Setting up automated error responses

About the Error Library

You can use the Error Library to:

•	Display or hide certain error messages during a protocol run. Hiding minor errors reduces the number of interruptions in the protocol run.

•	Automate error recovery responses for selected errors to reduce the number of manual interventions in a protocol run.

•	Track the frequency of certain errors for troubleshooting, establishing standard automated recovery responses, or quality-control reporting.

For example, you can set up a quarantine response for barcode reading, incorrect labware orientation, and wrong labware type errors. The quarantine response allows the system to continue running the protocol even though it is unable to resolve problems with the labware.

Adding errors to the library

You can add error messages to the Error Library to set up display options and automated responses. When you run a protocol and an error dialog box opens, click Add to Error Library to add the displayed error message to the Error Library.

To set up quarantine responses, you can perform dry runs to generate the desired error messages for the Error Library. For example, you can use labware that have poorly printed or missing barcode labels, load labware backwards in stackers, or load the wrong labware type in stackers.

Note: The software automatically records the frequency of the error in the Error Library.

 

Setting up automated responses

To set up error responses:

1	In the VWorks window, select Tools > Error Library. The Error Library dialog box opens.

Note: The software opens the last saved error library file shown in the Error Library File area. To open a different file, click the button.

 

2	In the Error Handlers tab, set the following parameters to identify the error handlers. An error handler is a set of conditions that define a specific recovery response to an error.

 

Parameter	Description
Name	The name of the error handler. Type a name that can help you to identify it quickly in the log. Note: The Default error handler is used to define the default error response. It can be edited, but it cannot be deleted from the Error Library.
Match Text	The text of the error message that must be matched to activate the error handler. You can modify the text to set it up for match-text filtering.
Match Type	The match-text filtering to use: • Error text exactly matches Match Text • Error text contains Match Text

3	Set the following to determine the error response:

 

 

Parameter	Description
Action Type	The automated error response to use whenever the text-matching conditions are met: • Pause protocol. Pauses the protocol. • Always ignore error. Ignores the current command or task and continues to the next command or task in the protocol sequence. • Retry n times. Attempts to restart the current command or task in the run. The number of attempts is specified by the Action Value. • Rotate plate. Places the labware at a device that can rotate it to correct its orientation. • Show error dialog. Displays the error dialog box to allow the operator to determine the error response. • Quarantine plate. Moves the labware that caused the error to a quarantine location and continues the run. • Script. Runs the script specified in the Script to Execute box. See step 6.
Action Value	The number of times to restart the current command or task.

4	Type the Priority value in case the text from two errors matches the conditions in two handlers. The larger the value, the lower the priority.

The software sets the overall priority as follows:

a	Exact error text match

b	Partial error text match (longer text matches are preferred over shorter text matches)

c	Larger Priority value (for example, 1 has higher priority than 2)

5	Type additional notes about the error in the Error Annotation box. The text in this box is displayed with the original error text. You can use this field to explain how to fix the error.

6	Type the script you want to run in the Script to Execute box. This box is only active if you have selected Script for the Action Type in step 3.

7	Set up additional filters for the error message. You can select the desired value for each of the parameters in the following table. If you do not want to set up a filter for one or more of the parameters, select the empty value from the parameter list.

 

 

Parameter	Description
Device Type Filter	The device type, such as Bravo Pipettor.
Device Name Filter	The device name that distinguishes two devices of the same type. For example, Bravo-1 and Bravo-2.
Task Type Filter	The task category. For example, Plate Handling tasks.
Task Name Filter	The name of the task. For example, Aspirate.

Creating a new error handler

To create a new error handler:

1	In the Error Library dialog box, click New. A new row appears in the error handler table with a default name, Error - n.

 

2	Follow the instructions in Setting up automated responses to set up the new error handler.

Note: In a newly created handler, the Match Text field is empty. Type the error text that you want to use to set up the handler.

Deleting an error handler

To delete an error handler:

1	In the Error Library dialog box, select the error handler you want to delete.

2	Click Delete. The error handler is removed from the table.

Saving the error library file

To save the error library file:

1	In the Error Library File area, click Save As. The Save As dialog box opens.

2	Locate the folder in which you want to save the file, type a name for the error library file, and then click Save.

Viewing and tracking error occurrences

You can view all the errors that have occurred during the protocol run that have not yet been assigned an error handler. The Error Library records the frequency of their occurrences and other information to help you determine whether you want to add them to the library and what automated response to specify.

To view errors that are not yet set up with error handlers:

1	In the Error Library dialog box, click the Error History tab.

2	Review the list of errors in the table:

 

Parameter	Description
Error Message	The text of the error message.
Device Type	The type of device on which the error occurred. For example, Bravo Pipettor.
Device Name	The name of the device on which the error occurred. The name distinguishes two devices of the same type. For example, Bravo-1 and Bravo-2.
Task Type	The category of the task in which the error occurred. For example, Plate Handling tasks.
Task Name	The task in which the error occurred. For example, Aspirate.
Error Times	The number of times the error occurred within the protocol.
File Name	The name of the device file containing the device.

To add an error message to the error library file:

1	Select the error message in the table.

2	Click Add to Error Library.

3	Follow the instructions in Setting up automated responses.

To clear the history table:

Click Clear All.

Related information

 

For information about...	See...
Viewing logs	Viewing logs
Tracking the run progress of instances, processes, or devices	Tracking the run progress of instances or devices
Contacting Agilent Technologies and reporting problems	Reporting problems