Test Facility Data Entry Recommendations
Abstract
This report provides guidance on submitting electronic data associated with a Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) Type Approval (TA) Application. The goal of this effort is to simplify the TA Application submission, review process, and data archival as well as to facilitate the meta-analysis of multiple datasets. For a single application, all information will reference a unique Application Identification (ID), which is provided by the USCG upon receipt to the Letter of Intent. Basic descriptive data including information about the Independent Laboratory (IL) and the BWMS are stored in the Main Table, which links to separate tables with detailed information on the BWMS (e.g., models used in testing, specifications, and manufacturers claims) and the ILs Assessment. Next in the hierarchy is a table of Test Cycles. For this set of recommendations, the Test Cycles described are all associated with land-based, Biological Efficacy (BE) testing, although this basic structure will be suitable for other TA Application data, such as shipboard BE testing. A single Test Cycle will have multiple Samples (the next level in the data hierarchy), and each Sample will have multiple Analyses. Analysis tables include discrete laboratory analyses (such as measurements of concentrations of organisms 10 and <50 m, 50 m, E. coli) but also continuous data, such as electronic measurements collected by a flow or pressure sensor installed within piping. Each analysis type has a unique table to store analysis-specific information and results, and the each of these tables will house records from all Samples and all Test Cycles. Finally, we provide a short list of best practices and an example set of table templates. Adoption of this approach for transmitting data will likely reduce the effort required by the Test Facilities, the ILs, and the USCG.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1177209
Entities
People
- Jonathan F. Grant
- Matthew R. First
- Scott C. Riley
- Stephanie H. Robbins-wamsley
- Timothy P. Wier
- Vanessa Molina
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory