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New Optional Workflow Email Notification for Intake Requirements

12/13/2022

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A new optional workflow email notification is now available for enhanced communication with your customers!  For most Building workflows, under the Application Intake task, there is a new workflow status called Intake Requirements Needed.  If this status is selected, an email will automatically be sent to the Applicant and any additional email recipients that you enter (an example of the email is shown below).  The intent of this new status is to communicate more specifically to the applicant that additional intake requirements are needed before the application can be accepted and/or plan review can begin, as apart from using the Additional Info Needed status.  The bonus part of this email is that it automatically includes the current balance on the record.  Communicating additional requirements to the applicant, including paying outstanding plan review and/or other intake fees, is now made much easier with this simple status update.  You can use this status at any time; no additional configuration is needed from our team.
 
Example email:​
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Auto-issue of specific Building Module record types when the record is in a status of ‘Ready to Issue’ and customer pays fees online through ACA

12/12/2022

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When a building record is in a status of ‘Ready to Issue’ and the ACA customer pays all fees, the record will auto-issue and the customer will receive an email of the permit.  Minimum requirements for this enhancement include that all invoiced fees are paid in full on the record (this means that no fees can remain in a status of ‘New’) and there is an owner indicated on the record. This is an optional feature and by default is ‘off’ for all agencies, unless requested. To  request this feature be turned ‘on’, first complete the required submittal found here: http://orepermittinghelp.kayako.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/enable-auto-issuance-when-fees-paid-online and attach this submittal to a helpdesk ticket – submit to epermitshelp.BCD@dcbs.oregon.gov with a subject of Enable auto-issuance when fees paid online.  The agency will select which of the available record types they would like to use this feature for through the submittal form.
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OSM Model Changes From the Last Few Months

12/12/2022

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  1. Building Module: The "Expiration Letter Sent" field is now read-only for the DWL Limited record type.  It was previously editable by jurisdiction staff. (10/20/2022)
  2. Building Module: Work Flow Notification Email at Application Intake / Intake Requirements Needed. See article (11/3/2022)
  3. Building Module: Model Enhancement - Workflow-scripting to issue permit when fees have been paid through ACA and the record is in "Ready to Issue" status.  See article (11/3/2022)
  4. Building Module: The "Type of Work" dropdown list has been modified to be more relevant for the Manufactured Dwelling record type.  The new list includes these values: Alteration, New, Other, Replacement. (11/8/2022)
  5. Building Module: The event scripting to remove TCO, Deferred Submittal, and Revision conditions on the record has been modified/corrected.  Previously, when the script would automatically remove these conditions, the condition would be set to Inactive in the database, which would remove the banner, make the condition read-only, but the status was still "Applied".  Now, the condition status is simply changed to "Not Applied" which still removes the banner and the condition is available from the Conditions (Standard) page for reference. (11/9/2022)
  6. Planning Module: Jurisdictions using the Planning module can now auto-pend inspections to the Planning Tracking record type.  For example, you can elect for "Initial Inspection" and "Follow-up Inspection" to always be Pended to every new Planning Tracking record created.  Please submit a help desk ticket by emailing ePermitsHelp.BCD@Oregon.gov if you are interested in implementing this enhancement for the Planning module. (11/29/2022)
  7. Building Module: Fee item, "Earthquake resistant bracing system installation" (B_MFD_110) was corrected across all jurisdictions so that the state surcharge is assessed along with this fee item.  This was previously only occurring correctly for some jurisdictions. (11/29/2022)
  8. Building Module: Workflow configuration has been updated to make the clock actions (the statuses that start, stop or close the workflow clock which is used for in-possession time tracking) on review tasks in the Building module to make them more consistent across all review types. (11/30/2022)
  9. Building Module: New task status of "Certificate of Satisfactory Completion" added to commercial and residential structural C of O workflow task.​
    The Certificate of Satisfactory Completion report will now auto-generate for Commercial and Residential Structural record types when the (new) status of "Certificate of Satisfactory Completion Issued" is selected from the Certificate of Occupancy workflow task. It will also auto-generate from a Manufactured Dwelling siting record when the status is changed to "Inspection Process Complete" from the Inspection Process workflow task. (12/5/2022) A "CofO or CSC - which do I generate?" training document is coming soon!
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Permitting for Solar/PV Installs

10/24/2022

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In reviewing a report that we recently issued, Detailed Issued Permits, we noticed that many people are struggling with how to issue Solar/PV installations. 
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To help out, we have created a new training document that we hope will provide the necessary guidance and clarification on how to permit for these installations:
http://orepermittinghelp.kayako.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/how-to-permit-for-solarpv-installs.
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Auto-assign of Inspections

10/24/2022

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​Auto-assignment of inspections by discipline can help organize your jurisdiction’s daily inspection load. We recommend that each discipline is assigned to only one single inspector as the ‘lead’ or primary for that discipline (inspectors can, however, be assigned more than one discipline).This is because if you have 2 or more inspectors assigned to a discipline, Accela will simply “share” out the inspections without paying attention to whether or not inspections are on the same permit or at the same address;  so, you could end up with one permit having two inspectors scheduled for inspections on the same day- not very efficient! 

Example, if Jim and Tom are both certified for Residential Electrical – we would recommend that you only add the Electrical (Residential) discipline as “primary” to either Jim OR Tom’s user profile.  If both Jim and Tom’s users were set up with the Electrical (Residential) discipline, the system would simply alternate between them to assign incoming residential electrical inspections, with no reference to address or project.  If Jim is set up as primary, then every morning he can assess the inspections and logically reassign some of them to Tom.

User Disciplines as provided in the Model:
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Auto-assignment helps save a lot of time and assures that the assigned inspector is certified to perform that type of inspection.  It is important to keep track of your inspectors that have auto-assign disciplines set up.  If an inspector leaves your agency, any of their assigned disciplines would need to be reassigned to minimize the disruption to your daily inspections. 

Auto-assignment is also available by district.  A district is a way to break down your jurisdiction into manageable parts for the purpose of inspection.  District data would need to be provided in your APO load as parcel data in order to use this option.  In this case, we could set up an inspector for a given district – as designated in your APO load (this can be added if you don’t already have this)- and they would be assigned all inspections with parcels that occur in their designated district.  This option can be very helpful for counties where it could take hour(s) just to drive to one inspection. 

An inspection is assigned to the discipline associated to the large inspection group it belongs to.  Because of this, sometimes the autoassigned  inspection will need to be reassigned  to another inspector. For instance, 1065 Sidewalk inspection has an designated discipline of Structural (Commercial) , however in some jurisdictions these are performed by a Public Works inspector. This inspection will be auto-assigned to the Structural (Commercial) inspector and would need to be reassigned to Public Works if that is who does the inspection.  There are a small number of inspection types that have a similar conflict like this – if you are unsure, please submit a help ticket to inquire.

If you would like to add/remove/change disciplines or districts on any of your inspector users, please submit a helpdesk ticket to epermitshelp.BCD@dcbs.oregon.gov  and fill out the Add/Remove user form found here: http://orepermittinghelp.kayako.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/addingremoving-user-accountorepermittinghelp.kayako.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/addingremoving-user-accounts.
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Enhanced Expiration Letter

10/5/2022

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The Expiration Letter has been enhanced so that it can be generated for a single record. It is also now available from the Summary page. To generate an expiration letter, navigate to the Summary page > hover over Reports > click Expiration Letter:
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There are new required parameters. Depending on your selections, the report will generate different language.
Record Number = Enter the record number. Please note that single quotes are no longer needed.
Letter Type = Application or Permit
Contact Type = Applicant or Owner
Module = select the appropriate module
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OSM Model Changes From the Last Few Months

10/5/2022

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  1. Building Module: ​Changed some custom fields to be required for Commercial & Residential Demolition record types. (8/16/2022)
  2. All Modules: All alert messages have been updated to include the module to make it more obvious which module the record belongs to. For example: A BUILDING payment has been made on record xxxx. (8/18/2022)
  3. Onsite Module: The "Renewal Follow Up Letter ATT Systems" report has been updated so that the email button is now available after the report is generated. (8/18/2022)
  4. Building Module: The scripting for assessing the Commercial Electrical multifamily wiring fee now honors the fee schedule that was in effect, based on the open date of the record.  This is similar to the way that tech, plan review, and CET fees work. (8/18/2022)
  5. Public Works Module: Add new optional workflow task of 'Additional Review' has been added to the Public Works Tracking record to allow additional flexibility when assigning reviews. (8/23/2022)
  6. Building Module: Previously, custom field form could not be saved when the "Category of Construction" value was "Other" or "Mixed Use".  This has been corrected so that form can be saved for both values. (8/30/2022)
  7. Building Module: The "Fee Description Search" report parameters, "Select Module" and "Select Fee Status" were both missing the dropdown values.  This has been corrected. (8/31/2022)
  8. Onsite Module: New custom fields have been added to the Onsite Site Evaluation record type to record Bottomless sand filter information. (9/21/2022)
  9. Building Module: The code edition fields in the building record types have been set to not viewable for ACA. (9/26/2022)
  10. Building Module: 1 and 2 family dwellings that are over 3 stories must be reviewed according to the OSSC. New values have been added to the code edition dropdown for residential structural and 1 & 2 family dwelling record types for those types of projects (for example: ‘2022 Structural Specialty Code (for >3 stories)’.  (9/27/2022)
  11. Building Module: 'Revisions Needed' and 'Revisions Received' statuses were added to the Inspection Process task within the residential electrical, mechanical and plumbing record types. Selecting 'Revisions Received' will create a revision record just as it does from other tasks in the workflow. (9/30/2022) 
  12. Building Module: Added 2022 to the code edition drop downs for the Structural Specialty Code (commercial structural) and Mechanical Specialty Code (commercial mechanical).  The new code editions became effective October 1st. The OMSC will become mandatory 1/1/2023 and the OSSC will be mandatory as of 4/1/2023. (10/3/2022)
  13. All Modules: The Expiration Letter has been enhanced so that it can be generated for a single record. (10/3/2022) See article for details.
  14. Building Module: On Residential Plumbing records, the custom field named, "Water Service Line - interior diameter 2 inches or larger" is now visible after the record is created.  The reason for adding it is so that you can see when a public user updates this field. (10/6/22)
  15. Public Works Module: New driveway custom fields have been added to the Public Works Tracking record type in some agencies where it was missing. (10/6/22)
  16. Building module: Installed new Write It/Cite it standard comments based on the October 1st code updates. (10/18/22)
  17. Building Module: A Yes/No field has been added to the ACA custom fields for customers to indicate when their single family dwelling application also includes a 600 amp service or greater. We’ve also added the field to the post-intake custom fields form so that when reviewing the application, staff is able to see that it has been selected. The field is optional and not required. Additionally, if the customer selects Yes, the system will now create an alert stating: ACA BUILDING Single Family Dwelling application submitted within the last five days that includes 600 amp service or greater is now ready to be reviewed (including an email alert for those agencies that take advantage of that feature). This enhancement does not include fee scripting so agencies will need to determine if any additional fees are due. (10/18/22)
  18. Building Module: You can now assign Building records to an individual, such as a permit tech, for tracking the lifecycle of the permit. The assignment is done through the Description of Work page. (10/18/22)
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You can use the record list filter named, "Records Assigned to Me - All" to track your assigned records.
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Additionally, there is a new report available through Report 1 under Workflow called, "Assigned Building Records" that can be used for tracking all assigned Building records.
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New Training Videos Available on the Oregon ePermitting YouTube Channel

10/5/2022

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Accela 101 Training (3 part series): www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCrlQ45XMyFwGN5psfyyH9At1d8N3wDKj

Code Enforcement Focus Training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr3HOXhshYc

Planning Module Focus Training: https://youtu.be/UaabyfzMKEQ

A link to the Oregon ePermitting YouTube that includes a few other training videos:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPrRRU13H4Ajohabvo_sRwg 


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Recent Changes Made to the Transaction Receipt

10/5/2022

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The receipt has been updated to allow agencies to create specific information for the header when the receipt is issued for a POS transaction.  

Over the past couple of years, you may have noticed that the header for a POS transaction is not related to the module where the POS transaction occurred, but rather to the preferred module for the user who performed the transaction. For agencies using only one module (e.g. Onsite only agencies, Building only agencies and Planning only agencies), this is not a problem.  Agencies using multiple modules may have users whose preferred module is Building, but sometimes perform POS transactions in other modules.

To accommodate those agencies using multiple modules, a new option has been added for Agency Contact Info. The Agency Contact Info POS allows the agency to have specific values for: 
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Right now, these values are set to the Building module values for all agencies, except those agencies using only Onsite or Planning modules. If the agency is using only the Onsite module, the values are set to the same as the Agency Contact Info Onsite. For those using only the Planning module, the values are set to those of  Agency Contact Info Planning. 

If your agency wants to customize the value for POS transactions, please submit a help desk ticket and fillout the appropriate submittals found here: http://orepermittinghelp.kayako.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/agency-contact-submittal-all-modules-pos.
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Record Link Enhancement

10/5/2022

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​A new OSM enhancement was completed at the end of September where the Record Link is now available on all record types that are available through Citizen Access.  The Record Link is the direct link to each specific record on Citizen Access.  It can now be easily copied and pasted into any communication to your customer.  The Record Link can be added to the public user’s browser favorites for easy access or can be sent to other interested parties.  It is an easy way for public users to access records without the need to search or log into Citizen Access.  The Record Link can be found on the primary custom fields tab for each record type, toward the bottom of the screen.  The Record Link is also available on Citizen Access and is clickable so users can easily add the record to their browser favorites.  It is expected functionality for the Citizen Access “wrapper” to not be visible when accessing the record through the Record Link.  We hope that this enhancement adds more functionality for communication with your customers!

Back Office:

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Citizen Access (under Record Details > More Details > Application Information):

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Update Browser Favorites

10/5/2022

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In 2018 we moved to an Azure data center and our Citizen Access (ACA) site changed URLs.  For the convenience of our public users, Accela set up a URL redirect.  This means that when a user visits the old URL for Citizen Access (https://aca.oregon.accela.com/oregon) there is a redirect that automatically and seamlessly routes the user to the current URL for Citizen Access (https://aca-oregon.accela.com/oregon).  Beginning in early 2023, Accela will retire this URL redirect and users will get an error if they try to access the old URL.  To avoid any issues, please be sure to update your browser “favorites” for Citizen Access to www.BuildingPermits.Oregon.gov and help pass along the message to your public users!

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The Role of ePermitting with Agency Fees/Fee Updates and Going to Notice

8/8/2022

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We had a record-breaking number of agency fee updates this past July, approximately 63% of our 80+ agencies had a major fee update.  Given the sheer volume, we ran into several agencies that thought that only sending their fee update for BCD Notice would also come to ePermitting for update – this is not the case.  This misunderstanding caused significant delays and rework for many agencies.  

As a result of these challenges, we wanted to share the ePermitting fee update process and BCD Notice requirement with all participating agencies.

Fee Update process with ePermitting – we ask that you send us your final fee update draft as soon as it’s available, it does not have to be adopted and we highly recommend that you send any fee updates to us PRIOR to submitting for BCD Notice.  

We will perform a fee analysis – reviewing for methodology requirements as per Division 50, fees required by program authority, Policy interpretations, and any ePermitting system requirements (including standardization of Residential/Commercial Plumbing fixture list and Residential Mechanical appliance list).  Upon analysis, we will send back any suggested corrections and/or updates that might be necessary - again PRIOR to adoption or going to BCD Notice – this is key!  Agencies that miss this step or are unaware, often end up delayed in implementing their updated fees, doing rework, and in some cases having to repeat the BCD Notice process – we don’t want this for any of our agencies.  The ePermitting system, records and applications, are designed to incorporate the required fees and methods.

Once the fee update draft is finalized – then it is ready for local adoption and BCD Notice.  The local adoption and Notice processes can happen concurrently.

BCD Notice for Building fees – any new fees, increases to existing fees, or changes in methodology that result in an increase must be sent through the required BCD Notice process.  Teri Watson (teri.a.watson@dcbs.oregon.gov) is the Policy contact that manages this process.  The BCD Notice period is 45 days – so updates should be sent/done in enough advance of the effective date of your fee update.  Please note, that it has recently been determined that Tech fee and any other ‘surcharge’ type fees assessed on building fees, must also go through the BCD Notice process.

If you have any questions about this process, submit a helpdesk ticket to epermitshelp.BCD@dcbs.oregon.gov. 
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New - ePermitting Jurisdiction HUB Website

8/8/2022

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We have create a new website, the ePermitting Jurisdiction HUB - as a comprehensive resource for participating jurisdictions, so you can bookmark ONE website for all the information and communication you need in using the system. We will be adding informational links along the way as projects are scheduled, that might impact jurisdictions.
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Accela 101 Basics Training – New Series Beginning Aug. 16

8/7/2022

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Our Accela 101 Basics Training will be starting a new 3-part series Aug. 16. It's been slightly delayed due to staff schedules but will be back on track starting Aug. 16. 

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Each weekly training session will be offered to assist agencies who have lost their in-house experts/trainers or are needing a refresher of the basics. We have a lot of agencies that have lost their experts or are dealing with recent or high turnover, so training to ‘hit the ground running’ is now being offered. Submit a ticket to the Kayako helpdesk to request information on the current training schedule and availability. We plan to provide training every week on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
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Office Field on the Payment Form

8/6/2022

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One of the changes that occurred during the last software upgrade was the inclusion of the “Office” field on the payment screen. In order to avoid negative consequences for jurisdictions that have different offices for accepting payments, we have had to add this field to all jurisdictions’ payment pages.

For jurisdictions that do not have offices, we have defaulted the value to “not applicable” (we are using that instead of no office, so that receipts do not say that the payment was received in “no office”).
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By defaulting this, no one needs to choose a value when taking a payment in a “no office” jurisdiction.

In addition, this change affects financial reports that have an office parameter choice. For jurisdictions without offices, there used to be the choice of, “all, online and no office.”
Now there is, “all, online and not applicable.” The “all” choice will bring up absolutely every payment (even some old ones that have blank office fields); “online” brings back online transactions only, and “Not applicable” brings back the non-online transactions only. 
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State Surcharge – ‘Billed’ Payment Type Caution!

8/6/2022

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It has recently come to our attention that some agencies are still using the ‘Billed’ exceptional payment method to pay permit fees in the Building Module.

Billed: The ‘Billed’ payment method was created to allow the agency to indicate that the customer will receive an invoice or bill and the permit will be allowed to advance through the workflow regardless of when actual funds are received.  This is the decision of the issuing agency and the responsibility to track of the issuing agency.
 
Please note, if you are one of these agencies:
  1. The ‘Billed’ paid fees will not be included in State Surcharge reporting, which means no surcharge will be reported up and until you pay permit fees with an actual CASH (cash/check/credit card) payment method.
  2. The prescribed process for using the ‘Billed’ exceptional payment method:
  • Invoice the permits fees to be paid and generate the Invoice report (you will need this later on and then it will be available in Documents)
  • Pay the invoiced permit fees with ‘Billed’
  • Run the Revenue Exceptions report (Report 2 > Reconciliation reports > Revenue Exceptions) to track these ‘billed’ records and to send the Applicant/Owner a copy of the Invoice you generated at 30/60/90 days asking for CASH payment  
  • When they come in to make a CASH payment – you will void the ‘Billed’ payment which will make the fees outstanding again (as per the invoice you sent), and then post their CASH payment.  Once this CASH payment is posted on the permit fees, these paid permit fees will then be included in the State Surcharge reporting as required.
It is important to be aware and follow the above process above all the way through to receipting a CASH payment.  If you don’t, you run the risk of issuing or even finaling a permit with no actual payment made (we see this happening sometimes in the database) – or of never paying the required State Surcharge on permit fees (we’ve also see this happen).
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Ending Support of Accela EDR and Adobe Acrobat on November 1, 2022

8/5/2022

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The ePermitting Program will be ending support of Accela Electronic Document Review (AEDR) and Adobe Acrobat on November 1, 2022.  This means we will no longer support or provide the AEDR client software or Adobe Acrobat licenses to jurisdictions.  We made the hard decision to end support of AEDR and Adobe Acrobat because of the complexity of Adobe licenses, the difficulty of staying up to date with a compatible version of Adobe Acrobat, and the addition of new electronic plan review alternatives.  If your agency uses AEDR with Adobe Acrobat for electronic plan review, please contact us right away, by submiting a helpdesk ticket to epermitshelp.BCD@dcbs.oregon.gov, so that we can help you implement one of the alternative electronic document review products we offer – see below.
 
BlueBeam
  • Free licenses provided by the ePermitting Program.
  • Does not directly integrate with Accela so the document review is performed outside of Accela.
  • Allows plan reviewers to view each other’s’ comments and publish them together during concurrent plan reviews.
  • Industry standard.
  • Implementation is simple.
  • Training - ePermitting Program provides in-house training and there are online training materials available.
 
DigEplan
  • The jurisdiction is responsible for paying the annual licensing costs to use the software and the ePermitting Program will reimburse the jurisdiction for the implementation costs.
  • Directly integrates with Accela and includes an additional workflow task for Review Consolidation, additional email communication to customers, and no need to save electronic plans outside of Accela.
  • Requires an implementation project with TruePoint, an Accela partner.
  • Implementation is more in depth but is standardized across all ePermitting jurisdictions.
  • Training - provided by TruePoint.
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Public Works Focus Training - Aug. 18

8/5/2022

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We are offering a Public Work focus training scheduled on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 9 to 11 a.m.  This training will be offered remotely also thru Teams.  If you are interested in this added training and your agency has the PW module – even if you’ve already been trained by your coworkers, I would recommend this ‘by design’ training to learn some of the unique features and details of this module.

Please send a email help ticket to epermitshelp.BCD@dcbs.oregon.gov to request sign up for this PW training.
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Recent OMS changes

8/2/2022

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  1. All Modules: ​The "Attachments" list for a record in Citizen Access has been modified to show 10 files per page instead of 5 files per page.  This helps in scenarios when there are numerous documents that public users want to sort through. (5/31/2022)
  2. Onsite Module: Verify all Onsite pageflows do not require an LP - A license professional was required when public users submitted an Onsite Site Evaluation application.  This has been corrected so that a licensed professional is no longer required so that any user, including homeowners can submit a Site Evaluation online. (6/8/2022)
  3. All Modules: New document types are now available
    BUILDING DOCUMENTS:
     - Customer Mobile Inspection Upload
     - Electrical Permit Application
     - Mechanical Permit Application
     - Plumbing Permit Application
     - Structural Permit Application
    ONSITE DOCUMENTS:
     - Customer Mobile Inspection Upload
    PUBLIC WORKS DOCUMENTS:
     - Customer Mobile Inspection Upload
        (6/9/2022)
  4. All Modules: Alerts that started with the record number have been modified so that the record number falls at the end of the message.  This was because alerts that start with a record number were not showing the whole message after the v. 21.2.5 upgrade.
    Example: ACA Application Submitted within the last five days and is now ready to be reviewed [record number]. (6/23/2022)
  5. Onsite Module: Onsite Permit workflow, 'Close Out' task was updated so that when the task status is 'Denied,' the record status will also become 'Denied'.  Previously the record status would  incorrectly become 'Finaled'. (7/14/2022)
  6. Building Module: Updating the electrical and plumbing custom fields so that the fields that would indicate whether or not plan review is indicated are now both required and null (so the customer must choose either Yes or No for each item). (7/21/2022)
  7. Building Module: The subgroup for fee item "Electrical master permit (one time fee)" has been updated for all OSM agencies and all fee schedule versions from EL1,EL2,ELF,SSEL,ELFP,TEC to ELF,SSEL,TEC. This indicates that this fee is not subject to minimum fee, plan review, or plan review fees. (7/26/2022)
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Accela Inspector Apps NOT Supported by Oregon ePermitting

5/2/2022

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Recently, our team has received questions about the Accela Inspector app and the Accela Mobile App. Neither of these apps work with Oregon ePermitting and will not function properly. 
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Any inspectors using these apps should immediately delete them and install the Oregon Inspector App that has been developed and maintained by the Oregon ePermitting team. 
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The Oregon Inspector App has the State of Oregon Seal on the icon. 
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Please use the following links to download and install the app on your iOS or Android device. This app is not available from the Apple App Store or Google Play store due to new app policies.  ​
iOS version: https://citygovapp.com/app/oregoniaios.html​

Android version: https://citygovapp.com/app/oregoniaandroid.htm​
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New Oregon ePermitting App Coming Soon

5/2/2022

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The current Oregon Inspection Request app is being upgraded. For the past few months, we have been adding and testing new tools and features on this app. With all of the upgrades to the app, it has moved past being just an inspection scheduling tool. Accordingly, we are changing the official name to the Oregon ePermitting App to address how much more comprehensive it is becoming in addressing overall customer needs.

The new and improved Oregon ePermitting App:
  • Allows customers, when requested, to upload pictures directly to their inspection so that an inspector can review them. Pictures are tagged with location data to allow for site location verification. 
  • Allows live messaging between the customer and the inspector that has been assigned the inspection without having to look up contact information. 
  • Allows live video inspections between an inspector and the customer. Customers will be prompted to confirm their location before the video inspection begins.
  • Allows the inspector to take screenshots during the video inspection for the inspection report.
  • Customers will receive automatic notifications via the app when an inspection is resulted. Customers only have to search for the permit once to receive notifications. Customers will also receive notifications about future app updates and training opportunities. 
  • Hosts instructional documents via a Document Hub that is accessed via a new Menu feature. 
  • Provides a direct link to the ePermitting Help Page with contact information and instructional how-to videos on using the app. 
  • Saves user contact information and autofills that information when requesting an inspection. 
  • Provides all previous inspections and results in chronological order. 

ePermitting is working to finalize the App on both iOS and Android platforms and are working towards a late May to early June release date. When ready, we will announce the release so current and new users can download it from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Once released, we will begin scheduling in-person trainings around the state. Anyone wishing to host an in-person training at an association or trade group meeting, contact Jerod Broadfoot via email at Jerod.A.Broadfoot@dcbs.Oregon.gov.
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Accela Version Upgrade

5/1/2022

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Testing Underway
Version 21.2.5 was installed in our Dev environment in early March, the ePermitting team has been thoroughly testing the new version which is going well. We expect to wrap-up testing in our Dev environment by mid-May. 

Config Refresh and Agency First Look
Accela is refreshing our Config environment this week with current Prod data (except for a few agencies which have been excluded for various reasons). We will then be upgrading Config to version 21.2.5 by May 16th. After Config has been upgraded, we will be inviting users to come take a look. You’ll notice then that there isn’t a big difference. There will, however, be some configuration changes coming with this upgrade that you won’t necessarily see until Production has been upgraded. Some are necessary for maintenance purposes and others are features which, we believe, will be welcome quality-of-life changes for daily users. 

One change you will notice in Config after it has been upgraded, is that some of the forms will look “off”. With this version, Accela has converted all forms to their new form designer. The default conversion doesn’t always work well with the way that we have designed forms, so as part of our upgrade project, we have a subproject to update the critical forms in Prod (e.g. Record Search, Inspection Search and parts of the intake forms) prior to the version upgrade. We will advise you via GovDelivery (sign up here) when that has happened. Along with performance and security enhancements, both Chrome and Edge will now be fully supported (IE11 will no longer be supported). 

Production Upgrade Schedule
Prod is scheduled to be upgraded the weekend of June 11-13. We will be providing you with regular updates and more information in the coming weeks as we progress through our testing and the upgrade project.

More Information
We will be sharing more information about those changes as the upgrade project progresses via the upgrade website which can be found at: https://www.oregon.gov/bcd/epermitting/howto/Pages/upgrade-info.aspx.
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Reminder for Fee Increases/Changes Effective July 1

4/30/2022

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If your agency has an upcoming fee increase, or any other fee changes, effective July 1, 2022, send your updates to the ePermitting team ASAP by sending an email to the Kayako Helpdesk.  Important note, your fee update ticket submittal does not have to wait for your agency to adopt or approve them, the fee update process can begin parallel to your adoption/approval process.  Final drafts of fee updates are acceptable to begin this time-sensitive process.  Late submittals might not be able to be accommodated for July 1st start given the volume of requests for update.  Also a friendly reminder – new fees, fee increases or method changes that result in an increase, are required to go through the BCD Fee Notice process; please send ePermitting a draft copy of your fees prior to submitting for Notice to avoid any delays or potential requirement to re-notice.
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Accela 101 Basics Training – New Series Beginning May 10, 2022

4/29/2022

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Our Accela 101 Basics Training will be starting a new 3-part series May 10. Each weekly training session will be offered to assist agencies who have lost their in-house experts/trainers or are needing a refresher of the basics. We have a lot of agencies that have lost their experts or are dealing with recent or high turnover, so training to ‘hit the ground running’ is now being offered. Submit a ticket to the Kayako helpdesk to request information on the current training schedule and availability. We plan to provide training every week on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
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OSM Changes from Last Month

4/29/2022

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  1. Building Module: The "Permits in Process" report has been corrected where the Record Type parameter now has record types to select from.
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