2409.14,0 Code Page 1 of 4 FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK WASHINGTON FSH 2409.14 - TIMBER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM HANDBOOK Amendment No. 2409.14-92-3 Effective November 3, 1992 POSTING NOTICE. Amendments are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this amendment. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document. The last amendment to this Handbook was Amendment 2409.14-92-2 to 2409.14, Contents. This amendment supersedes Amendment 2409.14-92-1 to 2409.14, 0 Code. Superseded New Document Name (Number of Pages) 2409.14,0 Code 3 4 Digest: 06 - Adds three additional references: - STARS system administrator's guide. - TRACS system administrator's guide. - Introduction to the timber management IBM environment. F. DALE ROBERTSON Chief FSH 2409.14 - TIMBER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM HANDBOOK WO AMENDMENT 2409.14-92-3 EFFECTIVE 11/3/92 ZERO CODE 01 - AUTHORITY. (FSM 2401 and FSM 2490.1). 02 - OBJECTIVE. The objective of the Timber Management Information System (TMIS) is to provide a full range of timber information for all resource management applications. All line officers and timber management staff should have immediate access to the information they need to do their job. Data or information is to be accurate, consistently defined and collected and readily available. 03 - POLICY. The procedures provided in this Handbook must be used at all organizational levels for the Service-wide information system. The procedures used for Region-wide and Forest-wide information systems must be compatible with the minimum information requirements and data standards of this Handbook. 04 - RESPONSIBILITY. (FSM 2490.4). 04.1 - Line Officers. Line officers are responsible for supporting the information collection and reporting appropriate for their administrative unit. This responsibility includes: 1. Ensuring that timber management information is accurate and is correctly entered into the information system for their administrative unit by the dates due. 2. Assigning TMIS coordinators and data base administrators as needed to oversee the various aspects of the information system on their administrative unit. 3. Ensuring that information collection and use applications designed or used by the administrative unit consistently and correctly use definitions provided in this handbook. 04.2 - Washington Office, Director of Timber Management. The Director is responsible for: 1. Reviewing, approving or recommending the functional need and use of timber management information. 2. Securing approval through the information requirements process of the timber information required from the field level. 3. Recognizing the information needed, and providing logical analysis and design of the overall scheme for collection and use of the information. 4. Ensuring the management support necessary to implement and maintain up-to-date and current data bases, instructions and definitions. This includes assigning TMIS and data base coordinators as needed to oversee the various aspects of the information system and securing the necessary computer programing and operational technology. 5. Providing support necessary to those responsible for maintaining timber related information in FSH 1309.14, Information Requirements Handbook, Chapter 20; and FSH 1309.16, National Activity Structure (NAS) codes. 6. Approving the data elements that are used for timber program related information. 7. Approving the format of national timber management reports to access and present information for the TM Staff use. 8. Approving the functional needs for the system, and its input and output (Standard Approved Reports in FSH 1309.14). 9. Approving changes to the TMIS system and the priorities for those changes. 10. Approving the needs for new queries to present output for TM Staff use. 11. Following-up with the regional staff when required report information is not available on the dates due and informing the Chief of problems that are not readily overcome. 12. Providing physical system analysis, design, development and testing, quality assurance, applications updates and procedure maintenance, and file maintenance, information back-up and archiving. 04.3 - TMIS Coordinators. TMIS Coordinators are the recognized experts for the requirements, use and meaning of the information related to their assigned area. TMIS coordinators are responsible for the staff review of information, assessing it's accuracy, and improving operation of the system. This work is required before changes can be implemented for the TMIS System and standard reports, or recommendations to the national Information Requirements (IRM) Review Board when their approval is needed. The coordinators work with the field and the WO Staff to identify the management needs for information and design the reports and queries to access and present the information for line and staff use. 04.4 - Data Base Administrators. Data base administrators are responsible for maintaining assigned TMIS data bases (DB) and for keeping them operational for the administrative unit where they are assigned. Responsibilities include: 1. Granting access to the DB so that only authorized personnel may have access to the information they need to do their job. 2. Working with the TMIS coordinators toensure that the DB is current when required reports or queries are run. 3. Ensuring that the DB is current, available, secure and backed up in the event of computer or software failure. 05 - DEFINITIONS. Definitions provided in this handbook are intended to be used in the collection and interpretation of all timber related information. Information related activities include, but are not limited to, cruising (FSH 2409.12) scaling (FSH 2409.11, FSH 2409.11a), permanent plots (FSH 2409.13a) timber planning (FSH 2409.13) resource inventory (FSH 1909.14), timber sale accounting (FSH 6509.17) and volume estimation (FSH 2409.12a reserved). A glossary of terms for use in the timber management information system is provided in chapter 70. 06 - REFERENCES. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1987. STARS system administrator's guide. WO Timber Management Staff. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1989. STARS user's guide. WO Timber Management Staff. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1988. TRACS system administrator's guide. WO Timber Management Staff. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1988. TRACS user's guide. WO Timber Management Staff. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1991. Introduction to the timber management IBM environment. WO Timber Management Staff.