Skip to main content

Search

Knowledge Center

Pre-Plans: Pre-Plan Organizer Overview

Purpose Statement

The Pre-Plan Organizer serves as the central management hub for all pre-planning activities within First Due. This comprehensive tool enables program managers and administrators to efficiently create, edit, search, filter, and manage pre-plans across their entire jurisdiction. By consolidating pre-plan management into a single interface with robust search capabilities and bulk editing functions, the Pre-Plan Organizer streamlines administrative workflows and ensures consistent pre-plan maintenance across the organization.

Background Information

The Pre-Plan Organizer is where administrators spend the majority of their pre-planning time, providing a powerful interface for overseeing the complete lifecycle of pre-plans—from initial creation through review cycles, approvals, and ongoing updates. The tool includes advanced search and filtering capabilities that allow users to quickly locate specific pre-plans based on numerous criteria, customizable column displays for viewing relevant information, and bulk action capabilities for efficiently managing multiple pre-plans simultaneously.

This centralized approach replaces manual tracking methods and ensures consistent application of departmental SOPs, SOGs, and policies across all pre-planning activities. The organizer integrates with other First Due modules and supports collaborative workflows through saved searches, assignment tracking, and approval processes.

Required Permissions

To access and use the Pre-Plan Organizer, users must have the following permissions:

Required:

  • Pre-Plan Organizer - Provides Read Only access to the Pre-Plans Organizer.

For Editing Capabilities:

  • Pre-Plans Read--Allows User to access Pre-Plan Maps & Pre-Plan List as well as view Pre-Plans in a Read Only State
  • Pre-Plans - Edit -Enables the User to edit, update or delete Pre-Plan information & occupancy Details via the Pre-Plan Map.
  • Edit Pre-Plan Organizer - Allows for editing  of Pre-Plan Assignments, Due Dates, Cycles & offers the ability to print Occupancy Data.

For Saved Search Management:

  • Pre-Plan Organizer Saved View - Read - Allows viewing of saved searches
  • Pre-Plan Organizer Saved View - Create  - Enables creating new saved searches
  • Pre-Plan Organizer Saved View - Update  - Allows modifying existing saved searches
  • Pre-Plan Organizer Saved View - Delete  - Enables deleting saved searches

For Approval/Publishing Actions:

  • Pre-Plans - Approve - Required to approve Pre-Plans within the organizer
  • Pre-Plans - Publish - Allow Users to Publish Pre-Plans. 

Video

Step-by-Step Guide

 
 
1. Navigate to Pre-Plan Organizer via the Pre-Planning Module.
 

 
2. When accessed, the Pre-Plan organizer will default to display the Pre-plans with the following filters:
 
  1. Address Status--Active 
  2. Shared Location--Yes
  3. Show Secondary Places--Yes
     


 
3. Search for a specific address using the search bar.
 
ℹ️

Info:

The search bar is capable of a fuzzy or partial search of the Address and the Business Name

 

 
 
4. To refine the search, select EDIT and then down caret to display all the search and filter options.
 

 
 
5.  After a search has been customized it can be saved by Selecting the Disk Icon and entering a Name for the new Search. The Saved Search will then appear in the Saved Search List.
 

 
 
6.  The list of Pre-Plans can also be shown in a Map View by selecting the Map Icon in the top right corner of the webpage.
 


 
7. There are 9 columns that are displayed by default but an additional 19 Columns can be chosen to be displayed.
 


 
8. Columns can be rearranged, resized and reordered in ascending, descending and default order.
 


 
9.  The Address listed in the Address or the Parent/Child column has a hyperlink that will open the Occupancy Record for that specific address.
 

 
 
10.  The Pencil Icon in the Parent/Child column allows the user to edit the Parent/Child relationship of the occupancy.
 

 
 
11.  The Assigned Member or Team can be changed by selecting the Pencil Icon in the Assigned Member/Team column.
 

 
12.  The review cycle can be edited by selecting the Pencil Icon. The Plus Icon can be chosen to initiate a cycle of review for the Pre-Plan.
 

 
13.  The Due Date can be changed manually by selecting the Pencil Icon or the Plus Icon can be chosen to initiate a Date of review for the Pre-Plan.
 

 
14.  The Occupancy can be Marked or Un-Marked as a Target Hazard by toggling the radio button.


 
15.  The Address Status can be edited by selecting the Pencil Icon and changed between Active and Inactive.
 

 
16.  Select the check mark icon to publish any pre-plan in "Draft" or "Pending Approval" status.

 
17.  Select the 'X'  icon to Reject any pre-plan in "Draft" or "Pending Approval" status.
 

 
 
18. Select the Pencil icon to review any pre-plan in "Draft" or "Pending Approval" status or to Edit a Pre-plan.
 

 
 
19.  Select the Clock Icon to review the history of actions taken on this Pre-Plan.
 


 
20.  Select the Print Icon to print the Occupancy Record
 

 
 
21.  Select the Notes icon to review any of the Feedback added during the Approval or Rejection process.
 

 
 
22. Select the Label Icon to show or Hide the Alert Tiles for each occupancy.
 

 
24.  The Bulk Action button is activated by selecting one or more of the Pre-Plans in the list.
 

 
 
25.  Bulk Action allows the User to perform the following actions on multiple Pre-Plans simultaneously:
 
  1. Mark or Unmark as a Target Hazard.
  2. Assign the preplan to a User or Team.
  3. Change the Due Date.
  4. Change the Cycle.
  5. Print.
  6. Show or Hide the Alert Tiles.

 

 

Best Practices

Do's:

  • Create and save commonly used search filters to streamline recurring administrative tasks and ensure consistency across your team
  • Customize your column display to show only the information relevant to your current task, improving screen readability and efficiency
  • Use bulk actions when managing multiple pre-plans with similar attributes to save time and ensure consistent updates
  • Leverage the map view feature to visualize geographic distribution of pre-plans and identify coverage gaps or clustering
  • Review the pre-plan history (clock icon) before making significant changes to understand previous modifications and reviewer feedback
  • Establish naming conventions for saved searches that clearly describe the criteria for easy identification by all team members

Don'ts:

  • Don't forget to click "Apply" after selecting filter criteria, as selections won't take effect until applied
  • Don't modify parent/child relationships without understanding the impact on primary and secondary address associations
  • Don't use the quick approve (check mark) or reject (X) functions without establishing clear departmental policies about when direct approval is appropriate
  • Don't delete saved searches created by other team members without coordination, as they may be using them for regular workflows
  • Don't overlook the comments/feedback icon when reviewing pre-plans, as it contains valuable information from the approval process
  • Don't assume all columns are editable—only Address, Parent/Child, Assigned Member/Team, Cycle, Due Date, Target Hazard, and Address Status can be edited directly in the organizer

Tips & Recommendations:

  • Start with basic searches and progressively add criteria to refine results rather than building complex searches immediately
  • Use the target hazard filter combined with geographic or assignment filters to prioritize high-risk occupancy reviews
  • Review pre-plans that are past due regularly by creating a saved search specifically for overdue items
  • Take advantage of the printer icon to generate reports for station tours or training sessions
  • When managing review cycles, use bulk actions to update due dates for multiple pre-plans in the same occupancy type or geographic area
  • Monitor the alert tiles display toggle to ensure critical information is visible to responders when needed

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: Why can't I see the Pre-Plan Organizer option in my Pre-Planning module? 
A: You likely don't have the "Pre-Plan Organizer" permission assigned to your user role. Contact your system administrator to request access. This permission is found in Pre-Planning General.

Q: I created a saved search but other users can't see it—what's wrong? 
A: Verify you completed the save process by entering a name and clicking "Save." Once properly saved, searches are automatically available to all users with Pre-Plan Organizer access. If the problem persists, check that other users have the "Pre-Plan Organizer Saved View - Read" permission.

Q: What's the difference between the Address column link and the Parent/Child column link? 
A: The Address column link takes you to the occupancy record for that specific address. The Parent/Child column link (when an address is displayed) always takes you to the primary address occupancy record, even if you're viewing a secondary/child address row.

Q: Can I edit pre-plan details directly in the organizer or do I need to open the full pre-plan? 
A: Limited editing is available directly in the organizer through editable columns (Assigned Member/Team, Cycle, Due Date, Target Hazard, and Address Status). For comprehensive pre-plan editing including annotations, units, and detailed information, use the pencil icon in the Actions column to open the full pre-plan editor.

Q: Why do some pre-plans show a clock icon while others don't? 
A: The clock icon only appears for pre-plans that have history records (previous edits, reviews, or status changes). Pre-plans without modification history won't display this icon.

Q: How many pre-plans can I select for bulk actions at once? 
A: While First Due doesn't specify a hard limit, best practice is to work with manageable groups (typically 25-50 pre-plans at a time) to ensure system performance and allow for verification of changes. For very large bulk updates, consider breaking the work into multiple batches.