MEMORANDUM
To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor of English 301
From: Brian Wang, ENGL 301 Student
Date: November 13th, 2019
Subject: Memo re: progress report for characterizing water use during crop processing at UBC Farm
Intended Audience:
The intended audience for this report is Dr. Mark Johnson whom is the principle investigator of the UBC Farm water innovation node project, a part of the overall UBC Campus as a Living Lab Initiative. He is in charge of overseeing the project challenges and approving implementations to be performed.
Purpose of report:
This report will propose solutions to address the measurement variability problem being faced by the project. The measurement variability exists in the crop processing phase where it is unknown what the water is being used for. This is resulted in two forms, first is the spatial variability of where the crop is being washed. The second is in the form of human variability where crop are being washed inconsistently in order to adapt to maximize processing efficiency.
Significance of report:
This quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC) report will address measurement variability issues that needs to be addressed in order for the UBC Farm water innovation node to be fully functional. The purpose for the water use data is for a lifecycle analysis of the water footprint for each crop being farmed in UBC Farm. Hence this report will help limit the current uncertainties in the data being collected yielding accurate and trustworthy data for the lifecycle analysis. This report will aim to improve the measurement workflow in preparation for a full year of continuous measurement in the upcoming year.
Research plan:
- Determine the workflow for how the crop are washed in the washing facility.
- Collect and show the crop washing workflow as a flowchart.
- Analyze the flowchart and question the sufficiency of the current monitoring system.
- Determine the human variability in the crop washing process
- Interview with UBC Farm processing manager Matt Delumpa
- Based on the meeting, brainstorm possible solutions.
Writing Schedule:
November 16, 2019: Progress report due
November 22, 2019: Summarize volunteering result and present the workflow in a flowchart
November 30, 2019: Summarize interviewing result and present proposed solutions based on meeting findings.
December 4, 2019: Formal report draft due
December 10, 2019: Peer review of formal report draft due
December 19, 2019: Formal report due
Enclosure
Interview questions: ENG301_BrianWang_InterviewQuestions
Formal report outline:ENG301_BrianWang_ReportOutline