Shift Log Release 4.0.0

P2 Shift Log version 4.0  is a major release that re-invents Shift Log into a true collaboration tool. Shift Log 4.0 heralds a new era of interconnectivity between P2 Explorer modules, with advanced knowledge sharing capabilities.

The latest version of Shift Log is now directly accessible from within P2 Explorer. Shift Log has received a face lift while still retaining a familiar interface, and configuration will now be much simpler.

New to this version of Shift Log is the ability to create multiple shift patterns, simplified configuration, and the ability to share entries with other P2 modules.

Look and Feel and Terminology

The Shift Log application has received a major face lift in this version.

Shift Log v4:

Shift Log v3.x:

Tighter integration with P2 Explorer means that some of the terminology has changed. All records are stored as entries, regardless of if they are an ongoing issue or a simple comment log.

Here is a list of terms that have changed:

Shift Log 4.0 Shift Log 3.x
Log Entry
In Shift Log, running comment logs are now referred to as “log entries”. A “comment” in Explorer refers to a commentary item or observation about a tag or entity, which can be surfaced in various places throughout Explorer.
Comment
Case Entry
Ongoing Issues can be created as Case entries, if they are also to appear in Case Management.
Ongoing Issues
General Entry
Issues that will only appear in Shift Log.
Ongoing Issue
Workbook
In Shift Log 3.x, log views were organised as a collection in a tree navigation structure.  In Shift Log 4.0, Log Views are organised as pages within a Workbook.
Log View Explorer

Page
A Log View in Shift Log 3.x was a screen that displayed a list of logs. In Shift Log 4.0, this is called a page within a Workbook.
Log View

Forms
In Shift Log 3.x, Subjects and Topics were used to define and categorise a real world object or concern. Shift Log 4.0 moves away from this paradigm and categorises entries according to the type of entry they are. Workbook pages can be configured to contain any number of log panels, where each log panel is assigned a Form. A form contains a set of pre-defined fields that should be completed by the person filling in the entry form.
Subjects and Topics
Fields
A field in Shift Log 4 is simply a property on an entry form. A Form can contain properties that are required by the system, as well as properties that have been added by the Shift Log Administrator.
Properties and Custom Properties

Entries

Shift Log 4.0 builds on Explorer’s Entries subsystem, which is the cornerstone of our ‘single event’ philosophy. An entry is a record that connects data in such a way that it can be accessed by different P2 Explorer modules, such as Shift Log, Sentinel, and A-Plus. This means that an event in Sentinel can also be shared as an event in A-Plus, Case Management, and Shift Log. This results in a seamless user experience for the end user, team collaboration resulting in less double-handling of data, and contributing to better decision-making.

In Shift Log terms, when an operator makes a log entry, they are filling in part of the story. Another user in Case Management (for example) may pick up that entry and add further information to it, building upon the foundation until the full picture emerges.

 


Workbooks

Workbooks are like the Log View tree structure in previous versions of Shift Log, however they are much more powerful because of their tighter integration with Explorer. In future versions of Shift Log, Workbooks will also be able to contain Explorer pages and trends, paving the way for role-centric workflows.

Workbooks Menu

Workbooks will appear in a Workbooks menu list, accessible from the shortcut menu on the left. Workbooks are arranged in alphabetical order, and users will only see the ones that they have privileges to view.

Workbook Information

Workbooks have the added benefit of being part of Explorer’s collaboration network, so you can click the Info button in the ribbon to open the Explore panel on the right. Here you can find and add information about the workbook, including Knowledge Management and Commentary. You can also add the workbook to the site menu, by using the classification system developed for your specific needs.

Workbook Structure

Workbooks have a distinct Look and feel, with a dark blue header and page list on the left. The workbook header contains the main functions specific to the workbook and shift, such as the Shift Navigator and Publishing function. Additional functions that apply to the workbook are contained in the workbook ribbon.

Workbooks can be configured in various layouts. In this version of Shift Log, the Shift Log administrator can configure workbooks to have a grid layout with any number of rows or columns. In the grid, cells can be configured to contain Log Entries, Case Entries, or General Entries.

Ultimately, Shift Log administrators will also be able to embed other Explorer components inside a workbook, such as charts, which will allow users to view production data alongside log entries pertaining to that data.

Shift Navigation

Our redesigned Shift Navigator makes it easy for you to select the shift you need. First click the date, and then click the shift. Click Apply, and you’re done.

If you want to change the month or the year, click the name of the month at the top and then choose the month, or keep clicking to change the year.

You can also click the current date at the bottom to get back to today’s date, if you get lost.

The Shift Picker also retains the familiar quick navigation controls:

Back or Forward 7 Days

 Previous or Next Shift 

 Go To Current Shift

The Shift Navigator also remembers where you left off, so if you reload the browser, the shift you had selected will be the one that is shown when the browser is reloaded.

Auto Refresh

Workbooks are, by default, set to automatically refresh the displayed entry data every minute. Users can choose to turn this off if they do not want or need the data to be updated, such as if there is only one person using the forms in that workbook.

Hiding the Workbook Pages List

In a workbook, you can see more of the workbook contents by hiding the page list. Click the << arrows to the left of the workbook title to hide the page list, and click them again to unhide the list.

Click << to hide the page list: Click >> to show the page list:

 


Entering Logs

Entering logs in Shift Log 4 is very similar to the previous versions. In the log panel, click the + button.

 

The entry dialog has been modernised and improved to allow better collaboration and surfacing of information.

Date Picker

The new Date and Time Picker allows you to choose the date and time for a field. At the top, it displays the selected date and time, and you can click “Set to current time” at the bottom to automatically choose the current date and time.

Like the Shift Picker, you can also click the month above the calendar to drill down into changing month and/or year.

Text Formatting

Shift Log allows you to format some text fields in entry forms. You can identify these fields in two ways:

Multiline fields have a formatting toolbar embedded in the field, and are usually large fields to enable lots of text to be entered. The toolbar provides the following formatting functions: Bold, Italics, Underline, Font size, Text and Background colours, Insert links, Numbered lists, and bullet lists.

In Commentary fields, the formatting toolbar becomes visible when you highlight some text.

Formatted text also appears in the log panel grid.


Adding Attachments

You can attach photos, documents, and other files to an entry, from the Attachments tab to the right of the entry fields. You can either drag and drop a file into the grey box, or click the grey box to select a file using Windows. On a tablet device, you can tap the grey box and use the camera to upload a photo.


Auditing

The history of changes to an entry is easily available from the Auditing tab in the Edit Entry dialog. Auditing will track all changes to fields associated with the entry. There are two types of changes that can occur to a field:

  • Insert: A value has been added to a field for the first time.
  • Update: A change has been made to the value of an existing field.


Due Date

If an entry has the Due Date field, the field will have a red background colour if the current date is past the due date and the entry is still open. This is highlighted in both the workbook and the entry form.

Overdue item in the workbook: Overdue field in the entry form:

When a user is assigned to an entry, and the entry has a Due Date field, the user will receive a notification, with the date identified.

If the entry is a Case Entry, the Due Date field will also be highlighted in Case Management.


Search

All users are able to search text fields in entries for Shift Log and Case Management, by using the new Search bar in the upper right of the P2 Explorer header.

Users can type the text to search for directly into the search bar and then press Enter to get immediate results.

On the left of the page, users can apply various filters to limit the search range.

On the right of the page, results are present in two ways: as a list or as a grid.

List view: Grid view:

In the List view, clicking the entry title or the icon on the right, opens the entry in the Explore panel, where you can update values if the entry is not locked.


Shift Handover

A workbook can be published by clicking the Publish icon in the workbook header. This locks log entries for that shift and prevents further edits to the log. Note that only logs using the Log Entry Form are locked; Case Entries and General Entries are not locked.

After publishing, a lock symbol indicates which log is locked against further entry.

You can click the same Publish icon to unpublish the workbook.

For workbooks that have a Handover Report configured, the report can be printed by clicking the Print button in the workbook header. The handover report can be printed at any time, not only after a workbook has been published.

 


Exporting Logs

You can export the data for a particular log panel to a .csv file, by clicking the Export button in the log panel header. This will download a .csv file onto your machine.

 


Filtering Logs

Users of Shift Log can apply filters to a log to further restrict what is being displayed, by clicking the Filter button in the log panel header.

This will open a dialog box containing the filtering options. Here is what you can do with the filtering options:

  • Apply a previously-saved filter, by choosing it from the drop-down list in the top right.
  • Save a new filter, by clicking the Save Filter button at the bottom left.
  • Reset the criteria back to blank, by clicking the Clear Filter button at the top. This does not affect saved filters.

You can filter on any field available in the log, even on fields that have been hidden from view. To filter on a field, first choose the field, then set the type of comparison you want to make, and then state the value that you want the filter to meet.

The filter criteria can be grouped into sections. For each Filter Group, all of the criteria within the group must be met for the filter to work (each criteria is a logical AND operation).

However, the filter groups themselves act as a logical OR operation, where any of the filter groups can be true for the filter to return a value.

Saving a Filter

After you have defined a filter on a log, you can save that filter to use again whenever that log’s form is used in a workbook. For example, if you save a filter with the name “Environmental” for a workbook that uses a Case Entry log with an HSE form, then wherever that HSE form is used, you will see the “Environmental” filter.

You can also delete a filter by clicking the red bin icon next to the filter in the list.

 


Simplified Configuration

Shift Log back-end administration and configuration is done mainly in P2 Server Management, while creating and configuring workbooks is done in P2 Explorer.

There are 3 main sections in Server Management that are relevant for Shift Log:

  •  General Server configuration:
    The main setting of interest here is Named Lists, which is where you can configure pre-defined custom pick-lists.
  •  Shift Log administration:
    This contains the main workbook setup and configuration, with forms and fields being the backbone of setting up entry forms.
  •  Sites:
    This is where you can configure the sites and shift patterns that are at the core of Shift Log.

Fields

Fields are the properties that appear in an entry: in the log panel table and in the entry dialog. Fields must be assigned to a Form in order for them to appear in Shift Log. The same field (such as Category) can be assigned to many forms, so they are created separately.

To create a field, simply click Add Field and then fill in the details on the right. The following types of fields may be added:

  • Boolean: This field will appear as a check box in the dialog, and in that table will appear as a True or False value.
  • Datetime: In the dialog, this will allow users to choose a date and time by using a date picker. The date and time will appear in the table in the format that the administrator chooses.
  • Decimal: A number field which allows the administrator to specify the number of decimal places.
  • Entity: In the dialog, the user can type part of the entity’s name, and the resulting list will show the top 10 matches to choose from. The administrator can choose to restrict the available entities to a certain hierarchy or template.
  • Integer: A number field in which users can only enter a whole number.
  • List: In the dialog, the user can choose items from a pre-defined Named List. The administrator can specify whether only a single item should be selected, or if multiple items can be selected.
  • Text: Free-format text that the user can enter. The administrator can choose whether this should be a single line of text, or if more text can be added. A text formatting toolbar will be displayed if multi-line text is chosen.
  • User: In the dialog, the user can type part of a person’s name, and the resulting list will show the top 10 matches to choose from.

Some fields come configured by default and are reserved for system use.

Named Lists

There is often a requirement to present users with a specific list of choices to choose from – for example priority, category, and so on. These lists can be created in P2 Server Management as a Named List. Once created, a named list can be used for a field in Shift Log, and other places as well.

Forms

A Form defines both the type of entries that will be created, and the fields that the entries will contain. Forms can be:

 Case Entry: An ongoing issue that also appears in Case Management. These entries remain visible in Shift Log until they are closed.

 General Entry: An ongoing issue that only appears in Shift Log. Similar to Case entries, they will remain visible in Shift Log until they are closed.

 Log Entry: An entry (“comment” in previous Shift Log versions) that only appears in a particular shift.

When a workbook is configured to contain a Case Entry, for example, you need to specify the Case Entry Form that will determine the fields.

Case, General, and Log entries all have a different set of default system fields associated with them. In addition to these, an administrator can add further fields as required. The default fields for each type are:

System Fields General Entry Case Entry Log Entry
  • Created By
  • Created Date
  • ID
  • Last Modified By
  • Last Modified Date
  • Assigned To
  • Closed Date
  • Description
  • Status
  • Time Open
  • Assigned To
  • Category
  • Closed Date
  • Description
  • Due Date
  • Entity
  • Priority
  • Procedure
  • Status
  • Time Open
  • Title
  • Description
  • Event Time

The fields on a Form can optionally have default values, be made mandatory, or be made editable or read-only.

In the Defaults section, the administrator can also choose various options for how the field is to appear in Shift Log: both in the log table view and in the edit dialog view.

For the table view, you can choose to show or hide a field, and how wide the table column should be for that field. You can also drag and drop each field to change the order in which it appears. Depending on the type of field, there may be additional configuration options.

For the dialog view, You can also choose whether to show or hide the field, and you can drag and drop to change the order. Depending on the type of field, there may be additional configuration options.

 

Defining Sites and Shifts

Shift Log allows you to define shifts on a per-site basis. For each site, you specify the details of the site (name, description, etc) and the shift pattern for that site.

A shift pattern is a 24-hour period divided into equal portions of time, with a start time being the time the first shift starts. You can also specify the length of the shifts in that pattern. Shifts can be 6, 8, 12, 24 hours long.

Shifts have a name, and you can also disable shifts – for example, if you only want a single 8-hour shift per day.

Creating a Workbook

To create a workbook, simply click the New Workbook button in the Home tab of the ribbon.

Configuring a Workbook

It is now much easier to configure Shift Log, with Workbooks being the heart and soul of the system. A workbook is usually organised around a set of activities for a role. You can structure the workbook to have as many pages as required to record activities for the role. You can also rename and remove pages from the workbook.

Workbooks are configured in a similar way to pages in P2 Explorer. First, you choose the layout of the workbook by setting the number of rows and columns in the Grid Layout component. Then, you add a Shift Log component corresponding to the type of entry you want to create.

There are 3 steps to configuring the component: first, specify the Form you want to use, and optionally apply a sort order and/or grouping. Next, you can choose to filter the entries by one or more fields. You can also drag and drop the filters to change the order in which they apply.

Finally, you can fine-tune how the fields are displayed in the table view and in the entry dialog. You can specify a different name for the field, and you can override certain settings if required. You can also choose to hide fields.

Handover Reports

Handover reports are configured in a very similar way to the entry components, by adding the Shift Handover component to the page. Only pages with a Shift Handover component can be printed.

You need to add a Shift Handover component for each Form you want to include in the handover report, and you apply Filters and Column settings to configure them exactly the same way as you have configured them in the workbook.

We recommend including the Report Header only on the first Shift Handover component on the page – this will display the report title and shift details.

There are 2 important details for the Shift Handover page. The first is to set the rows in your grid to have Dynamic height – this will ensure the report displays all entries and will print nicely.

Secondly, in the workbook settings, you need to specify which page of the workbook is the handover report.

Saving a Workbook

When creating a workbook, you need to save the workbook itself as well as the individual pages inside the workbook. There are 3 ways to save:

  • Save Page: Save the currently selected page. The page will be saved into the same workspace as the workbook.
  • Save Workbook: Save the workbook settings – note that any modified or new pages in the workbook will not be saved, and the workbook will remain open for editing. Workbooks are saved into a workspace.
  • Finish Workbook: Save the workbook settings and pages, and then close edit mode to view the workbook.

Workbook Settings & Security

You can set security and other settings for a workbook when you are editing it. Click the Settings button in the ribbon to open the Workbook Settings panel. You can specify the following settings:

Security privileges are inherited from the workspace the workbook is saved into. You can restrict access to a workbook by removing the View privilege on that role. For details on locking down a workbook, refer to the Help Center article Locking Down an Object.

It is also now much easier to add a user to a Role from Workbook Settings. When you hover over the role, an Add User  button appears. Click this button to select and add the user.

 


Explorer 4.8 Support

Shift Log 4.0 has been built from the ground up to be unified with P2 Explorer 4.8 and later. Entities in Explorer are now simply a part of Shift Log, without needing to be especially imported. New technology allows Case Entries to also appear in Case Management.

Updated Framework

When Shift Log is enabled in P2 Explorer 4.8, you will see a minor change to the look and feel of the surrounding framework. The grey header has been changed to a black header, and a new shortcut menu panel has been added to the left. The hierarchy and tag navigators can now be accessed from here, without needing to go to the ribbon.

Explorer Framework Version 4.8 with Shift Log enabled:

Explorer Framework with Shift Log not enabled:

You can use the menu icon in the top left corner to show or hide the shortcut menu panel.

 

 

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