Incident Reports

Setting Your Incident Report Types and Approval Permissions

Before you start using the Incident Reports module, you can customize your Incident Report types. To do so, click on the Settings tab and select Incident Reports. You will see a list of active Incident Report types. These types are the categories under which building staff will be submitting.

If you wish to remove any of these Incident Report types, click Edit and select Inactive under “Status of this Incident Type”, then Save.

By default, Front Desk and Maintenance-level users can submit Incident Reports, but these reports must be approved and finalized by Security Officers or Management-level staff. This set-up is intended to mimic the act of a Manager “signing off” on an Incident Report before it is truly finalized.

To change the default approval permissions for all categories, you can add a Special Permission that gives approval rights to additional staff members. To change whether a specific Incident type requires approval, simply click Edit next to the type you wish to change, and select the desired approval requirement.

Setting Your Incident Reports Notifications

Next, make sure that your notifications are set up correctly. By default, the system will send a notification to a specified address(es) whenever a new Incident Report is submitted for approval, and/or whenever a new Incident Report is approved/finalized. To view your notification settings, click on Settings and select Incident Reports.

To add or change your default notification settings for all categories, click on Settings and select General Building Set-Up Options. You can use the drop-down menu located at the top of this page to locate the section for Incident Reports.

Input the email address(es) of the person(s) who should be notified whenever an Incident Report is submitted for approval, and/or whenever an Incident Report is approved/finalized. Click Save All Changes.

To change notification settings for specific Incident Report types, click on Settings, and select Incident Reports. Next, click Edit next to the Incident type whose notification settings you would like to change. Here, you’ll be able to override the default notification email address(es) and input your desired address(es).

Submitting Incident Reports

To submit a new Incident Report click on the Front Desk tab and select Incident Reports. Click on the green Create New Incident Report button. You’ll be prompted to select an Incident type, and indicate whether the incident was minor or severe. You’ll then be prompted to enter the date and time the incident occurred. You can also add a location (or several) if you would like. Remember to click Save Location after adding each. Next, you’ll need to enter a brief description of the incident itself in the white text box. Once you’ve filled out all required information, click the Proceed button.

You then have the option of adding any additional notes or any people associated with the incident, along with more details about what occurred. You can also upload related documents and/or photos if you wish. Once you are satisfied with your Incident Report, click the green Submit for Approval button. (Depending on the Incident Report permissions set for your building or your authority level, you may also see a green Approve and Finalize button. This allows you to finalize your Incident Report right away, bypassing any approval process.)

Viewing/Editing Incident Reports and Understanding Incident Report Statuses

To view existing Incident Reports for your property, click on the Front Desk tab and select Incident Reports. You will see a list of entered Incident Reports for your property, in order of most-recent to least. You can use the Search Incident Reports box at the top of the screen to filter your reports by Incident type, status, ID #, and location. This allows you to find specific Incident Reports or view all Incident Reports of a certain type or location.

Next to each Incident Report you will see a "Status" column. The status indicates where the Incident Report is with regards to the approval process, and also affects who can view/edit the report. There are five different Status possibilities: Draft; Pending Approval; Finalized; Archived; Deleted

If your property has added a Special Permission allowing Front Desk or Maintenance-level users to view drafts authored by other staff members, they will also be able to edit these drafts.

To edit a draft, simply click on the draft you wish to edit, change any of the information on the Edit Incident Report screen and then click Save.

To edit an Incident Report with a “Pending Approval” status, click on the Incident Report you wish to edit. Next, click the red “Return to Draft” button. You will then be able to change any of the information on the Edit Incident Report screen. When you are finished editing, be sure to save your changes and then click “Submit for Approval” to return the Incident Report to its “Pending Approval” status. If you wish to finalize the Incident Report after editing it, you can also use the Approve and Finalize button if your building’s permissions allow you to do so.

Once a report has been finalized it can no longer be edited. You can, however, continue to add notes. To do so, click on the report you wish to edit. Next, click the green Add Note button. When you are finished adding your note, be sure to click Save.

Note: All BuildingLink users, regardless of permissions and authority levels, will always be able to see a summary of the day’s incidents by using the Today’s Incidents link at the top of the Shift Log. This will display a list of all Incident Reports entered for that day, and indicate whether the status is “Draft,” “Pending Approval,” or “Finalized.”

Approving/Finalizing Incident Reports

By default, only Managers and Security Officers can approve/finalize Incident Reports. To quickly view whether any Incident Reports are pending approval, use the link found in the Summary section of your Dashboard screen. (You can also set up an email notification that will be triggered whenever a new Incident Report is submitted for approval.)

You’ll be taken to a list of all Incident Reports pending approval. To approve/finalize an Incident Report, click on the one you wish to approve, then click on the green Approve and Finalize button. Once finalized, the Incident Report will no longer be editable.

Adding Photos/Documents to Incident Reports

To add a photo or document to an existing Incident Report, click on the Front Desk tab and select Incident Reports. Click on the Incident Report for which you’d like to upload a photo or document. Under “Attachments and Photos” you will see an Upload Photo and an Upload Document button. (Please note that photos and documents can only be added to reports that have not yet been finalized.)

Creating Incident Report PDFs

To generate a PDF copy of a specific Incident Report, click on the Front Desk tab and select Incident Reports. Click on the Incident Report for which you’d like to generate a PDF copy. Click on the blue Generate PDF button.

The PDF copy of your report will be automatically saved in the “Attachments and Photos” section of the Incident Report. To download and print, simply click on the document to open it on your computer. From there, you can save it to your computer and/or print it.

Archiving Incident Reports

You have the option of archiving Incident Reports that you do not wish to see in your main search screen. This is a good way of differentiating older reports that are no longer pressing/active. To archive an Incident Report, click on the Front Desk tab and select Incident Reports. Next, click the Archive link next to the finalized Incident Report you wish to archive. You will always be able to pull up archived reports later on by using the Search Incident Reports box and making sure the “Archived” box is selected.