Workflows 101: Actions

Workflows offer a powerful way to add automation to your factory floor. By configuring triggers and actions, you can make sure the right people or systems have the right information at the right time to take action and optimize production. 

Learn more about Workflows here. 

What are Workflows? 

Workflows include a trigger that drives a specific action. This article will focus on the different Actions that you can choose from in MachineMetrics. To learn more about Triggers, check out this article: Workflows 101: Triggers. 

Workflow Actions

There are four (4) different Actions you can choose from when configuring a Workflow: Operator Dashboard Message, Notification,  Webhook, or Pause/Resume Operation. Below, we go into more detail about each of these actions and how you can use them to start to automate portions of your factory. 

1) Action: Notification  

Who should receive this Notification: Who should receive a Notification about the conditions met? This is who you will add in this field. 

**NOTE: Only Users who have MachineMetrics profiles will appear in this drop-down. Also, Individual User Profile Settings will dictate the Notifications. Learn more about Profile and Account Settings. 

**NOTE: To send a notification at all hours, you can override the times configured in their profile by selecting the box below the Assignee field. 

Email/Text Alerts for Workflows

Notifications and Incidents are created to notify Users of issues or situations they need to be made aware of. Users choose how and when they receive the alerts in their User Profile Settings. So, what do these alerts look like when a User receives one?  Below you will find examples of a Text and Email alert.

Email Alert Example: 

Text Alert Example:

2) Action: Webhooks

The second type of Action you can select when configuring a Workflow is Webhooks. Webhooks send a packet of data to a specified endpoint/location when the Workflow is triggered. The possibilities are really endless with Webhooks. Some examples of how this may be used include sending work order information to a CMMS, or sending information to your ERP.

• Enter URL: This indicates the destination or endpoint of where the data will land. To learn more about how to create your own endpoint for Workflows, see this article. 
• Enter Secret: The Secret is an input of auto-generated (depending on your preference) unique code associated with the Workflow. This Secret is what your destination location will use to validate MachineMetrics as the sender of the information. It acts as a key to unlock the destination so that the data can be delivered. 
  
  **NOTE: Once the Webhook is created, you cannot view the Secret again for security reasons, so we recommend that you save is somewhere secure. 

3) Action: Operator Dashboard Message

The third type of action available is the Operator Dashboard Message. This action allows users to send a descriptive message to the Operator Dashboard of which the triggered workflow happens on. For example, a Way Lube alarm on the machine happens. It then triggers this action to display a message on the Operator's Dashboard (tablet interface) saying "Way Lube is Low! Please fill way lube to designated level!". Reminding the Operator that an action is needed.

This is what will appear on the Operator's Dashboard that the alarm occurred on.

**Note: If using a Scheduled trigger, and All Machines is the selected target type, all operator dashboards will be sent the message.

4) Action:  Pause/Resume Operation

The fourth type of action available is to pause or resume an Operation, this will allow for an Operation to be paused or resumed based on the trigger that has been configured for the Workflow.

Want to learn more about how these Actions are triggered? Check out this article. 

Have questions? 

Contact our support team at Support@machinemetrics.com.