If this feature is implemented, work-order related reporting and notification agendas can be scheduled for automatic implementation within the software. For example, the system can automatically schedule events such as paging a technician when a work order is assigned to him, e-mailing the dispatcher if a work order fails to be responded to within two hours, or faxing the parts manager if a work order's escalation status is set to waiting parts. For events that are not Technician-based, it is important to note that a change in the escalation status of the work order – not the individual technician lines – is what is being evaluated.
By default, email messages will include the "This important message auto-generated by SAM Pro Enterprise that is included on all escalation email messages by default. This text may be eliminated or changed via registry: Suppress SAM Pro byline message on Escalations .
If you have purchased this option, the Scheduled Event Manager must be running as a service on one of your servers for the features discussed in this section to be operational (please contact your support representative regarding the requirements for your specific implementation). A sys-email registry entry is also required for the implementation of e-mail notifications and alarms.
When Escalation Management is implemented, the system can automatically take certain actions when scheduled events related to work orders or web logs occur or fail to occur. (Web logs are requests for service entered via the Client Web Interface, the CSR applet, or the Remote Technician Applet. Web logs are converted to actual work order via New Call.
See Escalation Status for a list of the work order escalation statuses and their priorities.
Alarms and Notifications
Escalation Management supports two types of events relating directly to work orders and web logs: notifications and alarms (a third type of scheduled event, Process, will be discussed in a later release).
Notifications occur when an action takes place or at a set time after an event takes place. For example,
An e-mail is sent to a technician when a work order is assigned to him
A fax is sent to a customer an hour after a work order is completed
Alarms are triggered when an action fails to occur:
A message appears on the Alarm Board when a work order fails to go active within two hours
An e-mail is sent to a CSR when a work order fails to be completed within 24 hours.
An alarm is automatically cancelled if the action that it was waiting for occurs. In the first example, the alarm would be cancelled when the work order did go active within two hours. In the second example, the alarm would be cancelled if the work order were in fact completed within 24 hours.
When the Scheduled Event Manager is running, it will periodically review its list of pending/triggered events to see if any of them should be executed. When the system clock ticks to execution time, the event will be executed. The Alarms and Notifications that we have been discussing are two types of Scheduled Events handled by the Event Manager. The Scheduled Event Manager also handles the automation of Processes (starter functions). Automatic report generation is handled by the Scheduled Report Manager.
Canceling a work order also cancels existing, non-tech based scheduled events: this prevents messages from continuing to execute for cancelled work orders. In this release, if the Work Order Escalation Status goes to Cancelled, applicable tech-based escalations are run (for example, one notifying the technician the WO was cancelled), and then existing (non-tech based) scheduled events are cancelled.
Web Log Escalation: Escalation management can also sense and trigger events based on web log changes(e.g., to Cancelled or Duplicate), allowing the user to define escalation profile rules to send email notifications automatically.
Alarms and Notifications are always associated with Web Logs and/or Work Orders. There are several ways of doing so:
Using Escalation Profiles to Generate Alarms and Notifications
Escalation Profiles should include standard actions that you want implemented for web logs and service work orders for this piece of equipment. When an Escalation Profile is attached to a Client Site Equipment record, the alarms and or notifications in the profile will automatically be attached to web logs created for that equipment. Web logs can be generated from the Client Web Interface, Remote Technician applet, or CSR applet. The events defined in the Profile will also be attached to work orders for this equipment created in New Call.
Escalation Profiles for PM Work Orders
An Escalation Profile may be attached to the PM Schedule of a Client Site Equipment record. When a PM Work Order is generated for this schedule date, the scheduled events defined by the Escalation Profile will be generated.
Adding Scheduled Events Directly to a Work Order
Scheduled Events (Alarms and Notifications) can be added directly to work orders to accommodate special situations.
Escalation Management allows for scheduled events to be maintained for multiple work order technicians. When a work order technician (i.e., a technician listed on the Work Order Technician tab) is changed or added on a work order that has scheduled events, the system must synchronize two lists:
The list of Work Order Technicians (ignoring entries with a status of cancelled).
The list of Scheduled Event Technicians for this WorkOrder (a tech must have one or more events that have not been cancelled to appear on this list).
The system then compares these two lists, and does the following.
1. Look on the Scheduled Events list, and find any for tech-based notification events (alarms or notifications where the notification id points to technicians) where the To status is 'Cancelled'. Trigger these immediately (in this way, a tech that is taken off a workorder is notified about it).
2. Cancel all remaining tech-based notification events for any technician that no longer appears on the Tech tab.
3. Look at the Work Order Technician tab and locate new technicians that have no scheduled events. If so, use the Escalation Profile (referenced in the Work Order) to create a new set of tech-based events for the new technician.
Note: if the Technician is flagged as No Escalation (on the Technician Defaults tab), Technician-based events will not be generated.
4. Go through the list of tech-based notifications, and determine which have already been executed for previous technicians on this work order. If any are found, set them to pending for the new technician(s).
If you immediately change technicians on a new work order before the previous technician’s initial events have gone out or the work order status has changed, notifications with non-zero values in the days, hours or minutes will be put on hold until the work order escalation status is changed to the appropriate TO status.
To correct this problem and set the notifications to Pending so that they can be executed, it is necessary to cycle the work order escalation status so that it changes to the TO status. Recall that this escalation change is what triggers the scheduled event processing).
The best way doing this will depend upon your escalation profile set up. Some examples follow:
Example 1: From the Work Order (if the initial Tech Status is not pending):
Change the technician on the Tab and set the Log Type to pending.
Save the work order.
Click the Release to Tech button (this will set the dispatch to the correct initial status for that kind of technician).
Example 2: From the Dispatch Board:
Set the status of the dispatch line for the old technician to Hold.
Change the technician to the new technician; the status will automatically be set to the correct initial status for this kind of technician.
Note: Reassigning a Work Order to a Previously Assigned Technician
If you reassign a work order to a previously assigned technician, only those Scheduled Events that were originally cancelled for him will be regenerated. Scheduled events that were executed the last time he had the work order will not be automatically triggered. You may do so manually by clicking the Scheduled Event button in the Work Order viewer, and manually changing the appropriate event to a status of triggered.