PMI Evidence Tracker™ Copyright© 2006, Progressive Microtechnology, Inc All Rights Reserved Progressive Microtechnology, Inc. 11150 Woodward Lane Cincinnati, OH 45241 Phone 513-782-5050 Fax 513-782-5051 SOFTWARE LICENSE & LIMITED WARRANTY PMI SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS Progressive Microtechnology, Inc. (PMI) grants you a nonexclusive license, to use the accompanying computer software and related documentation ("PMI Evidence Tracker™ Software” or “PMI Lite Software”), subject to the following provisions. You assume full responsibility for the selection of the PMI Evidence Tracker™ and PMI Lite Software to achieve your intended results, and for the installation, use, and results obtained from the PMI Evidence Tracker™ and PMI Lite Software and associated products. PMI has some software that may be copied, and other software that may not. The DEMONSTRATION VERSION of any software product may be copied and distributed freely. 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Product Name Version FOR YOUR RECORDS PMI Evidence Tracker™ Software with PMI Lite Software Date PMI Evidence Tracker™ 2 Table of Contents 6 Initial Start Up ---------------------------------------------- Set Up --------------------------------------------------------------------7 • User Admin Setup --------------------------------------------7 • Define Department Setup -----------------------------------9 • System Setup --------------------------------------------------10 Audit ----------------------------------------------------------------------10 • Audit Options ---------------------------------------------------11 • Generate Random Audit -------------------------------------11 • Generate Full Audit -------------------------------------------12 • Generate Full Audit Variance -------------------------------12 • Generate Variance Only Report ---------------------------13 Evidence -----------------------------------------------------------------13 • Evidence Log --------------------------------------------------13 • Entering Evidence --------------------------------------------15 • Case Number --------------------------------------------------15 • Tracking Number ---------------------------------------------16 • Offense/Incident Location ----------------------------------16 • Pouch Number ------------------------------------------------16 • Offense ---------------------------------------------------------16 • Evidence Description ---------------------------------------17 • Victim/Complaint ---------------------------------------------17 • Suspect ---------------------------------------------------------17 • Date/Time of Recovery -------------------------------------17 • Location of Recovery ----------------------------------------17 • Recovered By --------------------------------------------------17 • Transported By ------------------------------------------------17 • Reason Seized ------------------------------------------------17 • Temporary Location ------------------------------------------17 • Case Status ----------------------------------------------------17 • Evidence Room Location -----------------------------------18 • Disposition ------------------------------------------------------18 • Dispose ---------------------------------------------------------19 • Date of Disposition -------------------------------------------19 • Print Label ------------------------------------------------------19 Find Records -----------------------------------------------------------20 Edit Evidence ----------------------------------------------------------22 Delete Evidence ------------------------------------------------------22 PMI Evidence Tracker™ Chain of Custody ------------------------------------------------------23 • Custody Log ---------------------------------------------------23 Reports ------------------------------------------------------------------25 • Case and Custody Report ---------------------------------26 • Cases Out Report --------------------------------------------27 • Archive Case and Custody Report -----------------------28 • Inactive Cases Report --------------------------------------28 • Disposition Report -------------------------------------------28 • Property Receipt ---------------------------------------------29 Custom Reports -------------------------------------------------------30 1 Create a Custom Report --------------------------------31 2 Add a Field -------------------------------------------------32 3 Comparison and Criteria --------------------------------33 4 Edit Custom Reports -------------------------------------35 5 Delete Custom Reports ---------------------------------35 Archive ------------------------------------------------------------------35 File -----------------------------------------------------------------------36 • Change Field Headers --------------------------------------37 • Change Case Number ---------------------------------------38 • Change Disposition -----------------------------------------38 Assets --------------------------------------------------------------------39 • Asset Log -------------------------------------------------------40 • Asset ID Number ----------------------------------------------40 • Tracking Number ----------------------------------------------40 • Asset Category -------------------------------------------------40 • Manufacturer ----------------------------------------------------41 • Model -------------------------------------------------------------41 • Serial Number --------------------------------------------------41 • Description ------------------------------------------------------41 • Assigned To ----------------------------------------------------41 • Location ----------------------------------------------------------41 • Date Acquired --------------------------------------------------41 • Date Liquidated ------------------------------------------------41 • Value -------------------------------------------------------------41 • Disposition ------------------------------------------------------41 • Print Label ------------------------------------------------------41 • Field Headers --------------------------------------------------42 • Reset Field Headers -----------------------------------------42 • Change Categories -------------------------------------------42 • Archive Assets -------------------------------------------------43 PMI Evidence Tracker™ • Property Reports -----------------------------------------------44 • Asset List Report ----------------------------------------------44 • Audit Report ----------------------------------------------------45 • Archived Asset List Report ----------------------------------46 • Asset Categories Report -------------------------------------47 • Asset Receipt ---------------------------------------------------48 • Generate Full Asset Variance ------------------------------49 Portable Data Terminal (Optional) ---------------------------------50 • Setup Portable Data Terminal ------------------------------50 • Configuring the BHT8044D ---------------------------------50 • Configuring Transfer Utility ----------------------------------51 • Download Programs ------------------------------------------52 • Performing Audit with Portable Data Collector ---------55 • Evidence Audit -------------------------------------------------55 • Asset Audit ------------------------------------------------------58 • Uploading Collected Data Files ----------------------------60 • Variance Reports ----------------------------------------------62 • Full Audit Variance Report ----------------------------------62 • Variance Only Report -----------------------------------------63 • Full Asset Variance Report ----------------------------------64 • Deleting Files From BHT8044D ----------------------------- 64 • Getting to Know Your BHT8044D --------------------------- 65 PMI Evidence Tracker™ Initial Start Up To use the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software for the first time, double click onto the icon, which brings up the “LOGIN” screen. When the login screen appears, type “admin” for both the user id and password. Be sure that you use lower case for both fields, as they are case sensitive. Once you have typed in the user id and password, double click onto the “Log In” button, which will then unlock the security protection and give you access to the program for the first time. In the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software all fields that are shaded in red are mandatory and must be completed or you will not be able to proceed with the program. If one of the mandatory fields is left blank, you will get the following error message when you try to log in. Once you have gained access to the PMI Evidence Tracker™ main menu screen, you can begin to customize the software for your department and to assign passwords to those who you want to have access to the various parts of the program. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 6 Setup Setup allows you to configure your PMI Evidence Tracker™ software to meet the specific requirements of your organization. The main menu has ten option tabs, which include “’File’, ‘User Admin’, ‘Define Department’, ‘System Setup’, ‘Audit’, ‘Evidence’, ‘Chain of Custody’, ‘Reports’, ‘Archive’, and ‘Label Design’”. User Admin Setup Your first activity should be to decide who will be the system administrator. This is a most important decision as the administrator is the individual who will have overall responsibility to manage the program, and determine what level of access each user will be given. It is the system administrator who should initially setup the program and be the only one who can change the field headers. You can access any of the option tabs in the main menu by either double clicking onto the desired tab with your left mouse button, or hold down the “Alt” key while pressing the key that is underlined in the tab name. i.e. + will give you access to the “User Setup” menu. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 7 Once you are in the “User Setup” menu you can begin to configure the program as to who will have access to the various parts of the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software. When the setup screen first opens the default “admin” user id name will be highlighted in the data information grid. Notice that the administrator has access to all parts of the program. You should consider carefully who you give access to the User Setup menu, for they will be able to control the software security system. To edit or make changes to the default “admin” user or any other user, double click on the black arrow or box adjacent to the User ID that you want to modify. The first thing you should do is to change the password for the “admin”, record it, and secure it in a safe place. Be sure to save the changes before you proceed. If there is to be an assistant administrator you will need to give that person a user id and unique password. The assistant administrator must at least have access to the User Admin option menu in case, for any reason, the administrator can not fulfill his admin duties. To add a user click onto the Add button and the cursor will move to the User Id field in the input screen. Enter the new user id, password, person’s first and last name, and their employee number if applicable. To give a person access to a specific part of the program, check the appropriate box. You may, for example, want a beat officer to only be able to enter evidence but not have access to any other parts of the program; therefore, you would only check the add evidence box. Once you have completed setting up an individual, click on the save button to finish the process. Continue this procedure until you have added all personnel who you want to have access to the various parts of the program. Remember, only the administrator and assistant administrator should be able to have access to the User Setup screen. The following defines what a check in a particular box would mean: • Admin – This gives an authorized individual access to the User Setup option Screen along with the ability to change the field header and case number. Whoever has access to this screen controls who can enter the various parts of the software. Only the administrator and assistant administrator should have access to this screen. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 8 • Add Evidence – Allows authorized individual to enter information into the Evidence Log. • Edit Evidence - Allows authorized individual to edit records in the Evidence Log. • Add Custody - Allows authorized individual to enter information into the Custody Log. • View Custody - Allows authorized individual to view records in the Custody Log. • Delete - Allows authorized individual to permanently delete records. • Design - Allows authorized individual to have access to the label design portion of the program where they can design new labels or modify existing ones. • Print - Allows authorized individual to print labels. • Reports - Allows authorized individual to view and print reports. • Archive - Allows authorized individual to move inactive records from the active evidence database file to an archive file. • Dispose – Allows authorized individual to tag items of evidence for disposal. Once you have completed entering user id and pass words for all of your people, you can close out of the User Setup screen and return to the Main Menu. Define Department Setup Access the PMI Evidence Tracker Department Setup screen by clicking onto the Define Department option tab in the main menu or hold down the key and press the key. The Department Setup screen is where you can customize the program with the name and address of your specific Organization. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 9 The white field is the only one that is not required to be filled. Once you have completed entering the necessary information, click onto the “Save” button and then the “Close” button to return to the main menu. System Setup The PMI Evidence Tracker™ System Setup screen is accessed by clicking onto the System Setup option tab in the main menu or by holding down the key and press the key. The system setup is used to tell the program to which parallel port the label printer is connected, the path to the label design software, the path to the evidence identification label and the path to the asset label. The information used for the design path and the default label name path is based on where you installed the label design software and id label file during the initial software installation. When you have completed inputting the required information, click the “Save” button then “Close”. Audit In the Audit option menu there are five selections to choose from including “’Audit Options’, ‘Generate Random Audit’, ‘Generate Full Audit, ‘Generate Full Audit Variance’ and ‘Generate Variance Only Report’”. The Audit Options page is used to setup the parameters that you want to use for conducting random audits. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 10 The audit period can be set for either days or months. If you want the measurement period to be in days enter a “0” and a “1” to use months. The Audit Units field is used to establish how much time there will be between random audits. If your audit period is in days for example, and you enter “45” in the Audit Units field, the program will schedule a random audit every 45 days. In the Number of Items to Audit field you will enter the number of pieces of evidence that you want to be audited. The software will use an algorithm to randomly select the items to audit from all of the pieces of evidence in the PMI Evidence Tracker™ system database. The software will keep track of the date that the last random audit was conducted. If you check the Audit System Active box an alarm will be set that will remind you when the next audit becomes due. Be sure to save your settings before you close this screen. If you click onto Generate Random Audit in the Audit option menu you will be able to print out a report based on the number of units that you previously entered in the Number of Items to Audit field. The report is designed to show the case number, tracking number, evidence description, where the piece of evidence is located in the property room, and the time/date when the report was run. Adjacent to each piece of evidence there is a box marked “Present” and “Missing”. Whenever the physical audit is conducted, the person doing the inventory will mark the appropriate box for each piece of evidence listed on the report and the date the audit was conducted. When the Random Audit is completed, signed, and dated, it should be placed into a permanent file as proof of compliance. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 11 If you click onto the Generate Full Audit in the Audit menu, you will be able to print out a report containing the total number of pieces of evidence that are in the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. The full audit report is structured like the random audit report and is used in the same manner. If a piece of evidence is found to be missing, the first thing you should do is to check the Custody Log or run the Cases Out Report to see if it has been signed out. The General Full Audit and Random Audit once completed, signed, and dated, should be placed into a permanent file as proof of compliance. If you click onto the Generate Full Audit Variance in the Audit menu, and you have conducted an audit using the optional portable data terminal with integrated scanner, you will be able to print out a report that will show all variances in the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. The report will tell you if something is present, missing, not in the database, misplaced or signed out to court, the lab or some other place. Using the portable data terminal automates the process of taking inventory of your property room. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 12 If you click onto the Generate Variance Only Report in the Audit menu, and you have conducted an audit using the optional portable data terminal with integrated scanner, you will be able to print out a report that will show only items that are not in database, missing or have a variances when compared to the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. Evidence The Evidence option gives you access to the Evidence Log, which is the main input screen and the heart of the PMI Evidence Tracker™ program. It is in the Evidence Log where all evidentiary property is entered into the system. All property gets logged neatly and systematically into the program, ensuring that each piece of evidence is managed in a consistent and accurate manor. Information on a piece of evidence and it’s location in the property room can be quickly produced on demand. If you have been given authorization to access the Evidence Log by the system administrator, you need only to clicking onto the Evidence tab with your left mouse button or hold down the “Alt” key while pressing the “E” key. You will notice that the Evidence Log uses a simple, one screen format for entering data. The log was designed to be “Cop Friendly” using recognizable input fields to make it easy for users to enter evidence quickly and accurately. Officers will adapt to using the Evidence Log input screen, with minimal guidance in a very short time. Evidence Log In the Evidence Log there are seven option buttons to “‘Cancel’, ‘Delete’, ‘Add’, ‘Save’, ‘Close’, ‘Find’, and ‘Print Label,’” for each piece of evidence. Some of these options such as Delete, Add, and Print Label, are controlled by the system administrator and will be grayed out to those who have not been authorized to PMI Evidence Tracker™ 13 have access. It is quite common for authorization to be given to Add and Print Label but not to delete records. The following defines the function of each of the various options: • Cancel - Allows individuals to clear record information entered into the screen fields before the record has been saved. The information will be cleared from all fields on the screen. • Delete - Allows authorized individuals to remove a record from the program database. This option should be limited by the administrator in order to protect the integrity and security of the database. • Add - Allows authorized individuals to enter evidence into the Program database. You must first click the “Add” button before you can begin entering data. • Save – This button has two functions. Use the “Save” button after adding a new piece of evidence in order to save the date to the program database. It is also used after editing information in an evidence record, if you have been authorized to do so, in order to save the changes to the record. After the save function has been completed, the record will be added to the information grid at the bottom of the screen. The grid lists cases in numerical sequence and is used as a quick means to locate specific cases or pieces of evidence. • Close - Clicking this button will take you back to the Main Menu. You may also get back to the Main Menu by clicking the X in the upper right corner of the screen. • Find - Clicking this option enables you to find a specific case record without scrolling through the information grid. If you click the “Find” button will get a pull down screen where you can enter the specific case number you want to find. This is a quick and easy way to locate specific case numbers when you have a large number of cases in your database. To go back to the full list of records in your database you need to enter “all” in the Find Case Number screen. • Print Label - This allows authorized individuals to print barcode labels with most of the information about a particular piece of evidence PMI Evidence Tracker™ 14 as entered in the Evidence Log. The label must be attached to the evidence pouch or container for fast and easy identification. Entering Evidence When you first access the Evidence Log you will notice that some fields are shaded red. All shaded red fields are mandatory and must be filled in before the record can be saved. You can move from field to field on this screen, either by clicking the key or placing the curser in desired field and clicking the left mouse button. If the number of characters allowable in each field is reached, the system will beep and no more characters will be accepted in the field. All fields accept alpha/numerical characters. Before beginning to enter new information into the Evidence Log, authorized individuals will need to click onto the “Add” button, which moves the curser to the first Case Number field. Be sure to enter information as accurately and precisely as possible and always review the entered date before saving. Once a record has been saved, it can only be changed by someone who has been authorized to edit records. The Case Number (up to15 characters) is the unique number assigned by your department to identify the incident associated with the piece of evidence for which you are creating the log record. The same number is used for all pieces of evidence in a particular case. The program has been designed to accommodate two additional case numbers that may be issued by another governing authority. If for example, the case gets assigned to the next level of authority, (Ex. County) it may have an additional case number issued by that jurisdiction. This number will be entered as Case Number 2 (up to 15 characters). If the case then gets assigned to the third level of authority, (Ex. State) it may get another number issued by that level. This number is entered as Case Number 3 (up to 15 characters). PMI Evidence Tracker™ 15 The Tracking Number is a unique number that is automatically generated by the software to keep track of a particular piece of evidence within the program. The number is not assigned until a record has been saved. The tracking number will be added to the information grid at the bottom of the screen with the rest of the data, when the new record is saved. If the record on a piece of evidence is retrieved using the Find option or by double clicking on the black arrow next to the appropriate case number, the tracking number will appear in the appropriate field along with the rest of the data for that record. The next field, Offense/Incident Location (up to 60 characters) is where you enter a description of the location or the address where the offense or incident took place. The Pouch Number ____of____ field (up to 6 characters per section) is divided into two parts. Let’s say you are working on a case where two pieces of evidence were collected and each piece was placed into a separate collection bag or pouch. If the record being created is for the first piece of evidence, you would enter a 1 of 2 for the first piece of evidence and a 2 of 2 for the second piece of evidence. Suppose at a later date and time another piece of evidence is collected for this case number. There are basically two ways to handle this situation. If the individual making the entry for the new piece of evidence has been given authorization to Edit Evidence in the User Setup screen, the new entry may be entered as Pouch Number 3 of 3. The original records can then be edited to read Pouch Number 1 or 3 and 2 of 3 respectively. If the individual is not authorized to edit the previous entry, the new entry will still reference the same case number and the new piece of evidence would be entered as Pouch Number 1 of 1. The other records can be edited later if desired by someone who has the authorization to do so. The value of editing existing records when a new piece of evidence is added to an existing case is you can quickly see how many total pieces of evidence are associated with the case number. In the Offense field (up to 30 characters) you will be entering a brief description of the particular incident or crime. Since this field is alpha/numeric, you can enter either a written description or an offense code number. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 16 Moving next to the Evidence Description field (up to 99 characters), a detailed description of property taken into possession for a particular case can be entered. The next field, Victim/Complaint (up to 60 characters) is for recording either the name of the person who was the victim of the crime or the name of the person filing a complaint. The Suspect (up to 60 characters) field is for recording the name of the person(s) believed responsible for the specific incident or crime. Date/Time of Recovery must be entered in a mm/dd/yy hh:mm format. This is the date and time the particular evidence was collected. Time can be entered in a regular or military configuration. If military time is used it will be converted into regular time and the appropriate AM/PM designation will be added when the record is saved. If you are using regular time be sure to add the AM or PM, otherwise the program will by default make the time AM. The Location of Recovery field (up to 99 characters) is the description of the specific location where the evidence was collected. Recovered By (up to 30 characters) is for the name of the individual who collected this particular piece of property as evidence. There may be an occasion when the person collecting the evidence does not transport it to the property room. Only when the person transporting the evidence is different from the one who collected it do you need to fill in the next field. Transported By (up to 30 characters) is for the name of the person transporting evidence from the incident scene to the temporary or permanent storage location. The Reason Seized (up to 30 characters) is for entering the purpose for which a particular piece of property is being retained (Ex. to be tested, holding for court). Temporary Location (up to 25 characters) identifies the temporary location used to store evidence until such time as the property officer logs it into the evidence room. This will typically be done if the property room is not open when the evidence is brought to the department to be logged in. Case Status has two entry options, __Active or __Inactive, indicating whether or not a case is ongoing. The default setting is active. After data is entered for a particular piece of evidence and then saved, the file is now officially an Active file. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 17 When the case is closed and there is no more activity, you should change the case status from Active to Inactive by editing all of the records associated with the case number. Saving an inactive piece of evidence will mark the record for archiving. We will be discussing archiving records later in this manual. The Evidence Room Location (up to 25 characters) is the location assigned to evidence in the secured storage area, usually by the property room custodian. Generally one individual and at least one back up person will be assigned duties as custodian. The evidence will be taken from the temporary locker or from whoever transported the items, by the custodian and assigned a location in the evidence room. After assigning a location for the evidence, the custodian needs to edit the Evidence Log and save the modified record. Saving a record with evidence room location field filled, will simultaneously enter the record onto the Custody Log in the Chain of Custody. The Case Number, Tracking Number, In From, and Received By fields are automatically entered in the Custody Log along with the time and date. The program uses the Temporary Location from the Evidence Log as the first selection for the In From field in the Custody Log. If, however, that field is empty the program will use the Transported By field. If the Transported By field is empty the program will use the Recovered By field. The system will enter the person’s name who is logged into the PMI Evidence Tracker™ program in the Received By field in the Custody Log. The Custody Log keeps track of each piece of property as it moves in and out of your evidence room. The Disposition field is used to designate how evidence is to be disposed of when a case is closed and the evidence is no longer needed. The option choices include ‘”Destroy’, ‘Auction Off’, ‘Return’ or ‘Other.’” Select what to do with the evidence when it is no longer needed by using the up or down arrows on the right side of the disposition field, and then highlight your choice. The method of disposition may be determined at any time. If upon receiving the evidence into custody you know it is something that needs to be returned, you may want to choose Return at that time; otherwise, the method of disposition can be decided at another more appropriate time or when the information becomes available. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 18 After all data is entered for a particular piece of evidence, click the “Save” button. If all mandatory fields are not filled, you will get the following screen. Click “OK” to return to the Evidence Log input screen where you can finish filling in any required fields. The new record will be placed in its proper numeric location in the information grid located in the lower portion of the Evidence Log screen. The Dispose field is marked after it has been determined that the evidence is no longer needed and is ready to be permanently removed from your evidence room. You can run the Inactive Report and use it as a tool to help you review and decide which pieces of evidence can be marked for disposal. At this point, a Disposition Report (see Reports section) may be run for submission to the Judge or court along with your request for authorization to dispose of evidence. Once authorization has been obtained and a piece of evidence is ready for disposal, a Property Receipt should be printed from the Reports option (see Property Receipt under the Reports section) to be submitted along with the associated evidence when it is turned over. The receipt and evidence would then be given to the person assigned to transport the item to the disposition point or for return to the proper owner. Date of Disposition is the date the disposition of the evidence actually took place. The date will be entered into the Evidence Log from the Property Receipt. Once all the evidence has been disposed of, the case can be marked Inactive if not already done, which will tag the record for archiving. To print identification labels that can be applied to each piece of evidence or evidence container is usually done at the same time that the evidence is received in by the property room custodian. When the Print Label button is clicked, you will get a Print Quantity screen where you enter the number of labels you want printed. Click “OK” to print or “Cancel” to abort printing. You now have permanent labels, which can be attached directly to the corresponding piece of evidence or to the plastic bag, etc. that holds that evidence. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 19 Notice that the information for each piece of evidence is neatly, legibly and uniformly displayed on a label. In addition to the text fields the label has two bar codes. One bar code is encoded with the case number associated with the piece of evidence and the second bar code under the Item number is encoded with the unique tracking number. These two bar codes will be used to simplify the process of recording pieces of evidence as they are moved in and out of the system. Find Records By scrolling through the information grid at the bottom of the Evidence Log, specific pieces of evidence can be easily located for review or editing. A record can also be located by using the Find function located next to the Close button at the top of the screen. By entering a case number and clicking “OK”, a new information grid will be displayed on the bottom of the screen, with all the records in numerical sequence by tracking number, for the selected case number. The first record in the group will also be displayed in the input fields in the upper part of the screen. To all find all cases that begin with a specific number or character you must enter a ‘%’ plus the desired number or character. (%character) The system will return only those cases that start with the selected number or character. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 20 To all find all cases that end with a specific number or character you must enter the desired number or character plus a ‘%’. (character%) The system will return only those cases that end with the selected number or character. To all find all cases that have a specific number or character in the middle you must enter a ‘%’ plus the desired number or character plus ‘%’. (%character%) The system will return only those cases that have the specified number or character in the middle. To bring all case numbers back into view in the information grid, click Find again, then enter “ALL” into the blank field and click ”OK”. All case numbers will now appear on the grid. If an invalid case number is entered, a screen will appear with blank fields. After entering and saving information about a piece of evidence, authorized individuals may want to print a copy of the Case and Custody report from the Report option on the Evidence Tracker Main Menu screen. This will enable the user to make a hard copy of the record information to put into the case file or if desired for their own records. (see Report section for more detailed information) PMI Evidence Tracker™ simplifies the process of entering additional evidence for the same case number. When the case number is entered for a subsequent piece of evidence and the Tab key is pressed, the program will automatically fill in certain pertinent information from the last record entered with the same case number. This feature assures that repetitive data for the additional pieces of evidence in the same case will be entered accurately and with fewer key strokes. With the previous case information placed in the appropriate fields, specific data can now be entered for new pieces of evidence. Edit Evidence PMI Evidence Tracker™ 21 Authorized individuals may edit information about evidence that has been previously entered and saved. To edit a record you double click on the black arrow or box adjacent to the case number you want to change in the information grid. The information about a particular piece of evidence will then be loaded into the input fields in the upper part of the screen. You can move from field to field to make any desired changes by using your TAB key or mouse. When you have finished be sure to click Save. Notice the record has been modified in the information grid in the lower part of the screen. Delete Evidence Authorized individuals can delete a record from the program. Be very careful who is given permission to delete records, because once a record has been deleted, it is permanently removed from the database and can not be recovered. To delete a record you have to double click your left mouse button on the arrow or box located adjacent to the case record you want to permanently remove. The record for the particular piece of evidence will be loaded into the input fields in the upper part of the screen. Click Delete and the following screen will appear. Click OK to delete or Cancel to exit. Remember, if you delete a record it is permanently removed. Chain of Custody This is the menu option that keeps track of each piece of evidence as it is moved in and out of your evidence room. This is one of the most important tools used for maintaining the chain of custody for a particular piece of evidence. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 22 Because of its critical importance, only the designated property room custodian and any alternate custodian should be given the responsibility of maintaining and tracking information in the Custody Log. To access the log use your left mouse button and click on the Chain of Custody tab from the PMI Evidence Tracker™ Main Menu. This takes you to the Custody Log. Custody Log At the top of the Custody Log screen are five option tabs that include of Cancel, Delete, Add, Save and Close. • Cancel - Allows authorized individuals to clear information entered on the screen before it has been saved. Information will be removed from all input fields showing on the screen. • Delete - Allows authorized individuals to permanently remove records from the program. • Add - Allows authorized individuals authority to enter information into this section of the program. • Save - After all information has been entered into the appropriate fields, the record has to be saved. The following screen will appear if any mandatory field is not filled. After the save function has been completed, the new record will be added to the appropriate location in the information grid at the bottom of the screen. • Close - Clicking this button will return you back to the Main Menu. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 23 When you enter the Custody Log for the first time, you will notice that the information grid at the bottom of the screen already contains data about pieces of evidence that had been previously saved to an evidence room location in the Evidence Log. The Custody Log keeps constant track of evidence as it is checked in and out of the property room, for whatever reasons. Whether the evidence is going to the lab for testing, court, or other areas within the judicial system, there is an accurate record maintained of the chain of custody. Checking a piece of evidence in or out of the property room is achieved simply by scanning the bar codes on the evidence label. Click onto the Add button at the top of the Custody Log screen. Scanning the top bar code on the evidence label will automatically enter the Case Number in the appropriate location and advance the cursor to the next field. Scanning the second bar code will automatically enter the Item Number in the appropriate field. The software knows if the piece of evidence is being checked in or out because it looks at the last activity and automatically advances the cursor to the appropriate In From or Out To field. Using bar codes in this manner virtually eliminates key stroke error and significantly speeds up the process of checking evidence in and out of the evidence room. If a case number or tracking number has not been saved in the Evidence Log, you will get the following screen when you try to enter the evidence into the Custody Log. With the cursor in either the In From or Out To field (up to 30 characters each), you will need to type in where the piece of evidence is coming in from or where it is going out to. Tab over to the Received By field (up to 40 characters) and enter the person’s name to which you are transferring custody of the evidence. The program automatically enters the date and time taken from the computer’s internal clock. If you are checking evidence out, you now need to enter why the evidence is being moved out from the official storage area in the Reason Out field (up to 30 characters). Save the record and the data will be added to the appropriate location in the information grid in the bottom portion of the screen. Evidence may be checked in PMI Evidence Tracker™ 24 and out of the program as many times as necessary. You can locate or view data about specific pieces of evidence by scrolling through the records in the information grid. When you come to the desired file and double clicking your left mouse button on the adjacent arrow, the information for that entry will be displayed in the appropriate fields above. From here information can be deleted, if the administrator in the ‘User Set Up’ screen has given you access to this function. If you do delete a record, remember that it will be permanently removed from the database and cannot be retrieved. Reports Under the reports menu there are six pre-designed reports that will help you better organize and maintain your property room. Anyone can access this menu who has been given authorization to do so in the User Admin Setup. Case and Custody Report The Case and Custody Report provides documentation on all the evidence collected for a particular case number. Often this report is used to provide a hard document to be placed into the case file or to be given to the individual who collected the evidence for his/her records. The information includes all data that has been entered for each piece of evidence in the Evidence Log. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 25 If you want to run a report on an individual case number you simply click onto the Case and Custody Report in the Reports menu. You can scroll down through the listed case numbers until you find the one you want, then double click on the arrow next to the selected number and the report will be presented on the screen. To print the report, simply click onto the printer icon in the upper left side of the report screen. Another way to run the report is to highlight the desired case number and click onto the Report button. A third way to run the report is to click onto the Case # button and a case number input screen will be displayed. Enter the case number you want to run a report on and click the “OK” button. The Case and Custody Report will show the case number, your department information, and the current date in the header of the report. Each piece of evidence will be listed in numeric order by tracking number along with all pertinent information. Cases Out Report PMI Evidence Tracker™ 26 The Cases Out Report is designed to furnish a list of all pieces of evidence that have been signed out of your property room and not been returned. In the report header is the case number, tracking number, department information, and date. The report produces one page for each piece of evidence and lists the same pertinent information from the Evidence Log as does the Case and Custody Report. In addition, the Cases Out Report shows where the piece evidence was signed out to, who received it, and the time and date it was taken from the evidence room. The Cases Out Report can be run anytime to get the current status of which pieces of evidence are not in your property room. Archive Case and Custody Report The Archive Case and Custody Report is structured the same as the Case and Custody Report previously described, except it only reports on cases that have been archived. To run a report on an individual case number you simply click onto the Archive Case and Custody Report in the Reports menu and follow the same procedures as previously described in the Case and Custody Report section of this manual. Inactive Cases Report PMI Evidence Tracker™ 27 The Inactive Cases Report is designed to give you a list of all cases that have been marked as inactive in the Evidence Log. The Inactive Cases Report header includes your department information along with the current date. The body of the report includes the case number, tracking number, the evidence description, the evidence room location, date and time of recovery, and who recovered the item. The Inactive Report can be used as a review to determine which pieces of evidence can be disposed of or to decide which cases can be archived. Disposition Report The Disposition Report is used to furnish a list of items in your property room whose status is listed as active and have been tagged for disposal in the evidence log. The report can be printed out and submitted as an attachment to your requisition to the court for authorization to dispose of evidence. To run a report you simply click onto the Disposition Report in the Reports menu and the report will be presented on the screen. The report header includes your department information and the current date. The body of the report includes the case number in numerical sequence, tracking number, date of recovery, the evidence description, the suspect’s name, the disposition, and who recovered the item. To print the report, simply click onto the printer icon in the upper left side of the report screen. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 28 Property Receipt Once you have received authorization from the court to dispose of a piece of evidence, you can print a receipt for each item. The receipt would be given, along with the appropriate piece of evidence, to the Officer that was assigned to transport the item to the disposition point. The report header includes the item tracking number, case number, your department information, and the date. The body of the report includes all data that has been entered in the Evidence Log for each piece of evidence. At the bottom of the report is a place for whoever is given the evidence for disposition to sign and date, indicating that they have taken possession of the item. Typically this signature would be that of the owner of an item being returned, the manager of the auction facility, or whoever is responsible for destroying the item. There is also a place at the bottom for the Officer to sign, indicating that the transfer of the evidence has been completed. The receipt should then be returned to the department and the date of disposition entered into the Evidence Log, after which the receipt should be permanently filed in the case file. Once all pieces of evidence for a particular case number have been disposed of, the case can then be archived. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 29 Custom Reports The Custom Report option is designed to enable the user to create various reports using any of the information fields located in the Evidence Log. In order to help make it easier for you to design a custom report we have included several sample reports that can be used as a template. Access to the Custom Reports option is restricted and only accessible to those whom have the Admin box checked in the User Setup screen. The Custom Report option can be an invaluable tool allowing you to create reports based on different criteria. You may, for example, want to know which pieces of evidence a specific officer collected in a specific year or you may want a report listing all pieces of evidence in your property room that have been marked for destruction. You may want to create a report that will list all of the drugs or guns that were collected within a certain time frame and where they are stored in the property room. To access this option simply click onto the “Custom Report” tab in the Reports Menu and the following pull down menu will be displayed. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 30 Create a Custom Report If you want to design a new custom report using any of the fields in the Evidence Log, click onto the Create Report button in the Custom Report Menu. The Custom Report Create menu will be displayed. . Type in the name you want to give to the new report and then click onto the Add button. This will save the new report name and will take you to the Custom Report Design screen. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 31 The Custom Report Design screen has a data grid that lists all of the fields that can be used in a report. Before you begin designing a new report it is a good idea to write down which fields you want to use, the order in which you want the field to be listed in the report, and any specific comparisons or criteria you may want for a field. The default order for the fields is set incrementally starting with Case Number as 1 and the Date of Disposition as 16. If when choosing the fields to include in your report you do not change the order number, the fields will be displayed in the default order. Add a Field To add a field to your report, simple scroll down to the desired field and move the cursor arrow to the gray box to the left of the field and double click the left mouse button. The selected field name will be displayed in the Field Name box. To include the selected field information in your report you must check the Select box. Next you can choose the order in which you want this field to be displayed in your custom report. If you do not change the Order number the default setting will be used. Remember, it is not the order in which you design, edit and save fields, but rather the order number that determines the placement in your report. If there are no other requirements for the selected field you need only to click onto the Save button to save it and enable you to go on and select another field for your report. If you change your mind after you have selected a field to add to your report but have not saved it, you can simply click onto the Cancel button, which will clear the input boxes and allow you to go on to select another field. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 32 Comparison and Criteria If you want the selected field information to only be included if certain conditions are met, you will need to check the Where box. Next you will go on to set your comparison and criteria for the field. In the Comparison box there are 7 selections from which you can choose. The available comparisons will be: = equal (if you want to set a criteria where a field is blank you need to use the = for the comparison and then leave the criteria field blank. Not applicable to date fields) > Greater than < Less Than >= Greater than or equal <= Less than or equal <> Not equal Like Like (If you choose the Like comparison you need to use a % along with the key letter or word. If the input is a% the results will find all matches that start with an ‘a’. %gun% will find all matches that contain ‘gun’. %123 will find all matches that end with a ‘123’.) The above screen shows that the field Evidence Description was selected to be in the report, be the 2nd item displayed in the report, with a comparison to be “Like” and the Criteria to be the word “gun”. This means that the report will only display those pieces of evidence that have the word gun used anywhere in the Evidence Description field. In order for this type of criteria to work effectively there needs to be some uniformity in the Evidence Description field. You could, for example, use a key word. A key word is used to organize information in such a manner so as to create a common link to between all Evidence Description fields. In other words, you could begin all Evidence Description fields that involve a gun, by using the word gun. (i.e. -gun, Colt 45 automatic- or -gun, S & W 38 Special, etc.) You could also use other key words such as Rifle, Knife, Drugs, Found Property, etc. to make it easier and more effective to use Evidence Description criteria in a custom report. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 33 If there is nothing in common between evidence descriptions, it will be impossible to setup criteria using the Like comparison. If there is to be another comparison for this field selection enter the appropriate choice in the AND/OR box and then go on to set your next criteria for the field. If you want your report to include another field with comparison criteria, you need to enter a selection in the AND/OR NEXT FIELD box. If you are creating a report with multiple fields that have criteria, you need to be sure that the AND/OR NEXT FIELD box is marked for each of those fields except for the last one, which will be left blank. Suppose for wanted to add the Date of Recovery field to your report with the criteria being for only evidence collected after a specific date. You first select Date of Recovery from the field list. You then check the Select box. Next you to decide in which order you want this field to be listed in your report. To setup the comparison you need to check the Where box and then proceed to the comparison selection. Scroll down through the comparison choices until you reach >=, then double left click onto your selection. In the Criteria box enter the starting date that you want to use for your report. No information will be included in your report that has a Date of Recovery prior to the date that you selected. If you then click onto the Report button, you will produce a custom report that will list the Case Number, only evidence that has the word “gun” in the description, that was recovered on or after 1/1/03, and will be listed in chronological order by date. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 34 Edit Custom Reports To edit or modify an existing custom report click onto the Custom Report tab in the Reports menu. Select Edit Report and then scroll down to the desired report name and move the cursor arrow to the gray box to the left of the field and double click the left mouse button. The Custom Report Edit screen will be displayed. You then use the same procedure to modify your report fields as you did to add fields previously described on page 24 of this manual. Delete Custom Reports To delete an existing custom report click onto the Custom Report tab in the Reports menu. Select Delete Report and then scroll down to the desired report name and move the cursor arrow to the gray box to the left of the field and double click the left mouse button. Click ok to delete the report. Archive Once a case has been completed and there is no more activity needed or planned, a case can be removed from the active database and all data transferred to an archive database for permanent storage. Archiving keeps your active database from getting cluttered with cases that have been completed and no longer need to be accessed. Before you Archive a Case you need to check the Evidence Log to be sure that the disposition box has been checked, all pieces of evidence have been properly disposed of, the date of disposition has been entered, and the record has been marked inactive. The software will not show a case number in the list of files to be archived if any piece of evidence for that case number is marked active. You can view the historical data at any time for a case that has been archived by running the Archive Case and Custody Report. To move a case number and all its associated records from the active database to an archive database, click onto the Archive tab on the Evidence Tracker Main PMI Evidence Tracker™ 35 Menu screen. You will be presented with a list of case numbers that have been marked inactive and tagged for archiving. If you want to archive all of the cases listed you only need to click onto the “Archive All” button. If you only want to archive one case number then you can either highlight the desired case number and click onto the “Archive One” button or double click onto the desired case number. As long as a case number has not been archived you can still edit any record even if it has been marked inactive in the Evidence Log. File Located in the pull down menu under the File tab on the main screen are four options from which to choose. The “Field Headers” option is used to edit or customize the field headers in the Evidence Log to better suite your own preferences. The “Reset Headers” option is used to return any field headers that may have been changed back to their default setting. The “Change Case Number” option is used, when necessary, to change or correct the case number in the Evidence Log. The “Disposition” option is used to add, modify or delete the choices listed in the disposition pull down menu in the Evidence Log. The “Print Shelf Labels” option is used to print labels to identify storage areas in your property room. The optional portable data collector also uses the barcoded labels to identify the storage location of items when conducting a full audit. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 36 Change Field Headers Access to the Field Headers, Reset Field Headers, Change Case Number, Disposition and Print Shelf Labels options are restricted and only accessible to those whom have the Admin box checked in the User Setup screen. Selecting the Field Headers tab will enable the administrator or other authorized individual to make changes to any of the field headers on the Evidence Log screen. If you click onto the Field Headers tab you will be taken to the Evidence Log screen where the first field header will be highlighted. You can change the field header simply by typing over the existing text with the new desired text. The length of the text for the new header cannot extend beyond the highlighted box or the header text will be cut off and will not be displayed properly on the Evidence screen or in the various reports. Continue this process until all of the fields that you want to edit have been modified. When you are satisfied with the changes simply click onto the Save tab to keep the changes or click onto Cancel to abort the process. Once the changes are saved the system will automatically make all the necessary adjustments to the Custody Log Screen and the Reports; however, you will have to edit the evidence label format (Eltron.lbl) manually. To edit the label format please refer to the PMI Lite manual. If at any time you want to return to the original system headers you can click onto the Reset Field Headers option located under the File tab. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 37 Change Case Number Selecting the Change Case Number option will enable the administrator or other authorized individual to change the case number in the Evidence Log, Custody Log, and all applicable reports. If you click onto the Change Case Number tab you will be taken to the Change Case Number input screen. Type the case number that you want to change into the appropriate box and click ok. You will then be presented with a new screen that will ask you to Enter New Case Number. Type in the new case number and click ok to initiate the change. The PMI Evidence Tracker™ system will automatically modify all screens, reports, and database records to reflect the change. Change Disposition If you want to add, modify, or delete any of the selections listed in the Disposition box in the Evidence Log, click onto the Disposition tab in the File menu. To add a new disposition selection to the list, scroll down to the end of the list and enter the new selection. If you want to add another item press the key and then the down arrow key and add your next selection. Once you are finished with your additions click onto the Close button to save your changes and return to the Main Screen. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 38 To modify or edit an existing disposition selection, scroll down to the desired field and make the desired changes. Once you are finished with your modifications click onto the Close button to save your changes and return to the Main Screen. To delete a disposition simple highlight the field and press the key. Assets The Asset option enables you to manage all of your physical assets and equipment that are assigned to your department or individual officers. All property can be logged neatly and systematically into the program, ensuring that each piece of equipment is managed in a consistent and accurate manor. Information on an asset or piece of equipment along with it’s location can be quickly produced on demand. If you have been given authorization to access the Asset program by the system administrator, you need only to clicking onto the Assets tab with your left mouse button or hold down the “Alt” key while pressing the “T” key. The administrator can setup the system so that an individual can have access to the Assets program but no access to the evidence program and vise versa. Once the assets program opens up you will get the following pull down menu. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 39 Located in the pull down menu under the Assets tab are six options from which to choose. The options include ‘Asset Log’, ‘Field Headers’, ‘Reset Field Headers’, ‘Categories’, ‘Archive’, and ‘Property Reports’. The “Field Headers” option is used to edit or customize the field headers in the Evidence Log to better suite your own preferences. Asset Log The Asset Log is where you will be able to enter and manage all your physical assets and equipment. You will notice that the Asset Log uses a simple, one screen format for entering data. You can enter as much or as little information on a piece of equipment as you desire. There are only two required fields and they are identified by their shaded red color. If the number of characters allowable in each field is reached, the system will beep and no more characters will be accepted in the field. All fields accept alpha/numerical characters. Before beginning to enter new information into the Asset Log, authorized individuals will need to click onto the “Add” button, which moves the curser to the ‘Asset ID Number’ field. Be sure to enter information as accurately and precisely as possible and always review the entered date before saving. The Asset ID Number (up to 30 characters) is the unique number assigned by your department to identify the item for which you are creating the log record. You can, for example, use a prefix or suffix to identify all items that belong to the same group, a specific officer or specific location. The Tracking Number is a unique number that is automatically generated by the software to keep track of a particular item within the program. The number is not assigned until a record has been saved. The tracking number will be added to the information grid at the bottom of the screen with the rest of the data, when the new record is saved. Once the item has been given an asset ID number you can then select an Asset Category to further define the item. The default categories are ‘Computers’, ‘Electronics’, ‘Files’, ‘Other’, ‘Vehicles’ and ‘Weapons’; however, you can edit these selections, delete them or add additional ones if desired. (See Field Headers later in this manual) PMI Evidence Tracker™ 40 After selecting the category you can enter information about the Manufacturer (up to 30 characters). The next two fields are Model and Serial Number, each of which can be up to 30 characters in length. The Description field (up to 99 characters) is designed to allow you to enter complete detailed information about an item including such things as color, size, finish, material, components, etc. The Assigned To field (up to 99 characters) is where you can enter the group, division, building or name of the individual to whom the item has been assigned. Location (up to 30 characters) identifies where an item is kept so it can be found when it may be needed, for an audit or for maintenance purposes. The Date Acquired and Date Liquidated need to be in a month/day/year format. The Value field represents the amount of money paid for an item or what that item would be worth if not acquired by a purchase. The value can be entered as dollars or as dollars and cents (900 or 900.50). The Disposition uses the same selections as are used by the evidence program. Only the system administrator can edit the disposition selections by going into the File section of the evidence program. To print identification labels that can be applied to each item is usually done at the same time that the item is entered into the database. When the Print Label button is clicked, you will get a Print Quantity screen where you enter the number of labels you want printed. Click “OK” to print or “Cancel” to abort printing. You now get a permanent label, which can be attached directly to the corresponding item for identification. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 41 Field Headers Selecting the Field Headers tab will enable you to make changes to any of the field headers on the Asset Log screen. If you click onto the Field Headers tab you will be taken to the Asset Log screen where the first field header will be highlighted. You can change the field header simply by typing over the existing text with the new text. The length of the text for the new header cannot extend beyond the highlighted box or the header text will be cut off and will not be displayed properly on the Asset screen or in the various reports. Continue this process until all of the fields that you want to edit have been modified. When you are satisfied with the changes simply click onto the ‘Save’ box to keep the changes or click onto ‘Cancel’ to abort the process. If at any time you want to return to the original system headers you can click onto the Reset Field Headers option located under the Assets tab. Reset Field Headers The Reset Field Headers can be used at any time you want to return to the original system headers. You can simply click onto the Reset Field Headers option located under the File tab and all field headers will be returned to the default settings. Change Categories If you want to add, modify, or delete any of the selections listed in the Categories box in the Asset Log, click onto the Categories tab in the Assets menu. To add a new category selection to the list, scroll down to the end of the list and enter the new selection. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 42 If you want to add another item press the key and then the down arrow key and add your next selection. Once you are finished with your additions click onto the Close button to save your changes and return to the Main Screen. To modify or edit an existing category selection, scroll down to the desired field and make the desired changes. Once you are finished with your modifications click onto the Close button to save your changes and return to the Main Screen. To delete a category simple highlight the field and press the key. Archive Assets Once an item is no longer needed and is ready to be replaced or retired it can be removed from the active database and transferred to an archive database for permanent storage. Archiving keeps your active database from getting cluttered with items that have been discarded. In order to Archive an item you need to enter a date in the Date Liquidated field. You can view the historical data at any time for a case that has been archived by running the Archived Asset List Report. To move an item from the active database to an archive database, click onto the Archive tab in the Assets Main Menu pull down screen. You will be presented with a list of asset ID numbers that have been dated for liquidation. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 43 If you want to archive all of the items listed you only need to click onto the “Archive All” button. If you only want to archive one item then you can either highlight the desired asset ID number and click onto the “Archive One” button or double click onto the desired asset ID number. As long as an item has not been archived you can edit all fields of the record; however, once it has been archived the record is no longer active and all you can do is view the record data in the archived asset list report. Property Reports Under the property reports menu there are six pre-designed reports that will help you better organize and manage your equipment and fixed assets. Anyone can access this menu that is authorized to use the asset program. Asset List Report The Asset List report will furnish you with a list of all your assets and equipment along with the detailed information on each item. The report can be viewed on the screen or printed out on your office printer. You can print this report if you want to maintain a hard copy of your assets and equipment to place in a file. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 44 Audit Report If you click onto the Audit Report in the Property Reports menu, you will be able to print out a report containing the all of the assets and equipment that are in the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. The report is designed to show the asset ID number, tracking number, description, where the item is located, to whom the item is assigned and the time/date when the report was run. Adjacent to each item there is a box marked “Present” and “Missing”. Whenever the physical audit is conducted, the person doing the audit will mark the appropriate box for each item listed on the report. When the Audit is completed, signed, and dated, it should be placed into a permanent file as proof of compliance. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 45 Archived Asset List Report The Archived Asset List report will furnish you with a list of all your assets and equipment that have been archived along with the detailed information on each item. An item does not get archived until it has been removed from inventory and disposed of with a Liquidation Date entered. The report can be viewed on the screen or printed out on your office printer. You can print this report if you want to maintain a hard copy of your assets and equipment to place in a file. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 46 Asset Categories Report The Asset Categories Report is used to create a list of all assets and equipment that belong to the same category. All assets and equipment must be assigned to a category in order for them to be included in the Asset Categories Report. To produce a report on a specific category simply go to the ‘Asset Category’ screen and double clicking onto the desired category. The program will collect and report on all of the items that belong to the selected category. The report can be viewed on the screen or printed out on your office printer. A printed report can be used to maintain a file copy of your assets and equipment. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 47 Asset Receipt Once you have received authorization to dispose of an asset or piece of equipment, you can print a receipt for each item. The receipt would be given, along with the appropriate item, to the Officer that was assigned to transport the item to the disposition point. To create an asset receipt for a particular item, click onto the Asset Receipt selection from the ‘Property Reports’ menu. Enter the tracking number for the asset or piece of equipment for which you want a receipt and then click ‘OK’. You can also generate multiple receipts by entering the tracking number for each item followed by a comma. The Asset Receipt header includes the item tracking number, asset ID number, your department information, and the date. The body of the report includes all data that has been entered in the Asset Log for each asset or piece of equipment. At the bottom of the receipt is a place for whoever is given the item for disposal to sign and date, indicating that they have taken possession of the item. Typically this signature would be that of the individual representing the organization to which the item is being donated, the manager of the auction facility, or whoever is responsible for destroying the item. There is also a place at the bottom of the receipt for the Officer to sign, indicating that the transfer of the asset or piece of equipment has been completed. The receipt should then be returned to the department where the receipt should be permanently filed. Once an asset or pieces of equipment has been disposed of, it can then be archived. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 48 Generate Full Asset Variance If you click onto the Generate Full Asset Variance in the ‘Property Reports’ menu, and you have conducted an inventory using the optional portable data terminal with integrated scanner, you will be able to print out a report that will show all variances of assets and equipment in the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. The report will tell you if something is present, missing, not in the database or in a different location then indicated in the database. Using the portable data terminal automates the process of taking inventory of your physical assets. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 49 Portable Data Terminal (optional) If you have purchased the optional portable data collector you can save a considerable amount of time and simplify the process of conducting an audit of your property room or your physical assets and inventory items. In addition to the portable data terminal you should have also received a communication cable and a transfer utility. The transfer utility is a program used to transfer programs and data files between the data collector and the hose computer. Setup Portable Data Terminal Although the Denso BHT8044D terminal has been pre-programmed, it is still necessary to configure the transfer utility to match the requirements of the 8044D and the host computer in order to be able to transfer information. The following steps will ensure that the 8044D and the host computer will be able to communicate with each other. Configuring the BHT 8044D with Direct Connect Cable The following procedure only needs to be done if the 8044D has not been pre-programmed or has to be re-programmed for some reason; however, it is recommended that you go through the configuration procedure to be sure that the settings on the portable data terminal are correct and to become familiar with the process. 1. Press and hold down the ‘SF+1’ keys – Then press the ‘PW’ key 2. to turn on the unit and display the ‘System Menu’ 3. Select #4: Set System and press 4. Select #5: Communication and press - Brings up the 5. ‘Set Communication’ menu 6. Select #2: Set Connector and press 7. Select #1: Set Parameter and press 8. Set Transmit Speed to 115200 and press 9. Press ‘C’ key to return to the ‘Set Communication’ menu 10. Select #3: Com Port and press PMI Evidence Tracker™ 50 11. Set both ‘Basic’ and ‘System’ to “Connector” 12. Press ‘C’ key to return to the ‘Set Communication’ menu 13. Select #4: Protocol Type and press 14. Select #2: BHT IrProtocol and press 15. Leave Set ID blank and press 16. Press ‘C’ key to return to the ‘Set System’ menu 17. Select #3: Date/Time and press (use only if Date/Time needs to be changed) 18. Enter Year/Month/Day and time and press 19. Press ‘C’ key to return to the ’Set System’ menu 20. Press ‘C’ key to return to the ‘System’ menu 21. Press ‘PW’ key to exit setup and power off the terminal Configuring the transfer utility on your computer The same Transfer Utility is used for both the evidence and asset programs to move data back and forth between the BHT8044D and your terminal. The files are located in the ‘Denso\Direct Connect Transfer’ folder under the ‘PMI_Evidence’ directory. The transfer utility files include the following: It3cw32.dll It3cw32.exe It3cw32.ini tu3cw32.dll 1. Open the ‘Denso’ folder, which will be found in the ‘PMI_Evidence’ folder, or the folder where you chose to install the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software. 2. Open the ‘Direct Connect Transfer’ folder located in the ‘Denso’ folder. 3. Open the ‘it3cw32.exe’ file and you get the following screen. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 51 4. Click onto the “Options” Tab and setup as follows then click “ok” Make sure you have checked the correct port on the host terminal where you have the BHT 8044 connected. 5. You can now close out the transfer utility file; however, if you are ready to transfer a program, keep the transfer utility main screen open and proceed to the next section. Downloading Programs or Files from the Computer to the BHT 8044D 1. Before you begin a file transfer you need to attach the communication cable to the BHT8044D and to the serial port on the computer that was selected in the transfer utility setup. The cable port for the BHT8044D is located on the side of the unit (see the PDT diagram on page 65). 2. If the transfer utility is open you can proceed to step 3. If the transfer utility is not open go back to step 1 of the previous section (Configuring the transfer utility on your computer). PMI Evidence Tracker™ 52 3. Open the ‘Denso’ folder and open the ‘it3cw32.exe’ transfer utility file. The following screen will appear: Send File Icon 4. Click the “Send’ icon or, alternatively, select the “File” option and choose “Send.” The following screen will appear: 5. When the ‘Send File’ screen appears, find the program file you want to download (example: EVIDENCE.PD3 OR ASSET.PD3) and highlight it. If no .pd3 files are displayed, go to the ‘Files of type’ input box and use the down arrow to select ‘Program Files (*.pd3)’. After highlighting the desired program Stop!!! Do nothing further at this time with your computer and make sure to leave the “Send File” box open. Pick up your BHT8044D and continue with these directions. 6. Next, if not already done, turn on your BHT8844D. To turn on your BHT, press and hold down the “SF” and the “1” keys on the BHT. Without removing your fingers from those keys, then press the “PW” PMI Evidence Tracker™ 53 button. This combination will open and display the System Menu on the screen of your BHT8844D. 7. Select Option #2: Download and press ‘ENT’. 8. On the next screen select option #1: File. Press the ‘ENT’ key and look to make sure that you get a “Waiting” message on the screen. This will start the transfer process on your BHT; preparing it to accept the program to be transferred. 9. At this point STOP and put the BHT down. Go back to Transfer Utility file open on your computer screen. Click the “OPEN” button in the “Send File” box to start the download process. The following screen will be displayed: Note: If the transfer process is left running too long without finding a file it will time out. If this happens, either select the “Retry” option given by the program or simply repeat the above setup instructions. 10. You will know that the program has begun to transfer because the numbers “00000/00000” will begin to count. Once the transfer has been completed you will get a “Download Completed” message on the BHT 8044D and a “*** Completed *** ** File Name **” message in the Transfer Utility box. 11. Pick up your BHT and press ‘C’ once to return to the #2 ‘Download’ screen. a. Press ‘C’ once to return to ‘System Menu’. b. If you are ready to use the BHT8044D to begin an audit, press #1: ‘Exec Program’ to execute/run the program and highlight either the EVIDENCE.PD3 or ASSET.PD3 program then press “ENT”. If you want to quit instead, press the ‘PW’ key to turn off the unit. Performing an Audit with the Portable Data Terminal PMI Evidence Tracker™ 54 Using a portable data terminal with integrated scanner automates the process of conducting an audit to save you time and assure accuracy. Audits are conducted by simply scanning barcodes using a portable data terminal and uploading the data to the PMI Evidence Tracker™ program. The collected information is then compared to the data in the evidence database or asset database and a variance report is prepared that will give the status of each item scanned. When the BHT8044D is powered on it is setup to automatically open to the evidence audit program or to the asset program, which ever was the last program that was run. The program file for conducting an audit of your evidence is named ‘EVIDENCE.PD3’ and the one for conducting an audit of your asset/inventory items is named ‘ASSET.PD3’. Both of these programs have been installed on the BHT8044D prior to shipment. Evidence Audit If the portable data terminal is being used for the first time use the ‘PW’ key on the BHT8044D turn on the unit and open the evidence program. If the BHT8044D has been used previously to conduct an audit it will open to the last program that was run F3 TO EXIT ENTER AUDITOR’S NAME: JOHN DOE 1 – Scan or enter individual who is conducting Audit. a) Prompt – “Enter Auditor’s Name” - Scanning name will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the name you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. b) The 8044 has been programmed to be able to use both Alpha & Numeric characters c) To toggle between Alpha & Numeric press the ‘SF’ key – You can switch anytime even in the middle of data entry into a field PMI Evidence Tracker™ 55 d) If using alpha characters – Press the appropriate key repeatedly until the desired character is displayed – The sequence is upper case then lower case – A,B,C,a,b,c e) Pressing the number 3 key when in alpha mode produces – Y,Z,space,y,z f) If using the alpha keys and you want the next character to be the same or from the same character set you need to press the ‘ENT’ key once to advance the cursor to the next character space g) To save a field in which the last character is alpha you need to press the ‘ENT’ key twice h) When using numeric characters pressing the desired number key will display the number on the screen and move the cursor to the next character space F3 TO EXIT ENTER LOCATION: SHELF A1 2 – Scan or enter location a) Prompt – “Enter Location” - Scanning the location will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the location you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. F2 TO LOCATION ENTER LOCATION: SHELF A1 ENTER CASE #: CRO4-487 3 – Scan or enter Case Number a) Prompt – “Enter Case #” - Scanning the Case # will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the Case # you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 56 F2 TO LOCATION ENTER LOCATION: SHELF A1 ENTER CASE #: CRO4-487 ENTER ITEM: 126 4 - Scan or enter item a) Prompt – “Enter item” - Scanning the item will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the Item # you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. If a new location is required, press key on the data collector to go back to screen prompt #2, “Enter Location”. M1 TO SAVE RECORD M2 TO CANCEL RECORD & RETURN TO ENTER CASE # 5 - Save or Cancel Record a) Prompt – M1 to Save Record - Press the ‘M1’ key to save the record and return to the ‘Enter Case #’ screen so you can continue collecting items from the same location. If you have made a mistake and do not want to save the record then press the ‘M2’ key to clear the case and item data and return to the ‘Enter Case #’ screen. Once the audit has been completed you need to upload the data file from the BHT8044D to your computer to run a variance report. If you do not want to transfer the data at this time you can turn off the BHT8044 by pressing the ‘PW’ key or exit the program using the ‘F3’ key. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 57 Asset Audit If the portable data terminal is being used for the first time use the ‘PW’ key on the BHT8044D turn on the unit and open the asset program. If the BHT8044D has been used previously to conduct an audit it will open to the last program that was run. F3 TO EXIT ENTER AUDITOR’S NAME 1 – Scan or enter individual who is conducting Audit. b) Prompt – “Enter Auditor’s Name” - Scanning name will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the name you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. F3 TO EXIT PROPERTY LOCATION: 2 – Scan or Enter Property Location c) Prompt – “Property Location” - Scanning the location will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the location you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 58 F2 TO LOCATION PROPERTY LOCATION: SHELF A1 ENTER ASSET ID #: 3 - Scan or enter item a) Prompt – “Enter item #” - Scanning the item will auto forward to next screen prompt. If you keypunch in the Item # you must press the key to forward to next screen prompt. If a new location is required, press key on the data collector to go back to screen prompt #2, “Property Location”. M1 TO SAVE RECORD M2 TO CANCEL RECORD & RETURN TO ASSET ID 4 - Save or Cancel Record a) Prompt – M1 to Save Record - Press the ‘M1’ key to save the record and return to the ‘Enter Item #’ screen so you can continue collecting items from the same location. b) If you have made a mistake and do not want to save the record then press the ‘M2’ key to clear the item data and return to the ‘Enter Item #’ screen. c) Once the audit has been completed you need to upload the data file from the BHT8044D to your computer to run a variance report. If you do not want to transfer the data at this time you can turn off the BHT8044 by pressing the ‘PW’ key or exit the program using the ‘F3’ key. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 59 Uploading Collected Data Files from the BHT to your Computer 1. Before you begin a transfer you need to attach the communication cable to the BHT8044D and to the serial port on your computer that was selected in the transfer utility setup. The cable port for the BHT8044D is located on the side of the unit (see the PDT diagram on page 65). 2. If the transfer utility is open you can proceed to section ‘d’. If the transfer utility is not open go to your computer and open the ‘pmi_evidence’ folder, which will be found under the Program Files folder, or the folder where you installed the PMI Evidence Tracker™ software. 3. Open the ‘Denso’ folder and open the ‘it3cw32.exe’ transfer utility file. The following screen will appear: Receive File Icon 4. Click the “Receive” icon and you will get the following screen: PMI Evidence Tracker™ 60 5. When the ‘Receive File’ screen appears, find the data file you want to download (example: DATAEV.DAT OR DATAAS.DAT) and highlight it. If no .DAT files are displayed, go to the ‘Files of type’ input box and use the down arrow to select ‘All Files (*.*)’. After highlighting the desired data file Stop!!! Do nothing further at this time with your computer but make sure to leave the “Receive File” box open. Pick up your BHT8044D and continue using the following directions. 6. Next, if not already done, turn on your BHT8844D. To turn on your BHT, press and hold down the “SF” and the “1” keys on the BHT. Without removing your fingers from those keys, press the “PW” button. This combination will open and display the System Menu on the screen of your BHT8844D. 7. Select Option #3: ‘Upload’ and press “ENT.” 8. On the next screen select option #1: ONE FILE. 9. The next screen will show a list of all the data files saved on your BHT. Arrow down and select the ‘DATAEV.DAT’ file, then press “ENT.” If doing an Asset inventory instead, choose the “DATAAS.DAT” file. 10. The BHT 8044D display will show a “**Waiting**” message. STOP!! Put down the BHT and return to your computer. 11. In the “Receive File” box, click the “SAVE” button. The upload process will begin. You will know that the data file has begun to transfer because the numbers “00000/00000” will begin to count. Once the transfer has been successfully completed you will get a “download completed” message on the BHT 8044D and a “*** Completed ***” message in the Transfer Utility box. Once the data file has been transferred, press the “PW” to turn off BHT 8044D. Variance Reports At this point, you are ready run and/or print a Variance Report that will compare the collected data with the program database. The variance report will indicate if an item is present, missing, signed out, not in the database or stored in the wrong location. There are two variance reports for evidence management and one for asset management. To view the variance reports, you must be logged into the PMI Evidence Tracker™ program. To run the variance reports for collected evidence select the “Audit” tab from the PMI Evidence Tracker™ main screen and highlight either “Generate Full Audit Variance” or “Generate Variance Only Report.” Your report will open up where you can review it on the screen or print it by pressing the button with the printer icon. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 61 The “Generate Full Audit Variance” will report on all items of evidence that are collected in the Denso data file compared against the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. The report will open up on the screen where you can review the information or print it out by clicking onto the printer icon at the top of the page. All pieces of evidence will be listed and marked as present, missing, not in database or as a variance. If an item has been scanned and its location corresponds with the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database the item will be reported as present. If an item is missing from the collected date the program will first check to see if it has been signed out and will then report the item as a variance with the current location being where the item was signed out. If however, the item has not been signed out it will be reported as missing. If an item is found to be in a different location then entered in the database the report will indicate that there is a variance and report the current storage location. This report is a great help to ensure that misplaced evidence will be returned to their proper storage location. Full Audit Variance Report The “Generate Variance Only Report” will address only pieces of evidence that are missing, not in database, are signed out or are at PMI Evidence Tracker™ 62 variance with the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database. All items that are present will be excluded from this report. Variance Only Report In order to run a variance report of collected assets, select the “Asset” tab and then “Property Report.” When the dropdown menu is displayed, select “Generate Full Asset Variance.” The report will open up on the screen where you can review the information or print it out by clicking onto the printer icon at the top of the page. Like with the evidence variance report, all pieces of evidence will be listed and marked as either present, missing, not in database or as a variance. If an item has been scanned and its location corresponds with the PMI Evidence Tracker™ database the item will be reported as present. If an item is missing from the collected date the program will report the item as a missing. If an item is found to be in a different location then that entered in the database the report will indicate that there is a variance and report the current storage location. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 63 Asset Audit Variance Report Deleting Data Files From BHT8044D Once you have uploaded the data files from the BHT8044D you should confirm that the data has been transferred by running one of the variance reports. After confirming the data transfer you can delete the data files from the BHT8044D so you are prepared to conduct your next physical audit. The following procedure will delete the data files from the BHT8044D: 1. Press and hold down the ‘SF+1’ keys – Then press the ‘PW’ key to turn on the unit and display the ‘System Menu’ 2. Press and hold down the ‘SF+0’ keys – Opens the ‘Delete File Menu’. 3. Select the DATAEV.DAT or DATAAS.DAT file and press the key. Be careful not to delete either of the .PD3 files because these are your program files. 4. The display will ask you to select either ‘Yes’ to delete the file or ‘No’ to cancel the operation – Select ‘Yes’ and press 5. The BHT8044d will beep, vibrate and return a ** Complete ** message in the display. 6. Press the ‘C’ key to return to the ‘Delete Menu’. 7. If you have another file to delete; highlight it and repeat step 3, 4 & 5. 8. Press the ‘C’ key to return to the ‘Delete Menu’. 9. Press the ‘C’ key to return to the ‘System Menu’. 10. Press the ‘PW’ key to end the process and turn off the BHT8044D. PMI Evidence Tracker™ 64 Getting to Know Your BHT8044D Scan Buttons M1 to Save Record M2 to Cancel Record Communication Cable Port Power 8 Line Back Lit Display PMI Evidence Tracker™ 65