Dear Roberta,
   Can the number be changed in the computer to a decimal?  like .00?
sometimes they will accept zeros that way.  Sounds like you are working
with a bunch of state employees, just putting the time in and going home at
the end of the day.  Good way to survive, but hard on the ones who actually
care about their work.

Sarah Christo, HT (ASCP)
Texas A&M University
College of Veterinary Medicine
Dept. of Vet. Anatomy & Public Health
Histology Laboratory
College Station, TX  77868-4458
schristo@cvm.tamu.edu
phone (409) 845-3177
fax (409) 847-8981

>>> "Roberta Horner" <rjr6@psu.edu> 01/05 9:29 AM >>>
The lab here has created what I consider a serious problem and I would like
to know if others out there confronted and solved it.

Our numbering system is the last two digits of the year and a 5 digit
number.  The computer will not accept a number starting with 00, so our
computer committee in their wisdom decided to us the first and last digit
for the beginning of the accession number i.e. 20.  The problem comes in
twenty years when we will again be using 20 as the first digits.  No one
else seems to care that in twenty years I am going to have two sets of
blocks and slides with the same number hence the problem I no longer have
unique numbers.

Does any one else's lab have this problem and what are you doing about it?
Any and all suggestions are welcome.  I may or may not be here at that time
but I really don't want to leave problems for someone else.

Thanks very much
Roberta Horner HT
Animal Diagnostic Lab
Penn State University