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K-9 ALERT SAR MANAGEMENT SITE MANUAL

Table of Contents
Definitions ..................................................................................................................... 3
Legend .......................................................................................................................... 4
General Use .................................................................................................................... 5
Menu ............................................................................................................................. 6
Dashboard .................................................................................................................. 8
Your 4 Steps To Get Started ..................................................................................... 8
Whiteboard .............................................................................................................. 8
Recent Activities ...................................................................................................... 8
Online Now .............................................................................................................. 8
Your Calendar .......................................................................................................... 8
My Tasks ................................................................................................................. 9
Real-Time Collaboration .......................................................................................... 9
Product Updates ...................................................................................................... 9
On-Call Planner ....................................................................................................... 9
Operations .................................................................................................................. 9
Incidents, Exercises and Events Area ......................................................................10
Planning ................................................................................................................... 10
Members ............................................................................................................... 10
Calendar ................................................................................................................ 10
Qualifications ........................................................................................................ 11
Groups .................................................................................................................. 13
Logistics ................................................................................................................... 13
Real Time Collaboration ......................................................................................... 13
Task ...................................................................................................................... 13
Equipment ............................................................................................................. 14
Communication ..................................................................................................... 14
Intelligence ............................................................................................................... 14
Charts ................................................................................................................... 14
Reports .................................................................................................................. 14
Techniques ............................................................................................................ 14
Resources .............................................................................................................. 14
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Extras ....................................................................................................................... 14
Improve It .............................................................................................................. 14
Figures ........................................................................................................................ 16

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Definitions

Collaboration: process where two or more people or organizations work together in an

intersection of common goals

Dashboard: This is the default page a member goes to when first logged into the site. It
is laid out with information gathered from different sections and areas of the site.
It gives a quick snap shot of what is happening with both the member and the
group. From there the member can drill down to more specific information as
needed. See Figure 1.

Event: For the purposes of this site this refers to group meetings, fund raisers, parties,
get togethers, and demonstrations.

Exercises: For the purpose of this site this refers to group or individual trainings.

Handler: A group member teamed with a dog, can be both operational and non-
operational.

Incident: For the purposes of this site this refers to an official search this group has or
will respond to.

Member Classifications: Each group member is designated as one of the following (see
list). With the exception of site owner each has certain limitations. Members are
classified to allow them to access areas that are important to them.
Member: Read-only account. Private data (marked with ) is kept hidden. Good
for normal members.
Member+: Same as member, but displays private data too. Good for team officers.
Additional Permissions: Draft Incidents   Draft Exercises   Draft Events   Send SMS  

Equipment
Editor: View, add, delete and edit all data. Add members, qualifications, etc. Good
for administrators and team leaders.
Owner: Same as editor, but can configure and delete master account.

Yellow Box: Most sections in the site have a Yellow Box off to the right of the main
content. This box has additional links, quick links, information, email and text
links. Look there for more information.

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Legend

Administrators (editors and owner) Only, no others can view this information

Not Recognized or Pending Delivery (when referenced to the email and text section)

Adobe PDF File

Send SMS

Send Email

Unable To Deliver or not attending, depending on section

Delivered or accepted, depending on section

Organization Tag (Activity Tags Section)

Team Tag (Activity Tags Section)

Organization Resource (Activity Resources Section)

Team Resource (Activity Resources Section)

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General Use

This manual is set up to mimic the website menu. See the menu on the next page and
familiarize yourself with its layout before moving on.

When you first log into this management system you will be presented with a menu
across the top. On the right hand top side you will see your username, My Settings, and
Sign Out. Clicking your username will take you to your member listing where you can
view your information. Clicking My Settings will take you to a screen where you can
update your information. Clicking Sign Out will exit you from the program and is always
the best practice for leaving a program that contains sensitive information such as
names and addresses, especially on a public computer.

Once all of our group information has been entered including searches, trainings
schedules, member and K9 information, qualifications, task, and equipment we will be
able to track search information including distances to searches, outcomes, types,
quantity, locations, members present as well as track member involvement in trainings
and events, member qualifications and expiration dates. Doing all of this will be a group
effort and should not be left to one person. The more input we have in this the more
accurate the information we will end up with.

There are several different member classifications that each member can be assigned to;
Member, Member+, Editor and Owner. Each classification is explained in the definitions
section of this manual. Depending on your classification you may be limited in what you
can see and/or change. If you notice a mistake with any of your information and you
cannot update it, contact a group officer with the corrected information. Of specific
importance are your qualifications and their expiration dates.

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Menu

At initial login you will arrive at the main screen, Dashboard. See figure 1. Below is what
options are available to you on the menu across the top, in this order. When your cursor
hovers over the word you will have a drop down menu you can select from. You then can
go down and click on each item in the drop down menu to go to that page:

• Dashboard

• Operations

o Incidents

o Exercises

o Events

o On Call Planner

• Planning

o Members

o Calendar

o Qualifications

o Groups

• Logistics

o Real-Time Collaboration

o Task

o Equipment

o Communication

• Intelligence

o Charts

o Reports

o Techniques
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o Resources

• Extras

o Improve-It

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Dashboard
When you first log into the program you will arrive at the Dashboard screen, see figure
1. This is a general overview of everything going on that pertains to you in the
management program at the time.

Your 4 Steps To Get Started

At the top left you will have a selection of items that should be done to get you started
using the program. Doing these things will not only help in updating your content but it
will also make you more comfortable using and maneuvering around in it. As you
complete the items a green check mark will take the place of the red X . You also
have the option of removing this section by clicking ‘Hide these Tips’ in the bottom
right corner of this section but is not advised until you have all green check marks.

Whiteboard
Below the Getting Started section you will find the whiteboard. This section allows you to
add notes, comments or general questions for your fellow group members. You can do
this by clicking ‘Add Note’ which will take you to a page labeled ‘Add Whiteboard Note’.
Here you can write your comment, and select text color as well as select how many days
this note will be available on the whiteboard. After the selected amount of time, in days,
it will “erase” itself.

Recent Activities
This section deals with Incidents, Exercises, and Events that have recently taken place
pertaining to the entire group. Clicking on each of the menu items mentioned will take
you to the general respective page dealing with that. Clicking on each of the specific
highlighted items will take you to that specific Incident, Exercise or Event.

NOTE: See Operations section in this manual for additional

information of each of these subjects.

Online Now
This section shows you who, of our members, is online and logged into this system at
this time. This might help if you have a question for a member by letting you know they
are right there to help.

Your Calendar
In the center column you will see the first item link called Your Calendar, see figure 3.
It’s called ‘Your Calendar’ because it is just that, a calendar showing subjects that
pertain to you as opposed to a general group calendar.

The selections under it are ‘This Week’ and ‘Later’ to give you an idea of what is coming
up. When someone puts in an Event or Training and invites you to it (See section on
adding events and training) then under that listed event or training will be a question for
you, ‘Are you Attending?’ with the options of Yes or No. When you make your selection
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those options will go away and your answer will appear on the respective page for the
listed questions (i.e. A list of who is going, who is not going and who has not responded
will be shown on a listed training event.)

To the left of each listed calendar entry you will see 2 icons. The first icon could be,
depending on the status: A question mark indicating you have a question to answer; An
X indicating you answered No to a question; A check mark indicating you answered Yes
to a question; A circle with a line through it indicating you were not invited to this event.
The other icon will have a number in it. This indicates how many people have responded
to this event.

My Tasks
This section will list any task that have been assigned to you. You can also add a task
and assign it to a member by clicking ‘Add Task’ to the right. See the Task section later
in this manual

Real-Time Collaboration
This section will list any unread messages that have been sent between members
allowing you to respond or read as you wish. At the bottom of this section there is a
suggested line. This may give you a suggested response item for recent events.

Product Updates
Here you will find product updates entered by the site provider.

On-Call Planner
In the third column you will find the on-call planner links. Of specific importance in this
section is the Off-Call link in the top right hand corner. Clicking this allows you to
quickly add your off call time frame to the planner so others can see at a glance when
members will not be available for call-outs.

Below in this section you will see the Off-Call Now’ and ‘On-Call now’ listing for all
group members. Clicking on the members name will take you to their information
section. When you hover over their name icons will appear to the right side, 1 for email
and 1 for text. Clicking the respective icon will let you either email or send a text to that
member.

Operations
There are different levels of membership to this site. As a ‘Member Only’ subscriber the
items listed below are viewable only and cannot be altered.

Once you have entered the Operations page you will be presented with a map with 3
tabs along the top listed as Incidents (searches), Exercises (training), and Events
(meetings, fund raisers, get togethers etc). Clicking these tabs takes you to the
respective area.

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Incidents, Exercises and Events Area

When you first go to the operations section of the site by clicking on Incidents under
Operations on the menu, this is the page you will come to, See figure 2. For our purpose
an incident is an official call-out or search; an exercise is a training, see figure 4; and
event can be defined as a meeting, fund raiser or get together. Clicking on a tab along
the top of the map will take you to the respective area and list specific area information
below the map depending on the date range selected. To change that range enter the
desired dates and click ‘Go’ on the right side. Incidents, Exercises or Events within this
date range will be listed below the map with a circle on the map showing the location of
those incidents.

You may also download the selected incidents to Google Earth by clicking the hyperlink
on the right. Doing so will download a file for use in this application.

Planning
You can enter the planning area by clicking any of the menu items under the planning
lick on the top menu bar. Once you have entered this section you will be present with 4
tabs to choose from. These tabs are named Members, On-Call, Qualifications, and
Groups

Members
Listed in this section will be Operation members in the top section and Non-Operational
Members in the bottom. Clicking their names will take you to the information section for
that member. The only information available to members other than those subscribed as
Editor will be that which did not have an icon of a lock beside it or information the
member chose to list as available to general members through the My Settings section
via the check boxes.

Yellow Box: Notice on the right hand side there will be a

yellow box named ‘Profiles’. Clicking Members in the this box
will simply take you back to the Members area but clicking
Animals will take to an area where you can enter you K9’s
information. To be listed as a handler you must not only have
your K9’s information but also have your K9 linked to you.
This must be done by an editor and should have already been
set up for you. If you find that it was not please notify an
editor to have it done. When you contact the editor be sure to
provide them with your K9’s birthday, when they joined the
group, their breed and any notes you would like to include.

Calendar
The calendar is used to help members schedule on and off calls times. It also allows for
a quick snap shot of upcoming trainings and events. See figure 3.

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Yellow Box: Clicking on the On-Call link will take you to the
on-call planner section to show you who is on call and who
is not and will also allow you to enter dates that you know
you will not be on-call (referred to as off-call). Along the
top of this section will be a graphical representation of how
many members are on-call at any given time, by moving
your cursor along the graph. You will notice a dotted line
along the graph. This represents the minimum amount of
members we would like to see on-call for that time. At this
time it is set for 2. Under the graph will be a calendar list of
off-call members and/or notes. There will also be warnings
about meeting minimum requirements.

Yellow Box within the on-call planner: As with other

sections there is a yellow box on the right hand side. This is
where you will go to add a date for being off-call. Simply
click that link, choose your dates, add a note if you would
like to, and click ‘Save Changes’ on the bottom right side.
Also of importance in this box is the On-Call Calendar.
Clicking this link will take you to an actual calendar to give
you an idea of who is off-call (highlighted in Red with their
name), what events are coming up (highlighted in yellow) and
what searches have taking place (highlighted in blue). Each
will be hyperlinked to that specific section, be it an event,
exercise or search. Tabs are provided along the top of the
calendar to navigate by day, month, year or to list upcoming
events.

Qualifications
This section list both members and handler qualifications. Remember, a member cannot
be a handler unless their K9 is listed and they are linked together. In the list of
qualifications you will see the number of members listed for that qualification on the left
and the percentage of the group that has met that qualification on the right. Clicking on
a specific qualification will take you to a list showing who is qualified in that area at the
bottom and at the top will be a list of who is unqualified. Only those members who are
expected to be qualified or are working towards qualification in a specific area will be
listed under unqualified for that specific qualification. Clicking on a members name will
give more information about when that member met these qualifications.

Once you have become qualified in certain areas of training an editor will check you off
on the site as Qualified. If there is an expiration date associated with this area then it
will be updated at that time. When your expiration date nears an email will go out to you
and the designated officer warning you of this.

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Yellow Box: Note under the yellow box several options

available to you. For instance, here you could email everyone
qualified under the section you are viewing by simply clicking
the Send Email box. You could also bring up discussions on
topics by clicking the box under collaboration. Or assign a
task to a member by clicking Assign Task. This task will then
show up on that members Dashboard the next time they log
in as well as send them an email as notification. This task
could asking them to set up a training to help you in certain
areas or to check on recertification’s for you.

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Groups
The last tab is used to group members together under their specialty; this can be used
not only to organize members but also for communications. Clicking on a group will
show you who is in that group and again will give you the options listed above. For
instance you could click on the group for Wilderness then select Send Email and email
everyone in the group at once. Or you could assign a task for that group, or start a
conversation about issues relating to that specific group. This area is mainly for
communications amongst the group.

Logistics
Real Time Collaboration

Collaboration
Join a live discussion to plan and collaborate with your team. To start a real-time
discussion, visit an entity such as an incident, exercise, or member group, and click
[Real-Time] on the right side-bar.

Email
Using the drop down list you can email individual members, groups, members by
operation status, or qualifications. It is a useful tool to email members all at the same
time with minimal input. Replying to those emails goes back to your personal email
account rather than back to this site.

SMS
The SMS section is not yet set up for us but being worked on as you read this. Once it is
up and running the plan is to be able to send SMS text messages to each member either
individually or by the group they are in.

Whiteboard
The whiteboard is another good collaboration tool allowing you to add notes that will
show up on everybody’s Dashboard. You can adjust text color and how long the item
will remain up on the whiteboard. Current items listed on the whiteboard are shown on
the right.

Yellow Box: Quick links are provided in the box to help you
navigate around to items such email, text and the
whiteboard.

Task
In this section you are presented with 3 self explanatory tabs, My Task, All Task and By
Item. The task section is used to keep track of upcoming or completed task that you
have been assigned. Not only will your task be assigned under the My Task section but
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all assigned task will be list under All Task. Add task using the Add Task link in the
Yellow Box.

Adding Task: When you click Add Task a new window will appear for details. Most of the
text boxes are self explanatory and 2 will self complete as you type, Link to and Assign
to. Link to links the task to an event or exercise. Assign to assigns the task to another
member. Click Save Changes when all the pertinent information has been entered.

Equipment
This area is still in process and at the beta stage as of this manuals writing. Once
completed it will allow the group to keep a running inventory of all equipment owned by
the group.

Communication
Reference Real Time Collaboration above, as they are the same.

Intelligence
Charts
Over 40 automatically generated charts and maps for response optimization.

Reports
There is no access to this section at this level of membership.

Techniques
Tags allow activities to be grouped together by techniques or categories used e.g.
Communications, Water safety, Navigation etc. Create a tag for every technique or skill
your team wants to track. Tags can be grouped into bundles. e.g. A bundled Dinwiddie
may include 'general SAR, Communications, Water Rescue', etc. Percentages are shown
to the right and are calculated across that activity type e.g. 12% of all 'incidents' has this
tag, while 3% of all exercises.

Resources
Resources are other external teams and agencies you coordinate with e.g. CAP, Va State
Police, Local Police. Resources can be grouped into types. e.g. Air Support, Ground
Teams, K9 Teams. Create a tag for every resource your team will call on or train with.
Percentages are calculated across that activity type e.g. 12% of all 'incidents' called this
resource, while 3% of all training exercises were with them.

Extras
Improve It
Submit and discuss improvements to this application with all teams. This is a blog
provided by this site and allows us to collaborate with other teams throughout the
world. It is a very useful tool for learning the site as well as improving it.
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Figures

Figure 1 Dashboard

Figure 2 Incidents

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Figure 3 Calendar

Figure 4 Exercises

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