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Regional Contact Tips

Regional Contact Tips
Tip # Source Keyword(s)
Tip
 
1 AQS

Close/End Dates

Maintain>Monitor

When a user goes into Maintain>Monitor and places a “Close Date” for the monitor and saves it, the system will automatically add an end date to the Sample Period tab.  All other monitor or metadata, including agency roles will automatically receive a close/end date as well.  The reason a user would enter a close date is if their intention was to never use the monitor again.  If a user closed it in error, they must go back and change all the end dates the system automatically inserted.

2 AQS

Post Fatal Error

Load Active Error

Regional Contacts should forward to AQS Support Team because there is nothing they can do to fix.

The error received by the user means the process failed, there is nothing to load. If the process crashes the system doesn’t provide good diagnostic information.

The error report needs to be fixed to provide better information.

3 AQS

Pre-Production Data

Error Message

If a user gets the following message:  “A pre-production Record already exists for the Monitor - Date-Time”.   The following is the process that needs to be run:

  1. Understand:  The error is caused by pre-production raw data that has not been posted.
  2. Review the load report and note the monitor ids (state-county-site-parameter-poc) of the raw data with this error.
  3. To delete this data, run the MAINTAIN / SAMPLE VALUES / DELETE PREPRODUCTION DATA form.
  4. On that form, query the monitor ids with the error (state-county-site-parameter-poc)
  5. Once the data has been retrieved and visible on the form, click the “Delete All Selected” button.
  6. Repeat the above for all monitors with the error.
  7. Click on the BATCH menu pick.
  8. On the Batch form, click on either the “Load File” or “Post File” button to resubmit.
  9. When the job completes, look at the counts and reports to see if there are other errors.
4

AQS

Reactivate Monitoring at a Site

The following procedure is only needed if monitoring occurred for the pollutant of interest at the site previously, and was stopped for all of the monitors at the site for that pollutant.

  1. Log into AQS and connect to the screening group that owns the primary monitor at the site.
  2. Click on the Maintain / Site menu pick, and then query in the site where monitoring is to be restarted.
  3. Click on the “Primary Monitor Periods” tab, and click on the most recent row (i.e. row with the most recent begin and end dates) for the pollutant.
  4. On that row, make note of the end date, and then delete the end date and click SAVE. 
  5. Click on the Maintain / Monitor menu pick.
  6. If the old primary monitor is to be restarted, query the old monitor, and create new rows for each appropriate tab with begin dates, and click SAVE after all have been entered.  (“appropriate” hear means that the monitor needs that metadata type.  For instance, not all monitors need a network affiliation.)
  7. If a new primary monitor (i.e. different POC) needs to be created, then create it with the standard process and click save.
  8. Click on the Maintain / Site menu pick and query the site again.
  9. Click on the “Primary Monitor Periods” tab, and click on the old row again.
  10. Re-enter the prior end date on that row.
  11. Click on the create record icon (plus sign) to insert a new row.
  12. For that row, enter the parameter code, the POC, and the new sample period start date, then click SAVE.

Note:  The order of steps above is essential.  If you do the steps in another order, they will not work.

5 AQS Unique Constraint Error

During the Load process, if a user receives an error with “unique constraint (…) violated”  in it, that means the user submitted an insert transaction that is a duplicate of data already in the database.

6 AQS Pre-Production Record Error

If a User receives the following message:  “A pre-production Record already exists for the Monitor - Date-Time”.  The following is the process that needs to be run:

  1. Understand:  The error is caused by pre-production raw data that has not been posted.
  2. Review the load report and note the monitor IDs (state-county-site-parameter-poc) of the raw data with this error.
  3. To delete this data, run the MAINTAIN / SAMPLE VALUES / DELETE PREPRODUCTION DATA form.
  4. On that form, query the monitor IDs with the error (state-county-site-parameter-poc)
  5. Once the data has been retrieved and visible on the form, click the “Delete All Selected” button.
  6. Repeat the above for all monitors with the error.
  7. Click on the BATCH menu pick.
  8. On the Batch form, click on either the “Load File” or “Post File” button to resubmit.
  9. When the job completes, look at the counts and reports to see if there are other errors.
7 AQS Create a new Primary Monitor at a Site where PM2.5 Monitoring has QA Collocated Monitor
  1. Log into AQS and connect to the screening group that owns the QA Collocated monitor for PM 2.5 at the site.  (There should only be one.)
  2. Use either the Maintain Monitor form or batch transactions to create the new monitor that will become the primary, using the standard process.
  3. On the Maintain Monitor Form, query the QA Collocated monitor.
  4. Click on the QA Collocation tab, and add the end date for the last day that the current primary monitor will be the primary monitor, and click Save.
  5. On the Maintain Monitor Form, query the current primary monitor (it should be both the QA Collocation Primary and the NAAQS Primary).
  6. Click on the QA Collocation tab, and add the end date for the last day that the current primary monitor will be the primary monitor, and click Save.
  7. On the Maintain Site form, query the site.
  8. Click on the Primary Monitor Period Tab.
  9. On the row for the current primary monitor enter the same date as the one used above. (Do NOT click save yet)
  10. Create a new row, for the new monitor to become the Primary, with a begin date one day after the end date entered above.  (This date must also be in an open sample period for that monitor.)
  11. Click SAVE.
  12. On the Maintain Monitor form, query the new primary monitor.
  13. Click on the QA Collocation tab.
  14. Enter the appropriate begin data for QA Collocation starting, and ‘Y’ in the primary monitor column.  Click save.
  15. On the Maintain Monitor form query the QA Collocated monitor.
  16. Click on the QA Collocation tab, and create a new row.
    1. Enter the same Begin date as was entered for the primary.
    2. Enter ‘N’ in the Primary Monitor Column.
    3. Enter the distance from the primary
    4. Click Save.
  17. You are done.

Note:  If any of the monitors above is owned by a different screening group, you will need to connect to that screening group before proceeding with access to that monitor.

8 AQS Setting Required Frequencies

When a user sets the Required Frequencies using Maintain >Monitor>Req Frequencies tab to 8 – Stratified Random, 9 – Random, R – Episodic Sampling, or S – Seasonal, the user must then specify a Collection Frequency for each month that sampling occurs.  (It is possible to have monitors where sampling does not occur in certain months.)  Note:  The Required Collection Frequency is only used by AQS for Intermittent methods (as distinct from Continuous methods.)

9 AQS/AAMG

NPAP Audit Data

Loading/Reviewing/Approving

  1. NPAP audit data is typically entered through the PEAT application by the regional contractors or through manual methods by self-implementing organizations.
  2. To review and approve NPAP audit data, the reviewer must be assigned the audit coordinator role in AQS.  Uploaded NPAP audit data can be found under the “Audit” tab and “NPAP Audit Review” (check that name)” in the drop down menu.
  3. For every monitor where the agency will be self-implementing for NPAP or PEP, they will need to add an Audit Agency Role to the monitor.  Otherwise, any monitor without an Audit Agency role will default to the Region.
  4. To set up an agency to be self-implementing, please contact the appropriate national QA program lead. (this is a big process and getting them setup in AQS is a very small part of the process)
10 AQS AMP251/AMP256

If you run the AMP 251 report it will show all the data and tell you if it’s valid or not.  If the data submitted shows a difference between the actual flow rate and the indicated flow rate of more than 10%, the data will be invalid and should not show up on the AMP256 report.  The AMP251 will show you what the percent difference is and indicate whether the data is valid or not. 

The AMP256 report will summarize only valid data.     

11 AQS

DV calculated using Primary and Composite Primary Sampler data

If the user wants to use data from both a primary sampler and a composite primary sampler to calculate the DV value, they need to go to Maintain>Site>PMP tab and ensure the primary monitor information is populated and ensure they insert a “Y” in the Composite Sampler column.  If the user fails to add the “Y” indicating there is a composite sampler, the AQS system will calculate the DV using only the primary sampler data.

12 AQS Maintain Site and Primary Monitor Periods

Q1:  When exactly does it matter what information has been added to the Maintain Site - Primary Monitor Periods screen?

A1:

  1. First, for PM 2.5, Ozone, and Lead, the regulations require a monitor for those parameters to be designated as the “Primary” at every site where a monitor for the parameter is located.  Right now, the first monitor that the user creates for the parameter will automatically become the primary.
  2. For PM 10:  The user is allowed (but not required) to create a “Composite Primary”, where data from two intermittent method (i.e. filter based) monitors will be combined to create a single data stream for calculating the Design Value for the site.
  3. If the primary monitor period is obsolete, and does not reflect the real-world configuration, all AQS reports should run, but the Design Value report and the Certification Evaluation report (AMP600) should run, but may calculate incorrect statistics.
  4. AQS should not allow overlapping primary monitor periods for a site-parameter.  However, if they exist, POST has been observed to crash and prevent the user’s data from becoming “Production Status”.  (i.e. it is there at a “pre-production” status, but will not be used by any of the reports.)
  5. For the above parameters, AQS should not allow a period where a monitor for a site-parameter is operating, but there is no Primary Monitor Period for those days.  However, if it does happen, then POST may crash, and the reports for that site-parameter may not run.
13 AQS Collocated Primary Monitors

An example of two primary samplers (one of which is collocated) running on a staggered 1-in-6 day schedule at a site resulting in a 1-in-3 day sampling schedule. 

If the user wants both samplers (monitors) data to be utilized for the Design Value calculation, they must put a ‘Y’ in the Composite Primary column.  This will instruct AQS to look for that monitor.

14 AQS Batch Form Reports

When a user posts a data file, they receive an email with links to the various reports (i.e., Summary and Load Reports, CRST Reports, Raw Data Inventory) seen on the Batch form.  The user has 30 days to review those reports, after which time the reports are deleted from the system.

15 AQS Composite Samplers

If a user has a site with 2 samplers and wants to record the data from both samplers as one stream of data, in other words include both data streams in one file, they need to make those samplers “Composite” samplers.  In order to accomplish this they first need to ensure that the Method Code used by the samplers is “Intermittent” and not “Continuous”.  Only if both samplers utilize an “Intermittent” method code can their data stream be combined.

To set up a composite sampler, the user can go to Maintain>Site>PMP  tab and create a collocated sampler at the site by adding a “Y” to the Collocated Sampler column (this will instruct AQS to look for a collocated sampler) and indicating on the Maintain>Monitor>Reqd Frequencies tab that one of the samplers has an offset from the other (i.e., 1 in 6 frequency and offset of 3).