COMPUTER CENTRE
Introduction
The year 2007 has been the most challenging year for the management
and staff of the Computer Centre. This is mainly due to the fact that an enjoyable
IT System thrives on other systems including very good electrical power supply.
Even though inadequate electricity supply was a national problem, we in Kintampo
had very unpleasant versions of these power problems including very big power
surges at very odd times. The resulting issues include breaking down of sensitive
equipment, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, network switches, printers,
computer power units and motherboards etc. This report would therefore cover
the solutions and / or attempted solutions to these challenges. It would also
seek to look into the future and what systems / mechanisms would need to be
put in place to minimise the effects of these unforeseen circumstances.
Electrical Power Supply
The management of KHRC introduced a Battery Power Backup System (BPBS)
solely for the Computer Centre and Laboratory where very sensitive equipment
often got damaged by poor electrical power supply. This system is made up of
two inverters each connected to a set of six big re-chargeable batteries connected
in series. This allows the servers and laboratory equipment to run on power
from the inverter during working hours. At the close of work the batteries
are switched on to charge during the night and are ready for use the following
morning. This system took about four month to stabilize and has since worked
satisfactorily.
A second major decision made by the management of KHRC was the purchase of
a 135KVA electric generator. This was installed in the last quarter of 2007
and serves as the main backup for the Centre. In times of low voltage from
the national grid, we simply switch over to this standby to save our equipment.
The running cost is high but the cost-benefit analysis is favourable since
our very sensitive and expensive equipment are safe.
Data Processing and Management
The ObaapaVitA data management system was modified to include the Newborn
Home Intervention Study (NewHints) and Depression in ObaapaVitA and NewHints
study women (DON). This has the advantage of not missing any crucial steps
in data processing since the Obaapa data management system has been tried
and tested over several years.
Another key data processing step was building a system for the Verbal Post-mortem
(VPM) Coding (coding for cause of death). The backlog of adult and infant VPM
coding would therefore be processed early next near.
On the Malaria front, we have had to do remote data entry for the CDA project.
The biggest challenge here was to do with internet connectivity and speed.
Some of the data entry therefore had to be done only when the internet connection
was fast, i.e. during non official working hours. I would like to commend the
malaria data managers and data entry clerks for accepting to come to work during
these hours and successfully carrying out their duties to a successful end.
The team also continued to work on the MAL 047 project while preparing for
the MAL 050 project.
The KHDSS data processing system is running smoothly despite the introduction
of so many models this year. Some of the add-ons include HIV, IPTp, Bed net
Use, Vaccination Status, Education and the BIOMASS (cooking practices) pilot
project.
Local Area Network (LAN) and Hardware
We have upgraded all the LAN switches for the Computer Centre to gigabytes
to enhance file transfer. The demands on data transfer over the LAN have become
imperative. The hardware team had a third person to help them cope with the
repairs and other problems that have been recurring.
We had a third data server from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
to beef up our system. Two servers are therefore dedicated to data and backups
while the third is dedicated to internet connectivity.
The Internet Service
The Internet services have improved tremendously with the introduction
of a dedicated server for the internet.
We have upgraded from Windows 2000 ProfessionalTM to Windows ServerTM 2003
R2 Standard x64 Edition. This has greatly enhanced our security and monitoring
functionalities thereby enabling us to deliver better internet services for
staff of the KHRC.
We are seriously considering hosting our own mails in the near future to
allow for better upload and download speed.
Career Development
Three staff of the Computer Centre were trained on CISCOTM in December,
2007. A continuation of this training programme is expected to come off in
the first quarter of 2008. It is hoped that this would strengthen the Computer
Centre to meet the challenges of up-to-date systems administration.
In the same vein one data manager, Matthew Sangber-Dery is currently pursuing
a Masters programme in the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South
Africa.
Conclusion
Our biggest challenge as a department lies in personnel administration
and turn over. The end of the ObaapaVitA project and NewHints is in sight
and so staff redundancy is inevitable. We plan to recruit and train new data
entry clerks in January 2008 in anticipation of those who might leave during
the coming year.
It is therefore very difficult to know which staff will stay till the
end of ObaapaVitA and beyond. Our junior staff in particular are very worried
and are busy looking for jobs elsewhere
The management of the Computer Centre wishes all those who might get other
jobs well and hope they would use the expertise acquired while working with
the Computer Centre to the betterment of themselves, their new employers and
the world at large.
Contact: Seeba Amenga-Etego
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