MLS & Emergency Prep survey

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
Eric-p40
New Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:24 pm

MLS & Emergency Prep survey

#1

Post by Eric-p40 »

Our ward is distributing surveys for our emergency prepardness plan. i:e: skills, occupation,etc. Other than loading the information into an Excel or Acess document, does anyone have any recommendations/experience in using this type of data in their ward?

It would be nice if there was a way in MLS that this info could be added. Example- If we wanted to know who in the ward has a chainsaw, we could do a simple search. Another use would be...who in the ward plans piano,etc...

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions or programs that your ward has used for this purpose.

Thanks.
User avatar
mkmurray
Senior Member
Posts: 3266
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:56 pm
Location: Utah
Contact:

#2

Post by mkmurray »

Eric wrote:Another use would be...who in the ward plans piano,etc...
Because you never know when you might need a pianist in the event of an emergency! :D

Just kidding...

In actuality, this is an interesting suggestion worthing taking note of. I do know that there was almost an open-to-the-community developer project to create something of this kind. I don't know if the idea was to cooperate with perhaps LUWS (Local Unit Web Site) and/or MLS, or to be an integrated module within one of these softwares.

In fact, this idea as a community project may still be pending. Joel Dehlin, CIO for the Church, mentioned that the IT group at Church HQ is revving up to open a project to the community to volunteer work on to help out the Church. Perhaps it is this project idea that I am speaking of....or it could be something completely different too. :rolleyes:
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#3

Post by aebrown »

Eric wrote:Our ward is distributing surveys for our emergency prepardness plan. i:e: skills, occupation,etc. Other than loading the information into an Excel or Acess document, does anyone have any recommendations/experience in using this type of data in their ward?

It would be nice if there was a way in MLS that this info could be added. Example- If we wanted to know who in the ward has a chainsaw, we could do a simple search. Another use would be...who in the ward plans piano,etc...

There is already a capability in MLS for this. It is called Custom Member Fields, and it is available under Membership, View and Update, Custom Member Fields, or on the Membership menu under Custom Member Fields. There are a variety of predefined fields for talents (plays piano, etc.), occupation (electrician, plumbing, carpentry, etc.), and resources (generator, heavy machinery, etc.). And you can add more. Under System Options, go to the Member screen to define your own talents/interests.

Once you have entered the information in MLS, getting at it isn't as easy or flexible as it could be. You basically have to write a custom report. But it can be done.
jbh001
Senior Member
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV

#4

Post by jbh001 »

Alan_Brown wrote:Once you have entered the information in MLS, getting at it isn't as easy or flexible as it could be. You basically have to write a custom report. But it can be done.
The results are rather unwieldy. What is really needed within MLS is the ability to create a custom report with similar formatting to the Callings By Organization report. That is, being able to group the output by category. That way everyone that plays the piano would be grouped in one section of the report, and everyone with a chainsaw would be group in another section of the report, and so forth, for all the custom member fields you choose to include in the report. With such a report, you could potentially end up with someone that plays the piano AND has a chainsaw, thus their contact information would show up in both sections of the report.
User avatar
mkmurray
Senior Member
Posts: 3266
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:56 pm
Location: Utah
Contact:

#5

Post by mkmurray »

jbh001 wrote:With such a report, you could potentially end up with someone that plays the piano AND has a chainsaw...
Or plays the piano WITH a chainsaw!

This thread is fun... :D
craiger
New Member
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:56 am
Location: Chicago

#6

Post by craiger »

I have also been exploring options for this. I am thinking of using google docs to gather the information. Their spreadsheet app has a form/survey tool that allows you to collect info from people. You email a link (or the form) to everyone. They click on the link, fill in the form, and the info is added to your private google spreadsheet. There are probably a gazillion online survey tools with similar functionality.

Has anyone had success using MLS to manage and report on this kind information once it is collected? Is there an easy way to import the info from a csv file, or would it have to be manually entered?
User avatar
aebrown
Community Administrator
Posts: 15153
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:48 pm
Location: Draper, Utah

#7

Post by aebrown »

craig wrote:I have also been exploring options for this. I am thinking of using google docs to gather the information. Their spreadsheet app has a form/survey tool that allows you to collect info from people. You email a link (or the form) to everyone. They click on the link, fill in the form, and the info is added to your private google spreadsheet. There are probably a gazillion online survey tools with similar functionality.

Has anyone had success using MLS to manage and report on this kind information once it is collected? Is there an easy way to import the info from a csv file, or would it have to be manually entered?
I have not personally used MLS (or any other application) to manage this kind of information. It is clear from the built-in talent and interest categories that the MLS developers contemplated it being used for emergency preparedness information. But that doesn't mean it is your best option.

I can confirm, however, that there is no way to import the info into MLS from a CSV file; the information must be entered manually (short of using some sort of utility application that can feed keystrokes to a Windows application).
lmherdz
New Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:50 am

Emerg Prep Survey How 2 enter into MLS

#8

Post by lmherdz »

Information must be entered manually by Clerk or ERP Specialist

VII. CREATING CUSTOM “TALENT AND INTEREST” FIELDS NEEDS FOR MLS
a.Click on “Edit”
b.System Options
c.Members
d.Custom Talents and Interests
e.Add
f.Enter and save the 80 Ward Emergency Resources on the Ward Resources Questionnaire (back page) from the check box in this format:
01 Airplane
02 Pilot
03 Off-Road Vehicles
…..
80 Owns Generator
g.Enter also these special resources as well the same way:
Special Health Needs
Works Long Distance From Home
Blood TypeAB
Blood Type A
Blood Type B
Blood Type O
FYI:
Blood Group
Antigens
Antibodies
Can give blood to
Can receive blood from
AB
A and B
None
AB
AB, A, B, 0
A
A
B
A and AB
A and 0
B
B
A
B and AB
B and 0
0
None
A and B
AB, A, B, 0
0

h.Now, you have created the “resources” you are going to “apply” to each family!
i.Save and Close this Menu, and go survey the ward using the Ward Resources Questionnaire (back page).



VIII. HOW TO ENTER THE MEMBERS’ TALENTS AND RESOURCES INTO THE MLS
a.Click on Membership
b.Custom Member Fields
c.Under “Talents and Interests” click “Add”
d.Select an individual, and the resource item (from your list) that applies to him/her
e.Click on the next individual (either scroll forward, or use the magnifying glass to find)
f.Enter their talent or resource (you can add multiple entries for the same individual!)
g.Enter all ward members you have surveyed






lmherdz
New Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:50 am

#9

Post by lmherdz »

HOW TO CREATE SEPARATE EMERGENCY RESOURCE LISTS ON MLS
a.Click on Membership
b.Custom Reports
c.Add Report
d.Name = “## Description” (i.e. “01 Airplane”, etc.)
e.Description = “ER Resources”
f.Add Criteria
g.Click on “Talent or Interest” IS then click on the cell under “Value”. The magnifying glass will appear, click on it, then select the resource you are creating the list for.
(i.e. “Talent or Interest” IS “01 Airplane”)
h.Click OK
i.Next
j.Format Your report by clicking these check boxes and using IN THIS COLUMN ORDER:
1. Preferred Name
2. Address – Street 1
3. Primary Phone Number
4. Ward GEO Code
k.Select Column Widths (adjust as needed so report is readable)
l.Print, Close, and save all work
m.Repeat all step above for ALL 80 Ward Emergency Resources, and the extra ones as well (in section VII. g. above).

X. HOW TO CREATE A SUMMARY REPORT OF ALL WARD EMERGENCY
RESOURCES ON MLS
a.Click on Membership
b.Custom Reports
c.Add Report
d.Name = “EMERGENCY RESOURCES AVAILABLE BY ZONE”
e.Description = “ER Resources Master List”
f.Add Criteria
g.This time you are going to enter MULTIPLE criteria!
h.Click on “Talent or Interest” IS then click on the cell under “Value”. The magnifying glass will appear, click on it, then select the resource you are creating the list for.
(i.e. “Talent or Interest” IS “01 Airplane”)
i.After entering the first criteria, click on “more” (to the right)
j.“Talent or Interest” IS “02 Pilot”, then click “more again
k.“Talent or Interest” IS “03 Off-Road Vehicles”, then click “more” again
l.Repeat this step over and over until all criteria are in place. By doing this, your report will only include individuals who have talents and resources to report!
m.Next
n.Format Your report by clicking these check boxes and using IN THIS COLUMN ORDER:
1. Ward GEO Code
2. Preferred Name
3. Address – Street 1
4. Primary Phone Number
5. Talents or Interest
o.Select Column Widths (adjust as needed so report is readable)
p.Print, Close, and save all work!
IF YOU MONITOR YOUR EFFORTS, AND BE CONSISTENT, THIS INFORMATION WILL PROVE INVALUABLE IN A DISASTER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN
coletheelder
New Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:50 am
Location: Ewa Beach, HI

#10

Post by coletheelder »

I've been promoting this approach in our Stake since 2007 as an Assistant Stake Welfare Specialist. I just found the last 2, recent posts, so I'll have to review them with an MLS system in front of me. The problem I've had is getting MLS custom reports to sort the data elements in a meaningful way.

I've also used Google Docs as a method for capturing and reporting the data. Personally, I prefer to use the MLS approach simply because the data exists as long as a member record exists. Anytime we use an outside resource, it has to be separately and manually updated for move-ins and move-outs.
Locked

Return to “MLS Support, Help, and Feedback”