Integrate with GPS Providers for your Asset Locations

We're proud to announce that TrakIT now supports GPS integration with multiple GPS Tracking providers. Whether you're just using a single provider or multiple providers, we can connect to the provider's API and get location information about your assets and display them on a single map.

When location tracking is enabled, the Last Location column is displayed in the Asset List along with a 'View Map' link. The Assets can be trucks, trailers or even portable GPS devices directly as shown in the example below.

The Last Location column displays the time when the last location update was received from the GPS provider. A green light indicates that the location was received less than an hour ago. An orange light means the location was received more than an hour ago but less than 12 hours ago. A location older than 12 hours is displayed as red.

Click the 'View Map' button to view the location of all selected/filtered Assets on a map.

If you wish to push asset locations to TrakIT via an API or web-hook, we support that too.

Please contact TrakIT Support if you need to integrate with your GPS provider.

Departments to merge into Roles

With the introduction of the new Role Management module, there is an overlap in the functionality of the Department functions in TrakIT.

Currently users can be assigned to Departments and Events/Data fields can also be assigned to departments. Events/Data fields that have been assigned to departments can only be updated by users belonging to that department.

Going forward, Workflow Events & Data will no longer be assigned to departments but rather to Roles. By default, each Event and Data item will be accessible to all roles. It will be possible for users to restrict Events and Data fields to specific Roles - whether completely hidden, read-only or update-able.

These changes will be released on individual installations, while porting the existing "Departments" into User Roles. If you face any issues with access to Events or Data fields, please let us know immediately.

Eventually, "Departments" will be deprecated from TrakIT completely.

Thank you for your cooperation. Please contact TrakIT Support for any questions or concerns.

New User Role Management (for Admins)

This article is a 'must read' for TrakIT Administrators for major upcoming changes in TrakIT.

Over the past many years, we've received many requests for enabling or disabling some features or sections in TrakIT for specific users or groups. Until now, TrakIT had a few fixed operations roles that the users could have - namely: Read-Only, Operations, PowerUser, Admin and SysAdmin. These roles had fixed accessibility and permissions across the application. In addition, we had several finance roles for various actions in the finance module.

As TrakIT keeps evolving, newer requirements and newer modules are added to the system. Maintaining the same amount of flexibility with fixed roles has been increasingly more challenging with clients having very specific requirements about users roles and the actions they are permitted to make.

We have been working very hard over the last few weeks on a completely new User Role Management module that will give you unlimited flexibility over how you can control what users see and can do in TrakIT. Over the next week or two, we will releasing the new Role Management Module.

The previous roles (with the exception of the SysAdmin), will be deprecated from TrakIT. The SysAdmin, as before will have complete and unrestricted access to all sections of TrakIT. Therefore, it is imperative and there are only one or two SysAdmins for TrakIT in your organization.

Roles will not be fixed any more and they can be created and modified by the SysAdmin. Additionally, each action for a role can be defined in a comprehensive list of actions available for the whole application.

User Role Management

The Admin > Role Management page is accessible only by SysAdmins. The page has three sections:

• User Role Assignment
• Role Customisation
• Role Masters

Assigning User Roles

When creating a new user, you can specify an initial Role for the users, subsequently, you may assign more roles. A user can now have multiple roles.

To assign a role to a user, simply select the user on the left table, click the 'Add Role' button, select the role and click 'Add'.

To remove a role, click the remove icon next to the role. The changes are immediately applied to the user's profile even if he is logged on. The user does not need to logout and login again for the role changes to have effect.

Role Customisation

To customise the actions that a role may make, you first need to select the Role you want to customise form the drop-down list.

Every action that can be taken in the TrakIT is listed in various Sections, which are then grouped together. There are currently five major groups, listed alphabetically.

1. Admin
2. Finance
3. Operations
4. Reports
5. System

Each Group has multiple sections listed. Clicking on a Group expands the Group and displays all the sections within the Group. Clicking on a Section expands it and displays all the actions within that section.

Shown below is an example where the SysAdmin is customising the 'Basic Access' role. The action for uploading a file for bulk update has been granted. The Upload action belongs to the Bulk Updates section that belongs to the Operations Group.

Once you assign/remove actions for the role, you must click on the 'Update' button to save changes.


Role Masters

The Role Masters tab allows SysAdmins to create new roles or remove roles as required. The previous roles in TrakIT will now be visible as "Fixed" roles that cannot be renamed. Eventually, these will be unlocked as well.

Summary

The new User Role Management module will provide unlimited flexibility in how you can control what users do. Every action in TrakIT can now be controlled and can mimic your company policies on what users can or cannot do. This will greatly increase the security of your data as well as prevent un-authorised or accidental updates or changes in TrakIT.

If you face any issues with user permissions or if you have any questions, please contact TrakIT Support.

Getting the distance between Depots

TrakIT can use the Google Maps API to calculate the driving distance between two depots. To enable this feature, make sure you have set the locations of the depots in Admin > Geography & Access. Only Administrators have access to do this.

On the Work Order where you need to calculate the distance, make sure the Origin and Destination depots are set in the Header. Then, click 'Depot Distance' from the WO Menu.

This opens a popup displaying the Origin and Destination Depot locations as well as the addresses (if found).

It displays the kilometer distance as well as the driving time between the two locations. The driving time is based on current traffic conditions. Click the Open Routing in Google Maps link below the map to open another window in which you can see the full details of the route and also plan alternate routing.

If any of the depots is missing from the work order or doesn't have its location set, the distance cannot be calculated.

For any questions or information, please contact TrakIT Support.

Entity Data Fields

With the latest update, we have added Data Fields for Entities. This option has been added for all the entities under Entity management and is to be used for storing any extra data about entities that isn't present in the header fields.

For example: Contract Expiry, Account Manager, Secondary Address, Etc. You  can create any number for data fields for each Entity Type.

To create Entity Data Fields, go to Admin > Master Tables and select "Data Field Definitions". Select "Entity Fields" and then the Entity type from the drop downs. Click the create button to add new Fields each with a unique name and code. 

All these data fields will be shown under Entity Data tab on the Entity Detail page for specific entities.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TrakIT Support.

Search a Number Range in Data

With the latest update, you can now search for a number range in  the Data fields of work orders. This option has been added to the Ops page Data filter that can be added using the customize filter option.

Select the Data Field you want to search for and select the 'Search Mode' as  Number Range.

The following options will be available:

• Equal To - The data value should be exactly equal to the specified value [ = ]
• Not Equal To - The data value can be any value except the specified value [ <> ]
• More Than - The data value should be more than the value specified  [ > ]
• Not Less Than - The data value should not be less than the value specified [ >= ]
• Less Than - The data value should be less than the value specified [ < ]
• Not More Than - The data value should not be more than the value specified [ <= ]
• In Range - The data value should be in between Min and Max values (inclusive)
• Outside Range - The data value should not be between Min and Max (inclusive)

Enter the number in the box provided and click Search. In the case of "In Range" and "Outside Range", enter the Min and Max values. Only work orders that have the relevant search conditions met will be displayed. Please note that this search criteria will only work for numeric fields and computed fields that have numbers in them.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TrakIT Support.

Know Whats Happening When

With the latest update of TrakIT, we've added a new page to help view events on a Calendar. What you see is a simple calendar (starting with the current month) with each date showing the number of events happening on that date.

A sample calendar displaying the number of "Container Cleared" on each date is show below.

Clicking the date displays the complete list of events for that day, including the links to the work order and the workflow it belongs to.

The calendar also includes "Info Only" events and Data fields that store dates. You can filter the figures by the Workflow or the Master Event.

As this is a new feature, please do let us know your suggestions or feedback for improvement. If you are facing any issues, please contact TrakIT Support.

Multi-select Data Fields & More

Among the many updates and features released in TrakIT over the last month, a few useful ones are described below.

Multi-select Data Fields

As you're aware the Data field for a workflow could hold a list of items from which one could be selected. With the latest update, you can allow the Data field to hold multiple items.

When defining a list, just specify the Multi-Select field with the maximum number of items that can be selected or select 'Unlimited' for no limit.

Once this is done, you will be able to select multiple items for the Data field. Each item selected is displayed on a separate line. The selection of items is high-lighted on the drop-down list and clicking on the item in the list toggles the selection of the item.

Shown below is an example where a user has selected 4 out of the many documents available on the list.

Please note that manual entry is not possible in a multi-select list. If manual entry is required, set it as a single item list and select the option "Non-list Items Allowed" when defining the Data field in the workflow.

Floating Save Button

With the number Events and Data fields growing, it became cumbersome to keep scrolling up to save changes made to events or data fields. This is now solved by a floating 'Save' button that pops up when the original Save button scrolls out of view.

The floating Save button is only visible when on then Events or Data tab.

Commodity Auto-complete

The commodity field is a free-text field present in work orders. When making the same entries again is different work orders, it is easy to make spelling mistakes or write the commodity is a different way. With the new auto-complete feature, you can pick from the previously entered commodities to save time and maintain consistency in data.

If a new commodity needs to be entered, simple ignore the list and enter the commodity as usual.

RegEx Validation

Data fields can now be validated using Regular Expressions. A Regular Expression is a sequence of characters that defines a pattern against which the user input can be validated against.

Regular Expressions can help validate user input against a variety of cases such as phone numbers, email addresses, special numbers, codes, numeric expressions, and many other cases. 

This can get a bit technical so TrakIT Support will assist you in setting up any validation expressions your require. A full explanation of Regular Expressions is beyond the scope of this blog. For guidance on what RegEx is, see Regular Expressions.There are hundreds of tutorials on the subject.

Close or Cancel Work Orders 

Event / Data actions can now close or cancel work orders based on conditions and schedules. For more details on setting up Actions for Events and Data fields, see Automation With Event/Data Actions. In addition to sending, emails or messages, you can now choose the action to close or cancel the work order.

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There are many other changes, features, fixes that we keep developing and releasing. If you have a cool feature that you'd like TrakIT to have, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll do our best to implement it.

And as always, please contact TrakIT Support for any assistance required.

Customized Columns

With the latest update of TrakIT, it is possible to now customize columns based on header fields, events and data fields. This is applicable on the main operations, finance and invoice pages.

This customization can be done by the TrakIT support and can include custom fields as well as computed fields on the headers.

An example header is shown below:

Specific fields can also be chosen to be sort keys if applicable.

Customization can also be done for individual users as per their preferences.

For customizing the columns in your installation of TrakIT, please contact TrakIT Support.

Automation with Event / Data Actions

With the latest update of TrakIT, workflow automation has taken a new dimension!

For every event or data field in a workflow, you can now define one or more actions that take place immediately, conditionally or at a scheduled time. These action can send out emails, chat messages or SMS messages for a variety of content types to customisable recipients.

Lets take a look at defining an action:

Creating an Action for an Event or Data Field

Go the Admin > Workflow and select a workflow. Click on the Detail icon for the Event or Data field you want to define the action for. You will see a new tab: Actions.

Click on 'Add Action'. You will be required to define the details of the action. You may define any number of actions for each event or data field. The details for each field is give below:

The Action Trigger

This defines how the action is triggered. There are three options available:

On Change - The action is triggered whenever the Event or Data field changes. It is triggered on any change, even NA or TBA or blank values being entered.

On Condition - The action is triggered whenever the value of the Event or Data field changes and a pre-defined condition is met. You will need to specify the condition. 'Value' must be used to test the condition. For example, you can specify the condition as: VALUE='Truck' or VALUE='Train' . In this case, the action will be triggered only if the Value of the field matches Truck or Train. Conditions can be complex as well. Please contact TrakIT Support if you have queries on this.

On Date/Time - The action is triggered a pre-set number of hours before or after the time specified in the Event of Data field (For Data fields, this is applicable only for Date fields). You can specify the number of hours before or after the event, the action must take place. For example, you can trigger the action 24 hours before the ETA of a vessel or truck, or 48 hours after Delivery of Goods.

Action To Take

This defines what action is to be taken. There are three self-explanatory options available. More options will be added in the future. For sending SMS messages, your TrakIT installation must be configured to send messages through your SMS gateway. You may need to define one or more SMS templates in Admin > Master Tables > Message Templates. Please contact TrakIT Support if you need to configure this.

Content Type:

Once you've selected the action to take you can define what must be sent. Depending on the option selected for Action to Take, you will have a number of options available.

Simple Message - You will be able to specify a simple message to be sent. Some placeholders are available as shown.

Message Template - You will need to select a message template defined in Admin > Master Tables > Message Templates

Form PDF  - You will need to select a pre-defined form. The form will be automatically generated and attached to the email as a PDF.

Form Text, HTML - You will need to select a pre-defined form. The form will be automatically populated and inserted in to the email as plain text or as an HTML based email.

Recipients

Based on the Action, you be able to define multiple recipients or select one or more entities from the work order whose event/data field caused the action.

In case of SMS Messages, you can specify phone numbers directly as long as they are preceded with a plus symbol (+) and the country code. Example: +91-9876543210

TrakIT will extract the phone number or email from the selected Entity as needed.

How the Action Applies

When you create an Action - it will affect only those events or data fields that are saved after the action has been created. The action takes place based on the trigger defined.

You can see the details of individual actions under the Event or Data field details by clicking on the 'i' icon next to the event/data name in the work order.

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Actions are very powerful tools for automation. Please contact TrakIT Support for assistance. And as this is a new addition to TrakIT, please do let us know about any issues, bugs or unexpected behavior and we will resolve them asap!

Thank you for your support!

Asset Management in TrakIT

With the latest update of TrakIT, we have added a new Asset Management module to help you manage your assets used for work orders in a more systematic way.

The first step is to define the types of Assets for your organisation. Any number of Asset Types can be available. For e.g. Trucks, Trailers, Drivers, Products, GPS Units, Ships, Office Equipment, Forklifts and so on.

In the example below, we have 3 assets types defined. Please contact TrakIT Support with the list of Asset Types you would need in your TrakIT installation.

Each Asset Type can have Categories as well as Fields that are defined in Admin > Master Tables > Assets Master. Select an Asset Type and create the categories and data fields for the Asset Type. The Data fields for the asset are similar to the Data items created for a Work Order. There is no limit on the number of Data fields for an Asset Type.

Once you have created the categories and data fields for each Asset Type, you can open System > Asset Management to add assets.

All the assets will be listed as per the Asset Type selected. You can search for assets using the filters provided. 

To view the details of any Asset, click on any asset from the list. The Asset Detail page will open:

If you want to link this asset to any other asset, click on the plus icon and select the Asset Type and Asset Name where this asset needs to be linked. For example: a trailer and driver can be linked to a truck. All the linked assets will be listed under 'Linked Assets' tab.

All the Asset data will reflect under 'Asset Data' tab, more fields can be added here by adding them in in Assets Masters under Master tables.

Adding Assets to Work Orders

Assets can be linked to work orders in TrakIT. In order to achieve this, you must first enable Assets in the Workflow definition. Go to Admin > Workflow Definitions. Select a workflow, modify the header and enable Assets.

Once this is enabled, an 'Assets' section appears under the Header section on a work order. Click the icon to add a new asset. Select the Asset Type, Asset Owner and the Asset. The selected asset is displayed in the Asset section. Any number of assets can be added on the work order. When an asset is added to the work order, any other assets linked to the asset are also added at the same time.

Details and Fields of assets that have been linked to work orders can be exported in Advanced Reports and Forms.

Assets also support location updates via APIs. For more information on updating Asset Locations, please contact TrakIT Support.

We will be adding more features to Asset Management in the future. If you find any issues or have suggestions or feedback, please do let us know.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TrakIT Support.

Introducing TrakIT Chat!

With the latest update of TrakIT, we have added TrakIT Chat to ease information sharing and communication process between users.

You must have noticed a message indicator on the bottom left side of the main TrakIT window. When you receive a new message or messages, the indicator starts flashing with the number of messages received.

To open TrakIT Chat window, click on the message indicator. The below window opens:

All the internal users will be listed on the left side of the window. Count of users who are online on TrakIT Chat will be shown above the list of users. You can search of any TrakIT user with there first/last name as mentioned in the list. A green light () next to a user means that the user currently has the TrakIT Chat window open. A yellow light () indicates that the user has TrakIT open but the Chat Window is not open. The gray/off light () indicates that the user it not using TrakIT.

To start a chat or view messages from a user, just select the user to view the conversation with that user. Enter the message in the message box and you can start or continue your conversation.

If you want to link any work order, enter it's 11-digit container number or enter the work order number in the format WOxxxx (e.g. WO12345 or TMPU1234567). TrakIT will automatically recognize the container number or work order and add a reference link to the work order (as shown in above screenshot).

We will be adding more features to TrakIT Chat in the future (including receiving System Notifications and Alerts). If you find any issues or have suggestions, please do let us know.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TrakIT Support.

Populate Data when creating new shipments

With this latest update, you can now notice the new 'Data' tab when creating new shipments. This tab gives you an easy way to update the shipment details that you already know.

Only those Data fields that apply to the Shipment will appear here. Data fields that are work order specific will not appear here.

An important point to note is that there may be validation rules in place for the Data items. If any of the values entered fail the validation, they will not be added to the work order(s) created and there will be no notification for the same. This validation cannot be done prior to the creation of work orders as there may be complex rules dependent on the work order parameters.

For any questions or concerns, please contact TrakIT Support.