An Information record is a place to record information you have received that you want to share with the coordination centre.

On this page

Overview

The Information module provides a way to store and publish a variety of information including messages, reports and assessments.  Information can be stored in Crisisworks, promoted onto the dashboard, and explicitly published by email and SMS to users.

Information records store and publish intelligence, and are not directly actionable. If actions are required resulting from the information, requests can be added to assign and track specific work. 

Examples of Information may include:

• Bureau of Meteorology weather warnings and updates
• Reports from the field (for example "Tree over Road")
• Road blocks, Relief centre locations
• Map annotations and features of interest
• Announcements and updates to the EOC

The Information module offers different types of information schemas that can be added. You will have the option of choosing what type of information you are creating when adding a new Information record.

Usage

To access the Information register, navigate to Operations > Information using the top menu.

Adding a new information item

To add information to Crisisworks:

1. From any screen, click the New Information button. If you wish to use a specific schema, select it now, otherwise leave it to the default Information.
2. Specify the Source & Validity of the information.
   1. If you are the information source, select "Use my details as the source"
   2. To search and link to an existing contact, select "Select an existing contact"
   3. To add a new contact, select "Add a new contact" and your contact will be added to the current event
   4. Now enter the validity dates. By default, it is valid now and never expires, but certain types of information have more specific dates.
3. Enter all relevant Information in the form
   1. Enter a subject — this is a short message that will be used for short-form publishing, such as SMS messages
   2. Optionally enter additional details — this will be treated like body text of an email
   3. Optionally upload any attachments you have by dragging and dropping them into the Attachments box, or clicking "Add File" to select from a file dialog.
   4. Optionally search for assets (e.g. a property address), or mark a location on the map. If marking a position on the map, you can select a Display Icon to draw the information on maps using that icon. 
4. If you have permission, configure the Communication settings (available August 2021) if you wish to send this information to specific users, otherwise, leave as-is 
   1. If you would like this to appear on the dashboard, click the Promote on dashboard checkbox.
   2. If you would like to send the information, click on the Share this record via email or SMS checkbox.  See Creating Communications from within Register Items for more details.
5. If needed, alter the other fields on the right-hand side
   1. If the item is a high priority item, select the appropriate priority
   2. Set the status to Current (default, meaning the information is currently accurate) or Not Current (the information is not currently accurate)
   3. You can tag your record to make it easier to find 
6. Click Save to save your changes

Editing an existing information item

To edit an existing information record:

1. Browse to Operations > Information to view the Information Datagrid.
2. Use the counters or search system to view the available information records
3. Click the link in the datagrid to view the record
4. Click Edit (if available based on your security) to edit the record 

You cannot change the type field when editing a record. The form works the same as adding new records otherwise.

Promoting an item to the dashboard 

To promote an item to the dashboard, check the box Promote to dashboard located under the Communication heading in the right-hand section of the form.

The item will appear on the dashboard in the Announcements section.

Workflow

The following workflow applies to the information register.

Status

The status field controls the overall validity for information items, as follows. 

Priority

If the priority of a request is set to HIGH or URGENT priority, then a special counter will appear to track these while they are in an active state.

Setting validity dates

The Valid From and Valid To dates specify when the information is current. Note that these dates are informational in nature, and the status of the record does not automatically transition when these dates are reached. 

Setting a review date

If you wish to review the record at a pre-set time, you can set a review date.

1. Expand the Advanced fieldset
2. Check the box Schedule a review
3. Enter a date and time for the review

When the review time is reached, if the record is in a CURRENT status, it will transition to a REVIEW REQUIRED status, and a counter will appear on the datagrid.

Bulk Actions

Information items support the following bulk actions. 

Reporting

Standard reporting

The following reports are useful in reporting and managing requests.

All reports can be grouped, ordered and filtered by a range of fields, and the results can be printed, exported to Excel and saved into Crisisworks as a snapshot. 

Read Generating Reports for more details.

Ad-hoc reporting and exporting

It is possible to export a custom selection of information items using the standard Information report.

To export a custom selection:

1. Start on the Request Datagrid
2. Select one or more records. You can use counters and filters to find the records you need, and build up your custom selection over a few queries. 
3. When one or more records are selected, click the Export to Report button that appears at the bottom of the screen. 
4. This will load the base report with the selected IDs, where you can configure the report as required — add/remove columns, select custom ordering and group by a field.
5. Click Generate Report to build the report

If you wish to export the generated report, scroll to the bottom of the report and click Export to Excel

Technical Reference

A message containing intelligence or information to be shared with the team

Contact schema

Feature schema

Information schema

Sitrep schema

Smeacs schema

Route schema

Non-schema fields

Workflow