Release Notes for EPS 5.0 September 2013

An updated version of ePermitting is now active. This update (5.0) includes:

Emergency Permitting Functionality

With the release of EPS 5.0, PennDOT re-engineered the emergency permitting process. The previous process of ordering Emergency Permit Cards (EPCs) is now obsolete. Utility companies currently in possession of non-expired EPCs can continue to use them until they expire; however, they are encouraged to obtain an Emergency Permit Certificate, which is the replacement for EPCs, prior to the expiration of their EPCs.

• Emergency Permit Certificates

The new functionality enables Business Partners to request an Emergency Permit Certificate on-line via EPS. PennDOT can issue or deny certificate requests. Issued certificates are valid for one year, at which time immediate on-line renewal is available. PennDOT has the ability to create certificates, revoke certificates, and reactivate revoked or expired certificates. Certificates are free and are valid statewide, so that each Business Partner needs only one certificate which can be printed and/or copied by the utility company or PennDOT, as needed.  Utility companies who do not currently have a Business Partner ID can contact their district permit office to request a certificate; however, PennDOT strongly encourages all utility companies to have a BPID and to access EPS for all their Highway Occupancy permitting needs.

• Emergency Permit Applications

Once a utility company has an active emergency permit certificate, they can, in the event of an emergency, create in EPS an emergency permit application. Doing so is fast (only the most important information is needed right away) and automatically notifies PennDOT. If the emergency work is currently in progress, district-specific emergency contacts are also automatically notified. By starting an emergency permit application, the utility company is also forming the basis of the application that must be submitted to PennDOT within 15 days.

Field Validation

There are several components included as part of Field Validation:

• Location Validation

Prior to Release 5.0, users entering work location information onto the Manage Work and Locations page could enter any four digit number into the State Route Segment (From and To), and Offset (From and To) fields. Now EPS ensures every location is a valid location.

• Pavement History Link

There is a new link, Pavement History, on the Manage Work and Locations page. For each location included on an application, users can click on the link to view the associated pavement history.

• Left/Right Driveway Indicator

There is a new field on all Driveway applications for users to indicate if the driveway location is on the left or the right side of the road, based on ascending offsets. This field is mandatory and is editable by PennDOT.

• Location Alerts

Upon saving the Manage Work and Locations page and upon submitting or resubmitting an application, users will now receive an alert when any or all of the following apply to the specified locations: Limited Access, Planned Maintenance, Posted Road, Posted and Bonded Road, Planned or In Progress Construction, and Other Open Permits.

Permanent Permit File Functionality

PennDOT EPS users can now indicate when individual attachments should be part of the Permanent Permit File. While at this point, no attachments are purged from any permit records, there are plans to build an Archive Database into which only those attachments marked as permanent will be stored. Awhile, implementing this functionality provides PennDOT EPS users and Applicant Teams the ability to easily see the 'most important' attachments in an organized manner as they are now separated out from the list of all attachments. Permit and Supplement documents (automatically attached by the system upon issuance OR manually attached) are automatically marked as being part of the Permanent Permit File.

Other Functionality Improvements

EPS users may see other differences in EPS with Release 5.0. Following is a list of additional improvements:

• When performing an Advanced Search, clicking the Refine Search button will now not clear out the current search criteria. You will no longer need to re-enter your search criteria upon selecting Refine Search.

• Changes have been made to improve system performance.

• The order in which attachments are listed has changed. Now, listed on top are the supplement and permit documents by decreasing order of supplement, then by decreasing order of cycle. Below, all other attachments are ordered by decreasing order of supplement, then by decreasing order of cycle, then by date.

• You can now sort attachments in the Attachments section by Document Type, Date, Attached By, Document Name, Document Size, and Document Description.

The following changes affect only PennDOT EPS users.

• While editing supplement comments, you can now click on a navigation option (next page, previous page, etc.) without being taken to the permit application. Instead, you will stay on the supplement.

• You can now print supplement cover letters.

• The Anticipated Response Date will now be cleared for each cycle.

• Entering at least one Fee and at least one Work Description is now mandatory for only the LAST Reviewer.

• Now only Receivers, Responders, and Authorizers can upload documents with a Document Type of Permit.

• For applications going through the Conditionally Approved workflow, once the permit is issued, the application will go to Permit Issued status, and the system-generated permit document will be added to the attachments. Prior to Release 5.0, the system generated permit document was not being attached after issuance of a previously conditionally approved application.