Porter Portal

Description

Porter Portal is a specialized service for hospital porters and other service personnel (housekeeping, teaboy, etc.) that enables task assignment and management through button tags fixed on floor plans.

How It Works:

1. Button Press: A button tag (e.g., Meraki MT30) is pressed at a location on the floor plan

2. Nearest Porter Found: System automatically finds the nearest available porter

3. Task Assignment: System sends a task notification to the selected porter

4. Porter Response: Porter can:

   • Accept the task → Status changes to "Accepted"

   • Cancel the task → Status changes to "Cancelled"

   • No Response (timeout) → Status changes to "Timeout" after configured timeout

5. Task Completion: Porter can mark task as "Completed" from Porter Portal

6. Automation Trigger: All responses can trigger additional automations (notifications, webhooks, etc.)

Access Control:

• Only users with "staff" AND "porter" segment tags can access Porter Portal

• Tasks are managed under "Asset Task Management" menu

When to Use

• Hospital needs porter service for patient transport

• Facility needs housekeeping dispatch system

• Organization needs maintenance request system

• Customer wants button-based task assignment

Dependencies & Requirements

• Nearest Asset Automation: Must be configured in Workflow/Automation system

• Button Integration: Physical button tag fixed to wall (e.g., Meraki MT30)

• Porter Segment: Users must have "porter" segment tag

• BLE Gateway: Compatible BLE gateway to receive button press events

• Staff Segment: Porters must also have "staff" segment tag

Configuration Steps

Step 1: Register Button Tag

1. Navigate to Beacons > Add New Beacon

2. Enter button information:

   • MAC Address: Button tag MAC address

   • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Room 102 Button")

   • Type: Select "Fixed" or appropriate type

3. Set location:

   • Location: Select location

   • Building: Select building

   • Floor: Select floor

   • X Coordinate: Enter X coordinate on floor plan

   • Y Coordinate: Enter Y coordinate on floor plan

4. For Minew devices: Enable "Enable Button Press" option

5. Save the beacon

Step 2: Assign Porter Tags to Users

1. Navigate to Guests > [Select Guest]

2. Go to Tags/Segments section

3. Add tags:

   • "staff" (required for portal access)

   • "porter" (required for porter service)

4. Save the guest record

5. Repeat for all porters

Step 3: Create Nearest Asset Automation

1. Navigate to Workflow > Automations

2. Click "Create New Automation"

3. Configure Trigger:

   • Select trigger: "Button Press"

   • System will automatically detect button press events

4. Add Action: "Nearest Asset"

   • Segment: Select "porter" segment from dropdown

   • Include Busy:

     • No (default): Only finds porters with no active tasks

     • Yes: Includes porters even if they have active tasks

5. Add Action: "Create Asset Notification"

   • This sends the task to the nearest porter

   • Configure timeout: Enter minutes for task acceptance timeout (e.g., 5 minutes)

6. Add Additional Actions (optional):

   • Send SMS/Email: Notify porter directly

   • Webhook: Trigger external system

7. Save the automation

Step 4: Access Porter Portal

1. Porters log in to Staff Portal (see Staff Portal configuration)

2. Navigate to "Asset Task Management" menu (visible to staff + porter segments)

3. Porters can view and manage their assigned tasks

Task Status Flow

Sent → Accepted → Completed ↘ Cancelled ↘ Timeout (system retries with next nearest porter)

 

Troubleshooting

Issue: Button press not triggering automation

• Check: Button is registered as a Beacon with correct MAC address

• Check: Button has coordinates set on floor plan

• Check: Automation is created with "Button Press" trigger

• Check: BLE gateway is receiving button press events

• Check: For Minew devices, "Enable Button Press" is enabled

Issue: No porter found when button is pressed

• Check: Porters have both "staff" and "porter" tags

• Check: Porters have active BLE sessions (badges are broadcasting)

• Check: Porters are on the same floor/location as button

• Check: "Include Busy" setting if all porters are busy

Issue: Porter not receiving task notification

• Check: Porter is logged into portal

• Check: Task notification action is configured in automation

• Check: Porter has access to "Asset Task Management" menu

Use Cases

1. Hospital Porter Service: Patient transport requests via button press in patient rooms

2. Housekeeping Requests: Room cleaning requests from patient rooms or offices

3. Maintenance Dispatch: Equipment repair requests from various locations

4. Food Service: Meal delivery requests from patient rooms