With the most recent release of Infralink/IMMS (v3.5.32), we are happy to offer the following new features and functionality.

System Construction and Commissioning

InfraLink v3.5.32 introduces improvements to two of our newer features while enhancing our ongoing and widely used Task Based (production) workflows. Learn more about these enhancements below.

PowerDB Integration

InfraLink and PowerDB have worked to provide integration of the Configuration Management, Issue Management and Project Management capabilities of InfraLink with the test form library, acceptance and maintenance test results of PowerDB. This collaboration streamlines the planning and execution of testing activities while improving the integrity of the data in both systems.

This integration allows Project Management within InfraLink to identify Tasks that shall be performed in PowerDB, with InfraLink then creating and managing both the Assets and work forms in PowerDB. Technicians can work in their native PowerDB environment, with the integration managing the exchange of information between the two systems. Once a technician completes the InfraLink-defined test forms and documents any deficiencies discovered during testing, InfraLink will pull the completed test results and update the InfraLink configuration accordingly. InfraLink will simultaneously create Cases for documented deficiencies that will be tracked and managed via InfraLink’s Issue Management capabilities.   

To learn more about PowerDB, please click here. To learn more about this integration, please contact the InfraLink Helpdesk.

Milestone Progress Report

The Milestone Progress Report is one of the first reporting features that analyzes the flow of work based on the System Hierarchy and associated topology. The introduction of the Milestone Progress Report, with the release of InfraLink v3.5.29, allowed Users to quickly and accurately view the outstanding work for a System, in a percentage format. Progress reporting includes the Tasks that require completion for a System Element and/or the dependencies defined for the associated Components, Links/Connections and Terminations.

We have introduced some minor improvements dedicated to maintaining consistency across InfraLink, such as the display of Task and System Element Status colors according to configuration in the User Interface as well as an enhanced consideration of the exact count of Tasks per System Element.

Task-Based Workflows

Task-based workflows are currently utilized in a wide range of use cases from Installation and Commissioning to Task Order Administration and Design Management. With the v3.5.32 release, InfraLink introduces minor improvements dedicated to increasing usability and confidence in Project data.

During the course of a Project, baseline as well as Work Package Template configurations can evolve due to ongoing changes, such as refined hierarchies, altered System Element Types, and production modifications. These changes can lead to duplicated Tasks when:

• System Elements move from one work package to another within a single Work Package Template
• System Elements move from one work package to another within various Work Package Templates
• System Elements contain completed Tasks in inactive Work Package Templates and open Tasks in active Work Package Templates

The above can result in orphaned Tasks. An orphaned Task is a Task that is in the In Progress or Completed (i.e., not New) status, but it is associated with a System Element that no longer meets the criteria for an active Work Package Template (WPT). That is, an orphaned Task is a Task that would be deleted by the Work Package Generator (WPG) if it was in a New status. 

The Work Package Generator now proactively deals with these orphaned Tasks, recognizing and repurposing them. That is, when an orphaned Task utilizes the same Task Template as a newly created Task for the same System Element, InfraLink will remove the new Task and apply the orphaned Task in its place. 

What You Will See in the User Interface:

• Two new Filters in the All Tasks Grid View: 
  • Orphaned: Users will be able to select between viewing Orphaned Tasks, removing Orphaned Tasks from the grid view, and viewing both Orphaned and Non-Orphaned Tasks.
  • Moved: Users will be able to select between viewing Tasks that have been moved to a different Work package, Tasks that have not yet moved to a different Work Package, and a combination of both. 
• Widget that denotes all Orphaned Tasks:
  • All Orphaned Tasks are easily noticed in the All Tasks Grid View due to the triangle icon to the left of the Task Name.

System O&M

The release of InfraLink v3.5.32 expands the already robust set of operations and maintenance capabilities, including the introduction of a two-tier on-call calendar, work progress notifications for at-risk and past-due SLA metrics, and Inventory notifications for trackable Assets. Learn more about these features, which focus on making O&M teams more responsive.

Inventory Notifications - Add Trackable Assets Utilization Triggers

Inventory managers have long relied on InfraLink Inventory Notification Rules to stay informed when certain Asset Models reached defined minimum quantities. When configuring a new Notification Rule, the user would define the Contracts, Asset Models, storage locations and statuses to be counted and compared against that minimum quantity.  

Inventory Notification Rules now offer options to monitor and provide proactive notification related to Asset deployment, utilization or age. The Notification Rule definitions now offer more extensive Asset Matching Criteria, such as the Top-Level System Element or Top-Level Location associations applicable to deployed Assets, and Notification Rules can monitor Assets' Service Time (i.e., time deployed) or Useful Time (i.e., general age) against user-defined thresholds. Accordingly, maintenance teams can be notified when Assets are nearing their end of life.

What You Will See in the User Interface:

• The (New) Notification Rule form now offers additional Asset Matching Criteria, including Asset Types, Manufacturer, Top-Level System Elements, Top-Level Locations, Assignees and Owners.
• The (New) Notification Rule form allows Asset Matching Criteria to include user-defined thresholds based on the Asset's Useful Time or Service Time.
• Notification rules will:
  • monitor the Asset's hours deployed against a specified Service Time threshold defined as a number of hours or a percentage of the Asset Model's Service Lifetime; or
  • monitor the Asset's general age against a specified Useful Time threshold defined as number of hours or a percentage of the Asset Model's Useful Lifetime.
• Note: Service Lifetime and Useful Lifetime are typically manufacturer-defined values that InfraLink stores at the Model level. InfraLink may apply a default setting for Asset Useful Lifetime and Service Lifetime, which is 5 years.

Work Progress Notifications for At Risk and Past Due Handling Metrics  

When supporting clients and their systems, maintenance teams must comply with Contract-defined service level agreements (SLA). InfraLink Cases, which report and log work associated with system failures, support requests and other issues of varying priority and track Handling Metrics against those SLA requirements. Because a maintenance team's success is largely based on SLA compliance, InfraLink is expanding features to encourage real-time awareness of team performance.

Work Progress Notifications are now configurable for at risk and past due Handling Metrics, automatically escalating high priority Cases to assignees, supervisors, and/or other project stakeholders. 

For example, a new InfraLink Case is created and assigned to a Technician. The technician receives an automated notification, and per the Contract-defined SLA, has two hours to acknowledge the urgent issue. If the technician does not take action on that Case within a set time period (e.g., 1 hour), a Work Progress Notification is automatically sent to the supervisor. 

What You Will See in the User Interface:

• The (New) Subscription for Work Item (Case) Notification and the (Edit) Subscription for Work Item (Case) Notification forms now include two new events which can trigger notification to subscribers:
  • Case Metric At Risk
  • Case Metric Past Due
• The same form also now includes a Handling Metric Notice section, where Administrators define criteria for the new Handling Metric events. A single Work Item (Case) Notification can be configured for one or more Handling Metrics.
  • Note: If Case Metric At Risk event is selected, the At Risk box must be checked for at least one Handling Metric in the new Handling Metric Notice section.
  • Note: If Case Metric Past Due event is selected, the Past Due (Late) box must be checked for at least one Handling Metric the new Handling Metric Notice section.
• The Handling Metric configurations are included in the notice details panel.

On-Call Calendar Support for Tier-1 and Tier-2 Schedule per Contract  

InfraLink allows Supervisors to define and manage on-call personnel via a User-friendly calendar interface. On-call Users are defined per Contract, and configuration options support automatic Case assignment according to the calendar.

The On-Call Coverage calendar now offers Project Leaders greater flexibility, allowing them to define overlapping calendar entries for the same Contract via tier-1 and tier-2 calendar entries.

Traditionally, the On-Call calendar prohibited overlapping calendar entries per Contract, though it has always supported multiple on-call Users per entry. These rules presented a challenge when various Contract personnel (e.g., technicians and supervisors) had differing on-call shift start times and durations. Project leaders had to create multiple calendar entries to accommodate the overlapping and non-overlapping segments of the shifts. This approach was cumbersome and sometimes resulted in coverage gaps.

Now, two Contract teams with different on-call schedules are easily accommodated via the single calendar. Please note:

• A tier-1 calendar entry and a tier-2 calendar entry for the same Contract can have overlapping durations.
• Two tier-1 calendar entries for the same Contract cannot have overlapping durations.
• Two tier-2 calendar entries for the same Contract cannot have overlapping durations.

What You Will See in the User Interface:

• When creating a new On-Call Coverage calendar entry, the Create On-Call form requires Users to select the desired Tier (i.e., Tier 1 or Tier 2).
• InfraLink supports Auto-Assign capabilities for tier-1 and tier-2 entries via the Create On-Call and Edit On-Call forms.
• The On-Call Coverage view now offers a Tier filter, allowing Users to refine the On-Call Coverage calendar display to, Tier-1, Tier-2 or Both.
• Attempts to create overlapping Tier-1 calendar entries or overlapping Tier-2 calendar entries for the same Contract will result in an error message.

General Scalability and Usability

The release of InfraLink v3.5.32 expands on current access management functionality, introduces a new User Interface within various Details Panels, and enhances signature capabilities in our Instances.Learn more about these features below.

Contract Access Management

Scalability challenges associated with InfraLink's administrative features are a great problem to have. We are fortunate to run Instances with 1200+ active Users! 

Managing permissions and Contract-level access on such Instances can be expansive. Traditionally, only the Instance level admins were able to assign User Roles and provide access to Contracts. Naturally, the approach doesn't scale when the Instance supports a broad range of diverse projects scattered across multiple geographic areas and time zones. The Instance-level admins simply cannot keep up with all projects and do not know all of the Users requesting access to them.

To address this challenge, our new release introduces the ability to manage access at the Contract level (and not at the Instance level). It also introduces the ability for end-Users to request access directly, without creating a separate case or sending a flurry of emails.

Specifically, 

• The new functionality will allow the Instance-level Administrator to configure a project to allow access requests and to specify what User roles can be requested.
  • In the Contract Edit or Create Form, within the "General Contract Properties", there is a new setting titled "Allow Users to Request Access". Selecting that checkbox will allow Users within that Instance to request access to the Contract via the User Interface. 
  • The available Roles for the Users per requested Contract can be specified in the Contract Details Panel under the "Available Roles" section. 
• The Instance-level Administrator will also be able to designate an access manager for each Contract.
• A regular User in the system will be able to review the list of (published) Contracts and request access with one or multiple roles on the Contract.
• An Access Manager, with sufficient permissions (seen below) will be able to Grant or Reject the Contract Access Requests. 
  • Permissions necessary to access the new "Access Requests" grid view accessible via the Configure widget:
    • Contracts → Administrative → Roles and Access Request - Create
    • Contracts → Administrative → Roles and Access Request - Read
    • Contracts → Administrative → Roles and Access Request - Update
• When the access request is submitted, the designated access manager for the specific Contract will receive a notification and will be able to approve or deny the User's access request without having to select the roles, update separate cases, and/or send emails.

As a result, the entirely in-band process will be frictionless while simultaneously improving security by delegating the access management function to the Contract-level access manager directly familiar with the work and Users managed under the said Contract.

Coming Soon - New User Interface for Web Users

We are beginning a gradual rollout of the new User interface. It will offer more intuitive controls, cleaner and less cluttered layout, improved styling and more. While most of it is currently hidden by default, you may be able to discover a few dialogs and a slew of details panels that implement the new design. Please stay tuned for updates on this rollout.