Use Tags to Give Users with Manager Roles Limited Access to Data

Features used: Tags, Saved Filters, User Management

BEACON lets Admin users grant users with the role of Manager limited access to customizable subsets of locations and meters. This lets:

• Utilities that resell water to other utilities grant district water managers BEACON access so they can monitor usage at locations that fall within their jurisdiction.
• Consultants and contractors monitor usage at locations that pertain to their projects.

This capability combines three features: Tags, Saved Filters and User Management. It also requires Admin privileges to perform the following actions:

• Use Tags to mark the locations of interest.
• Create a Saved Filter based on those Tags.
• With User Management, give a user the role of Manager and assign them access to the locations included in the Saved Filter.

Tags

BEACON lets you set Tags in two ways: With the Tags button on Monitor page cards and with Data Exchange files. Use whichever method you prefer. In general, the Tags button works well with small numbers of accounts/locations. Data Exchange files are well suited for adding tags to a lot of locations.

About Tags

Most Tags in BEACON are location-centric, meaning they won’t disappear if you change out a meter. Other tags are meter-centric. Such Meter-centric tags will disappear when a particular meter is removed.

BEACON uses fixed labels for many Tags. That is, Site, Building Type, Water Type, Main Use, Funding and Building Number have names that suggest a specific use. But you can enter any name you like under those labels.

For example, to give a consultant access to meters being used for a water analysis study, you could create a Main Use tag called “Water Analysis Study.”

There is no right or wrong way to name tags, but we recommend giving them meaningful names whether you use the Tags button on a card or a Data Exchange file to create them.

After deciding on a Tag name, to add Tags to each of the locations of interest with the Tags button, do the following:

1. Find the card for the location/meter/account of interest.
2. Click the Tags button (circled in red).
3. Use the Select Tag drop-down menu to pick one of Funding, Water Type, Site, Building Type and Main Use.

   Note: If you do not see the Tag you are interested in, go to Assets>Utilities Settings and check the corresponding Tag box, then click Update Utility.

   

4. In the Tags pop-up menu, enter the name of your Tag in the Value field.
5. Click Create New Tag.
6. Repeat this process for all of the locations you want to add this tag to.
   Note: When finished, it might take BEACON several minutes to process the new tags and display them as filters on the Monitor page.

Create a Saved Filter Based on the Tag

Saved Filters are collections of filters that can be recalled at the click of a button.
Remember, filters are saved on a per-user basis, so any filter that is created by one user will not be visible to other users.

To create a Saved Filter based on the Tag you created, do the following:

1. On the Monitor page, locate the Tag you created in steps 1-6 above.
2. Select the filter by clicking it. In our example, we created Tags>Main Use>water analysis study.
3. With the Filter drop-down menu, select Save Current Filter.
4. Give the Filter a meaningful name.
5. Click Save.

Create Tags Data Exchange Files

To use a Data Exchange file to add Tags to each of the locations of interest, do the following:

1. Create a file that includes at a minimum the following column headers:Account_ID
   Location_ID
   Meter_ID
   Meter_Size
   Meter_Register_Number (if meter is a compound)
   Register_Unit_Of_Measure
   Register_Resolution

   Include at least one of the following Location Tag column headers:

   Location_Building_Type
   Location_Water_Type
   Location_DHS_Code
   Location_District
   Location_Site
   Location_Funding
   Location_Main_Use

2. Include a row with all of the relevant data for each location.
3. Enter the name of your tag in the Location Tag column for each row in the file.
4. Save the file in CSV format.
5. Import it by dropping it onto the Assets>System Sync import module.

Create a New BEACON User and Grant Access to the Locations included in your Saved Filter.

The next step is to invite the manager or consultant to use BEACON. If the user already has BEACON access, go to steps 6-10 below.

From the Users page Staff tab:

1. Click New User.

    

2. Enter the user’s full name and email address (required).
3. Use the drop-down menu to choose Manager.
4. Use the Assign Filter drop-down menu to select the Saved Filter that includes the locations you want to give the new user access to.
5. Click Invite New User.
   An email notification containing a link to complete the signup process will be sent to the user. The link is good for 30 days. If they do not set up their account in this time, an Admin user can resend the invitation.

If the user already has access to your BEACON portfolio, change their role to that of Manager by doing the following:

• From Users>Staff, type the username of interest in the Search box.
• Click the More Options icon and select Edit User.
• Use the Role drop-down menu to change their Role to that of Manager.
• Use the Assign Filter drop-down menu to select the Saved Filter that includes the locations you want to give the new user access to.
• Click Save.

That’s all there is to it.

About dmilanobadgermeter

Technical Documentation Specialist, Badger Meter