We've added the ability to automatically generate reference numbers for your Incident, Exercise, and Event reports. This can be done across an entire organisation, or within a single team ensuring no reports have the same references. As a bonus, we've also added organization tracking numbers that allow you to match up multiple incident reports from different teams as the same incident at organization level.
When you add an incident, exercise, or event, you'll have a unique reference number automatically generated for you. Reference numbers are auto-incrementing, so there is no need to look up the last one used. Reference numbers can increment across just incidents, exercises, events, all activities types, your entire team, or an entire organization.
On the right, you can add in a short memorable text description to easily identify it - people often use incident type or location here. Clicking the reference number will allow you to edit it to a different one if you're not adding in the same order as they happened.
We'll check the reference number is unique for you. Different settings are available to check uniqueness across just incidents, exercises, or event categories, or across your entire team, or across your entire organization.
Click [Generate Unique Number] if the one you chose was not unique and we'll make one for you.
We don't restrict your usage to any specific pattern, you're welcome to override our numbering system and use your own, e.g. '#220/13' (Incident 220 in the year 2013) or '#123a', '#123b' etc.
As a bonus, we've also introduced 'Tracking Numbers' to track unique activities where multiple teams are submitting reports, but you only want to count it as a single number in your national stats. Once the same reference is entered, as denoted by a central agency, all the matching reports will be linked at organization level.
These numbers can be custom labelled with the name used by the specific organization, e.g. 'Police File Number' or as below 'RCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) Number' to avoid any confusion by members.
How Do I Activate?
New Accounts - By default auto-incrementing numbers are 'on by default' for new accounts.
Organizations - Tracking numbers must be switched on at organization level, and are configured on your account by our support team.
Existing Accounts - Account owners should contact support@d4h.org to enable auto-incrementing reference numbers on your account. You should contact us with the following...
- Your team URL. i.e. teamname.d4h.org
- Your proposed configuration - i.e. unique across all reports, unique within each type of report (i.e. you can have Incident #5 and Exercise #5).
- Your proposed numbering system - i.e. based on date, number, pattern, any pre-fix / post-fix? We'll see what we can configure for you.
- Your starting number - i.e. what do you want the next report number to be?
As always, please share your feedback with us in the comments or direct to me in our open chat room.
Written by Robin Blandford, CEO.