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The February 2022 ICC Building Valuation Data has been loaded into Accela for all agencies and will become effective and available for use on April 1, 2022. On April 1st, you will see that the version dropdown will now appear like the screenshot below, with the new version appearing first in the list and the most recent former version will now appear in the list with a “P-“ proceeding the version number. This change was made last year when we upgraded to our current version of Accela because of the way Accela changed the functionality of this dropdown. 
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Live Video Inspections, Photo Uploads and More Upgrades Coming to Contractor and Inspector Apps1/17/2022 Over the past six months, the ePermitting team has been working to develop and add new features to both the Oregon Inspector App and the Oregon ePermitting Contractor Scheduling App. New features that we have been testing, allow inspectors to initiate and conduct live video inspections without physically being on the jobsite, as well as allow contractors or homeowners to upload photos directly to their scheduled inspections through the apps. Additionally, the apps will include Push Notifications that can be sent manually by the inspector when there are updates, and automatically when an inspection is resulted or rescheduled. New direct messaging functionality will allow individuals to communicate with the inspector assigned to do their inspection without having to track down contact information. Other tools for the apps that are in development include a menu with submittal instructions/examples for contractors, fillable forms for contractors to access and submit from the field, as well as an offline queue that stores photos uploaded if there is no service available. All of these tools have been the direct result of contractor/inspector feedback and collaboration, and are being added to provide much needed additional flexibility to both contractors and inspectors for both specific and unique business cases. We would like to thank the inspectors and contractors that have assisted us in developing and testing these features from the ground up and look forward to starting our Phase 1 Pilot Program with several other jurisdictions across the state once we finalize the current app upgrades.
Over the next month, the ePermitting team will be reaching out and working with several jurisdictions across the state to train both inspectors and contractors on the new features as part of our Phase 1 Pilot Program. This initial phase will help us ensure that each tool functions properly, and will allow us to work out any issues before finalizing the apps for full release. These apps will be available for both iOS and Android devices when finalized and then will be released statewide. For more information please contact Jerod Broadfoot, ePermitting Outreach and Training Coordinator via email at [email protected] The ePermitting team is starting to take a look at the newest versions of Accela to determine the best version for our next Accela upgrade. We’ll begin the upgrade process in the next couple of months which will start with the ePermitting team doing some extensive testing in our Dev environment. The testing and upgrade will progress through our other environments and we’ll eventually be asking the daily agency users to do some testing before we upgrade production. We are hopeful to have the Accela upgrade complete by late spring and will keep you updated as the project progresses.
We will soon be implementing Virtual Folders in all OSM agencies. Virtual folders are way to further categorize documents. This will be a phased roll out starting with permit/review record types in the Building module. Virtual folders will not duplicate the document types but, instead, are meant to further help identify/categorize documents both in the back office and in ACA. In the back office the File Name and Document Name are both shown in the document record list. Unfortunately, the same is not true for ACA. In ACA we are only able to display the file name (the actual name of the uploaded file). Back Office:  ACA:  To associate a virtual folder with a document: 1. When in the add document form, click on the hand picker icon for Virtual Folders.   2. A new window will pop up within the form. Check the box in front of the folder you’d like to associate to the document and click the OK button. 3. Notice that there is an Add button. This will allow agency users (any users that have access to add documents) to add a virtual folder “on the fly”. Virtual folders, once added here, would be available to associate to any document that references the same virtual folder group (we’re starting with just one virtual folder group for the permit and review record types within the Building module in this first phase of roll out). We caution you to be judicious in creating folders. One of the intents here is to make it easier for customers to find certain types of documents that they may have difficulty sifting through, especially on larger projects.  4. When a Virtual folder is associated, it will appear in the Virtual Folder column in the record document list. In the record document list, users may sort by clicking on the column header.   5. In ACA, it will appear like this and customers have the ability to sort by clicking on the column header:  We will be adding an additional parallel review task to Commercial Mechanical records. We’ve had requests to add a new review for some time. In the past we’ve recommended using the ad-hoc workflow task for these reviews, however, we’ve heard from several agencies that they need this additional review every time. In order to preserve flexibility, without bogging down the model, we’ll be adding a review task simply called “Additional Review”. When advancing the workflow to “Ready for Plan Review”, the user will have the ability to select (or deselect) the Additional Review task.
If both reviews are activated, the workflow will always progress to the Completion task after the reviews are complete (even if “Approved for Completeness” is not selected for the Mechanical Review). If “Additional Review” is not activated, users will still need to select “Approved for Completeness” for the Mechanical Review if they would like the workflow to move to Completeness rather than to Permit Issuance. If you require more than one additional review, you will need to use adhoc workflow for the other(s). This will be a phased project, with other record types receiving the same enhancement in the future. It’s finally ready! Over the past year, the Oregon BCD ePermitting team has been developing and testing the Android version of the Oregon Inspector App. We are planning to release the app the week of August 23, 2021, via email, to all jurisdictions. The Android version functions in the same way as the iOS version, but for committed Android users, the change in operating system and design will be a very welcomed change. Much like the release of the iOS version last year, we anticipate a few issues may arise that need to be addressed. Please continue to use the ePermitting Help Desk email [email protected] to submit any issues or call 503-373-7396 so we can work with our app developer to resolve them as soon as possible.
Any inspectors wishing to download and use the Android Oregon Inspector App can do so by following the instructions provided in the email we will send out next week. The Oregon Inspector App is not available on the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store as it is not a public application. We have just finished our first round of testing a video inspection enhancement to the Oregon Inspector App. The app will allow:
Unfortunately, we have many communities in Oregon dealing with the aftermath of fires and other natural disasters. In order to assist jurisdictions to better track rebuilding efforts after a disaster, we will be rolling out the following additions to OSM:
On Structural/ 1 & 2 Family Dwellings ONLY, a dropdown to indicate full/partial rebuild. In addition, we will be adding reports to help categorize the post disaster data. New Scheduling App Enhancements for Both iOS and Android Published to the App Stores on May 4, 20218/15/2021
b. "Scheduled Start Time"  If your agency has the Planning Module and would like to begin to issue standalone TREE permits, please submit a helpdesk ticket to [email protected]. There is a submittal form and configuration required to set this up. This record type is also the first online application type available for Planning – however, offering the Tree permit application online is optional.
For agencies that might be interested in offering the Tree permit application online, an address will be required for online application – so applications for undeveloped parcels will have to be applied for directly with the agency. The application provides the option for the Applicant to indicate a specific Tree Application Type and to further line item the Application Type along with the Type of Tree(s) which can be very helpful details for agencies with a Tree Management Program. You can also submit a helpdesk ticket to learn more about this new Planning TREE Record Type. Look for new documentation soon to come to the Kayako Knowledgebase on TREES as well. When customers schedule an inspection online through Citizen Access, they are not forced to select an existing Pending inspection to schedule. They can simply click a link to schedule an inspection, select from a list of inspections associated to the record type, and then schedule. When this happens an extra Pending inspection of the same type is left on the record, which can cause problems when it is time to Final the permit. To work around this issue, beginning on Jan 20, 2021, we deployed an enhancement for all OSM agencies where the extra Pending inspection on the record of the same type scheduled is automatically removed by script, cleaning up the record. If there are multiple Pending inspections of the same type that was scheduled, only the first Pending inspection will be removed. This enhancement applies to the Building, Onsite, and Public Works modules. Before: After: Version upgrade testing continues for the ePermitting team. We are currently testing Accela version 20.2.2 in our training environment. We hope to finish our initial testing by the end of April and will then be upgrading the config environment and asking agencies to get in and do some testing as well. We are looking forward to performance improvements as well as some long awaited fixes! You’ll be seeing more information from us as we progress through our testing cycle.
The 2021 Oregon Residential Specialty Code, 2021 Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, 2021 Oregon Electrical Specialty Code all become effective April 1st. The code edition dropdowns for plumbing and electrical, as well as residential structural and mechanical record types will be updated with the new code editions effective April 1st, including defaulting those values to ‘2021’.
The February 2021 ICC Building Valuation Data has been loaded into Accela for all agencies and will become effective and available for use on April 1, 2021.
Welcome to ePermitting! Our Oregon ePermitting Team is happy to announce the release of version 1.0.22 of the Oregon Inspector App (iOS) which resolves multiple errors. Along with many other issues that we were able to address was the ability to save your Favorite Comments when upgrading your inspector app. From now on you will no longer be required to delete the app before installing the new version. That's right! You will only need to follow the instructions below to upgrade the Oregon Inspector App. You can read a full list of fixes and enhancements in the Release Notes here:
https://www.oregon.gov/bcd/epermitting/Documents/apps/release-notes-1022.pdf. After opening and logging into the Oregon Inspector App touch the "Menu" option and then touch "Help." This will take you to our help page where you can click the link to install the app. Follow the onscreen instructions to upgrade to version 1.0.22. You will also be able to review our release notes to see all the errors that were addressed since version 1.0.15. Attention - If your agency requires the MDM File for installation, or you aren't sure; please check with your IT Staff. The MDM File is available from the same "Help" page, or at this URL: https://citygovapp.com/app/oregoninspectorapp.htm. For all Oregon BCD inspectors, the app is already automatically updated on your device. Please contact the ePermitting Help Desk if you have any questions or experience any issues - [email protected] or 503-373-7396. Agencies can now exclude the Residential and Commercial Demo record types from the expiration process. This means that these two record types will never be added to an Expiration Set or have an Expiration Letter created. If your agency is interested in excluding Demo record types from the expiration process, please submit a help desk ticket by emailing [email protected].
It was brought to our attention that email addresses and phone numbers were exposed on existing records in Citizen Access. This meant that any public user could search for a record and see these important contact details. As of 12/22/2020, email addresses and phone numbers are hidden for all contacts, owners, and licensed professionals across all modules.
We will be installing the newest version of Accela in a test environment in the next couple of weeks. The ePermitting team will be testing extensively and if all goes smoothly we anticipate rolling it out to all of you in production early this spring. This version is reported to fix many issues as well as delivering improved functionality.
On Dec. 1, 2020, a new feature was introduced to the Onsite module called Onsite Renewals where maintenance providers and property owners can submit annual inspection reports online for ATT systems and pumping records for holding tanks through the ePermitting website. DEQ and county staff can also record and track the annual inspection reports in the back office. There are also three new letters that can be generated and sent directly from Accela: 1) Letters to notify all certified maintenance providers across the state of the upcoming annual report due date; 2) Letters to notify to property owners of the upcoming due date for annual pumping records; and 3) Follow-up letters to notify property owners that their annual inspection report has not been submitted by a maintenance provider for the reporting year.
The Onsite Renewal feature was developed in partnership between the ePermitting Program and DEQ to create a better way for all participating Onsite agencies to track annual inspection reports. 14 out of our 17 Onsite agencies decided to participate and utilize this new feature. We are excited to provide an online submittal process for a new community of users across the state and to provide more efficiencies for DEQ and our counties. Building Codes Division is using ePermitting to pilot a new type of minor labels. The new minor labels are for a limited scope of mechanical work. The pilot project is occurring in Umatilla County, Coos County, Salem and Marion County. Contractors in these locations can purchase labels through the ePermitting portal. When the contractors do a minor label installation, they take photographs of the installation using a “VuSpex” inspection submittal app. These photographs are submitted to Accela by the submittal app. One of the contractor’s group of 10 minor label installations is then inspected by a Salem or Marion County inspector reviewing the pictures submitted by the contractor. This will save inspectors having to perform inspections in homes months after the installation was performed. The pilot began in November and is planned to run for a minimum of 6 months.
We have introduced an enhancement to the Planning Tracking record type in the Planning Module - a Custom Table for Trees that allows agencies to enter detailed information about Trees as well as the addition of some general application specific information related to Trees – see screenshots below. This information, both Custom Table and ASI, can be used for application tracking only - or it can be further used to issue an actual Tree Permit via the Planning Workflow. A submittal form is required to configure some custom dropdowns in the Custom Table for Trees. Note: an Application Type of "Trees" is highly recommended if you intend on issuing an actual Tree Permit. This can be easily added through a helpdesk ticket request. There are standard Tree ASI that are Model (not customizable).  Then there is the Tree ASIT/Custom Table - in this Custom Table, there are two customizable dropdowns: Tree Application Type and Type of Tree.  Step-by-step HOW TO instructions and the required submittal are available in the Kayako Knowledgebase.
Two new residential record types have been added to the Oregon Model – Dwelling Fire Sprinkler System (Standalone) which is the structural fire sprinkler system record type and Dwelling Fire Sprinkler System (Multipurpose) which is the plumbing fire sprinkler system record type.
These record types were developed in response to enhancement requests from many of our participating agencies. They are currently installed to Production for all full service Model agencies. Dwelling Fire Sprinkler System (Standalone) was turned on for all agencies with the structural program and Dwelling Fire Sprinkler System (Multipurpose) was turned on for all agencies with the plumbing program. These record types are available through the back office and through ACA. Records initiated through ACA will come in as application only with the fees in a New status. Since the release of the new Oregon Inspector App in January there have been multiple updates to address issues that inspectors have helped to identify. Those updates have been announced via email, but as we all know we can miss those during our busy days. In an effort to ensure that inspectors have the most up to date version of the app we are happy to announce that all updates will now be available within the app on the menu. 1. To check for updates at anytime touch the “Menu” option from the app and then touch “Help”. 2. The Oregon Inspector App will minimize and your safari browser on your iPad or iPhone will open the Inspector App Help Page where you can find instructions on how to download and install your app along with announcements on app updates. Remember to always read the instructions before loading the newest version.  |
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