query mechanisms
and data output options.

Additionally, the integration of analysis tools such as Matlab® will be
pursued. This will enable users to develop semi-custom stored query
/analysis suites, so that data can be routinely analyzed in a consistent
manner.

In addition to analysis of data resulting from operation of query logic,
high-level "views" are planned, where one can chose a component
(cryomodule, for example), and then access performance and fabrication
data for that component, and some fraction of its subcomponents, using a
graphical interface. This interface would allow one to "drill down" to
the sub-component level and generate static reports of relevant
parameters. Such a feature is expected to be extremely useful in the
commissioning phase of installed accelerator components.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="6.316666666666666in"
height="4.420833333333333in"}

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="2.6597222222222223in"
height="3.4833333333333334in"}Figure 2. Traveler data field listing used
for generating user-defined query.

Figure 4. Results of a user-defined query of SNS cavity field flatness
%, plotted by cavity.

Figure 3. Selection of operators and operands for user-defined query

REFERENCES

\[1\] C. Reece et al., "A System for Managing Critical Knowledge for
Accelerator Subsystems : Pansophy", PAC2001, Chicago, p. 1189

\[2\] J. P. Ozelis, "The Jefferson Lab Quality Assurance Program for the
SNS Superconducting Linac Accelerator Project", paper TPAG028, PAC2003.