Phase Three Reopening
August 4, 2020:
Dear Confocal Core and Vital Core facility users
We are excited to announce that as part of the Phase 3 research reopening, imaging facility users from outside of Robarts but local to Western will be able to book and use systems without requiring priority permission. Robarts will be under the 40% capacity rule as of Tuesday, August 4. All users who have not yet done so should contact LRMF@robarts.ca for more information and to ensure that training requirements are up to date. We also need to reactivate key card access. Some trainees may have to get their Robarts login credentials extended - please check with helpdesk@robarts.ca if you are unsure if your Robarts credentials are still valid. Non-UWO facility users are asked to wait until Phase 4 reopening. If there are extenuating circumstances, we can make an application for exemptions to this rule.
As we return to some sort of normalcy, the enhanced Covid-19 safety restrictions remain in place and access will be impacted if users are not following campus requirements. You must book the appropriate rooms via the Schulich calendar as well as the FBS calendar. The FBS calendar is not a substitute for the Schulich calendar.
In addition, we are establishing a cancellation fee policy that better reflects the costs to the facility and encourages users to cancel in a timely fashion: starting with Phase3 on August 4, short notice cancellations (between 12 and 24 hours) will incur a 1-hour fee (fees are hourly per system and vary per system). And cancellations of less than 12 hours and no shows will be charged the full booking. As we are moving back to some sort of normalcy, we need to ensure that all researchers are able to book and use the equipment in a timely fashion. We know that it is next to impossible to book the same day as researchers need more time to arrange their experiments.
We will be releasing a new website for the facilities in the next week or so. We hope to offer more webinar-style workshops in the near future and are still working towards improving equipment and analysis capabilities. As campus returns to full function over the next 6 - 12 months we will be prioritizing upgrades. Do let us know if there is anything we can add to our list.
Many thanks and all the best!
The LRMF Management Team
