Quartzy - Overview

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The Cianfrocco lab utilizes Quartzy, a web-based inventory control system, to keep track of things in the lab. It is used to track orders placed, mark them off when received, maintain information about them, and track their location in the laboratory.

To use Quartzy, you will need an account. The easiest thing to do is to login with Google, using your uniqname@umich.edu email. You will be able to use the Quartzy interface with this information alone, but in order to access the Cianfrocco lab's database you must be invited by a user with the appropriate privileges. Ask Mike, Tony, the current lab manager, or other senior staff who have access. An invite will be sent to your inbox, which will provide a link that adds you as a user.

Once logged in, your browser will display this interface consisting of a number of panels containing buttons, dropdown menus, and writable fields.

In the top left is the area selection menu. Clicking the downward carat brings up a list of the areas you have access to, including an option to create your own lab. What fun! If you are an especially... ahem... underorganized individual, you could create a lab for your own personal bench and desk space to keep track of personal stocks, buffers, pens, and favorite knick knacks. For now, you should just be seeing the Cianfrocco lab.

The top panel contains navigation tools. On the left are item category selections. Clicking on one of these items will change the panels beneath it. "Requests" will display items which are not currently in the lab - they have been requested to order, have been placed on order, or are awaiting receipt into the system pending packing list signoff. "Inventory" switches the view to everything that exists (that has been received) in the lab area. "Catalog" is Quartzy's attempt to sell you things. We don't use that, because University of Michigan bulk discounts and/or direct sales rep contacts are typically better than what Quartzy can find. This can, however, help you autofill some information when placing an order, if you need it (more on that on the "Requests" page).

On the right are system utilities.

  • The invite button can be used to invite others to Quartzy. You will not be able to invite people to the Cianfrocco lab unless you have been granted the privilege to do so, but you can invite other people to view your collection of bootleg 8-tracks, or whatever you've personally created.
  • The shopping cart is not used for lab purposes. Quartzy is capable of handling personal financial information to place orders directly, but all orders consuming lab funds go through University purchasing departments or M-Marketsite.
  • The bell shows alerts - a list of recent changes to the Quartzy database that have been communicated to users based on their personal settings. These are usually things like "Anthony has placed your order for frog sandwiches" or "That ancient pottery shard you ordered has been received to the kneehole under bench 3B".
  • The question mark is Quartzy support. For help on any functionality not covered here, you can find your answers with their online manuals or support requests.
  • The colorful dot is your personal menu. Here you can change your personal settings like what types of alerts you receive, your profile picture, and professional information.

The lower frames are the working parts of the inventory system.

To the left you have a button for adding new items, a search tool, filter options, and buttons for data import and export at the bottom.

To the right are the line items currently matching the selected filters

The contents of these windows will change according to the selected item category.

Learn how ordering works

Learn how to find things