Quarry Dig Seasons
Season planning, survey grids, and field data capture systems installed before the first tarp goes up. We wire the site so every find is logged with coordinates the moment it leaves the rock.
Open service →We map the grid and keep every bone Documented
Mesozoic Research Center builds the integrated computer systems that let a paleontology lab turn a field season into a clean, searchable, permanently curated record. From the first survey pin placed at a quarry face to the last drawer label printed in the collection room, we connect hardware, databases, imaging stations, and staff workflows into one dependable chain. Our Salt Lake City lab at 142 S 1200 E, Salt Lake City - 84102-1643, United States (US) serves museums, universities, and research crews across the Intermountain West.
Every system we ship is built for the reality of a dig: dust, cold mornings, patchy connectivity, and volunteers who need to enter data correctly on the first try. See how we build it →
Prep bench
Drawer index
Six drawer cards, six field services
Specimen case registryEach drawer in our field case corresponds to a service we deliver for partner institutions. The cards below are short labels, the same way a collection drawer carries a short label until the catalogue record is opened. Full scope, timelines, and deliverables live on the services page.
Specimen Preparation
Bench stations, imaging rigs, and microfossil sorting software configured for the prep lab. Progress notes and photo sequences attach directly to the specimen record.
Open service →Collection Curation
Catalogue migration, drawer labeling, and audit trails for permanent collections. Every object keeps a documented history from recovery to repository shelf.
Open service →Field School Programs
Turnkey training kits and data entry interfaces for student crews. Curriculum files, grade rubrics, and network rules travel with the kit.
Open service →Museum Loan Support
Loan condition reports, shipping manifests, and return scheduling inside one shared portal that both institutions can audit.
Open service →Research Visits
Researcher access scheduling, imaging request queues, and remote viewing sessions for visiting specialists who cannot travel with equipment.
Open service →What a systems integrator actually does in a fossil lab
Computer integrated systems design in this field is not a website project. It is the quiet infrastructure behind every specimen that arrives with a correct number, a correct location, and a correct condition note. A fossil crew can recover a remarkable skeleton and lose its scientific value in a season if the record is inconsistent.
We sit between the field team, the prep bench, the collection manager, and the curatorial office. Our work is to make those four rooms behave like one instrument. That means reading how staff actually move through a day, then configuring hardware and software so their hands do not slow down.
Operating principle
Map the grid. Free the bone. Label every piece. Three sentences that govern every deployment we run, from a two-person survey camp to a permanent repository.
Quarry dig seasons run on prepared data, not luck
Before a crew drives to a site, we install a field kit: rugged tablets, a local server that works without signal, a coordinate system matched to the survey grid, and a short entry form that mirrors the paper field book. When the crew returns, the data merges into the permanent catalogue without a single re-typing pass. Our quarry dig seasons service covers the survey layout, the on-site network, and the hand-off documentation.
Preparation is a data event as much as a bench task
The air scribe removes matrix, but the microscope camera captures the before and after states that prove what was done. We configure prep bench imaging stations, glue and consolidant logs, and timing records so that conservation decisions are traceable years later. The specimen preparation service includes bench layout, lighting, camera mounting, and the software that stitches those images to the specimen record.
Curation outlives the dig, and the system must too
A collection is judged by whether a researcher can find a specimen in twenty years. We migrate legacy spreadsheets into a normalized catalogue, print drawer labels that survive humidity, and build audit trails for every move. The collection curation service also covers environmental sensor integration so that temperature and humidity history sits beside each storage location.
Students learn the system, not a workaround
Field schools are where bad habits get baked in. We ship a teaching kit with a simplified entry interface, sample records for practice, and a rubric that rewards accuracy over speed. Instructors receive a dashboard that shows which students are entering incomplete coordinates before those errors reach the catalogue. Read more on the field school programs page.
Loans move specimens, and records must move with them
Every outbound loan is a chain of custody. Our museum loan support service provides condition report templates, packing checklists, courier documentation, and a shared portal where both the lending and borrowing institution record the same facts. Return dates, environmental conditions, and imaging permissions stay visible to both sides.
Visiting researchers need access without friction
A specialist who travels for two days should not spend the first one learning a login. We set up scheduled access, pre-staged imaging queues, and remote viewing rooms so that visiting teams arrive to a workstation already holding the records they requested. The research visits service handles access scheduling, equipment reservations, and the export rules that protect unpublished data.
Field journal note: Mesozoic Research Center opens its summer quarry calendar in March, and partner institutions are invited to reserve survey support, prep bench installation, and catalogue migration windows before the season fills.
How the lab runs from a systems point of view
We are not a software reseller and we are not a consulting firm that leaves after the slide deck. Our team stays attached to a project through the first full season so that the system survives contact with real weather, real crews, and real deadlines. The rows below describe the practical habits behind that commitment.
Site survey
We walk the ground before we write a specification
A quarry is a physical place with slope, shade, wind, and a generator that may or may not start. Our survey visits record power availability, network range, table heights, traffic paths, and where staff naturally set things down. Those observations decide where a scanner goes and where it absolutely cannot go.
Hardware fit
Equipment is chosen for the room, not the brochure
We specify cameras, tablets, label printers, and environmental sensors that tolerate dust and cold. Every recommendation includes a spare part plan and a clear note on which components a local supplier can replace within a week.
Data model
One record shape across field, bench, and shelf
Specimen identifiers, locality codes, stratigraphic context, preparation events, and storage locations share a single controlled vocabulary. When every room uses the same keys, reports become possible without heroic cleanup work at the end of the year.
Training
Short sessions, repeated, with printed references
Staff and volunteers receive compact training sessions tied to their exact daily tasks, plus a laminated reference card at each bench. We come back after the first two weeks to catch the small misunderstandings that turn into data errors.
Continuity
Documentation that does not depend on us
Every deployment ends with an owner manual written in plain language, a wiring diagram, a login register held by the institution, and a recovery procedure that a new staff member can follow without calling us first. If we disappear tomorrow, the lab keeps running.
Security
Access is granted by role and reviewed each season
Field crews, preparators, curators, and visiting researchers receive different levels of access. Accounts are reviewed at the start of each season, permissions are removed when a project closes, and unpublished locality data stays restricted until the curator releases it.
Ready to bring the lab onto one system?
Tell us what your season looks like, how many specimens pass through the bench, and which records currently live in spreadsheets. We will reply with a short written assessment and a proposed first phase that fits your budget. Reach us at research@mesozoicresearch.autos or call +18025756837 during business hours.
- Season scoping call within two business days
- Site visit scheduling for partner institutions
- Written proposal with phase one pricing
- Plain language owner manual at hand-off