Projects

Chemistry Inventory System

The Chemistry Inventory system is used by the Department of Chemistry at the U.W.I. Mona campus to manage and maintain its inventory of chemicals and related products. The current inventory software is created using Oracle Forms and stores data in an Oracle Database. It replaces the previous system which was a legacy, FoxPro system which was less user-friendly and prone to errors and system failures.

The Chemistry Inventory application is constructed based on a set of business rules obtained from the Department of Chemistry. The system also implements workflow and the ability to assign specialized tasks. Whereas in the old Chemistry system, only one user at a time could access and use the system, the current version allows many users to access the system simultaneously, thus improving the operations of the Department. Managers are able to approve or revoke orders online, and these are reflected immediately to the storeroom personnel, who process orders in a timely manner. The system also includes a mechanism to solicit feedback from users, which is used to make any improvements to the system as well as tracking chemical disbursement and raising flags to indicate when stock needs to be replenished. Finally, the system provides detailed reports such as reorder reports, inventory listings, chemical use reports, and personnel reports. There are other reports currently being developed.

Overall, the new Chemistry inventory system will prove to be a great asset to the Chemistry Department, as it provides enhanced functionality and scalability over its predecessor. It will also be a model of inventory management to be eventually rolled out for all Departments across the Mona campus that require similar services.