Version 1.31: Release Notes

Welcome to Helm CONNECT 1.31. Click the links below to learn all about this release:

• The Platform
• Helm CONNECT Maintenance
• Helm CONNECT Compliance
• Helm CONNECT Jobs
• Helm CONNECT Personnel
• Helm CONNECT Reports
• Helm CONNECT Permissions
• Helm CONNECT API
• Updates

The Platform

Our "platform" is our base product and includes the features and functionality shared by all our customers. Changes to our platform affect everyone, regardless of the product lines or modules you subscribe to. We made the following platform changes in this release.

Enter the Current Date and Time with a Single Click

We added the popular “Set to now” icon, which was already available throughout Helm CONNECT Jobs, to many more date and time fields in this release, especially ones in the tasks, corrective actions, events, and activities windows. It’s not everywhere yet, but anywhere you do see this icon, you can click it to quickly enter the current date and time.

Helm CONNECT Maintenance

We made the following changes to Helm CONNECT Maintenance in this release.

Add Numeric Items to Your Checklists

On the Inspections, Maintenance, and Inventory tabs under Setup > Templates, we added a Numeric item as an option for your inspection, maintenance, and inventory templates. The Numeric item, which was already an option on forms templates, allows users to record numeric information, such as barcode numbers, estimated hours for labor, prices, costs, or risk values.

Set Requisition Spending Limits by Role

We redesigned the Setup > Requisitions > Requisition Approval Configuration tab so that instead of having a single requisition approval limit for all your users, you can now set different requisition approval limits for different roles within your organization.

Limit Requisition Status Changes to Specific Roles

We added a new Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Status Configurations tab where you can manage which roles within your organization are allowed to transition requisition line items to each status. The default setting for each status is “All Roles,” which you can then change by selecting one or more specific roles.

Tag Improvements

Tags are useful for organizing, labeling, and reporting on information in Helm CONNECT. In this release, we made the following improvements to help you organize and manage your tags:

• The maximum length of tags is now 100 characters.
• When you start to type the name of a new tag, you’ll now be able to select from a list of similar tags that already exist.
• New tags now save automatically as soon as you enter them
• On the Setup > Operations > Tags tab, we now display Last Updated, Last Updated By, and Last Used On.
• We no longer allow duplicate tags to be created if they only differ in case or whitespace, and we no longer allow you to change a tag name to the same name as an existing one just by adding an extra space.
• We automatically remove any extra spaces entered accidentally before or after tag names.

View Expanded or Full-Size Images of Your Parts

If you’ve added images to your parts on the Setup > Parts > Parts tab, we’ve now made it easier to view those images on the Parts tabs in Onboard > Inventory and Inventory > Inventory:

• The images will be visible in the Edit Part and Part Request windows.
• You can either click directly on the image to see a larger version or click a small icon to the right of the image to open a full-size version in a new browser window.

Always Link to the Latest Version of a Document

Ensuring that a linked document always points to the latest version available in your document library enhances document management and prevents outdated information from being used accidentally. This is particularly important for compliance, safety protocols, and operational procedures, where using outdated documents can lead to costly mistakes.

In the Linked Documents window, we added a new “Use Latest Version” check box that allows you to decide whether each linked document on your tasks and your inspections, maintenance, and inventory templates should always use the latest version in your document library.

Duplicate Makes and Models on Components Have Been Corrected

We addressed an issue that allowed some customers to accidentally create duplicate makes and models for their components. We also removed any duplicates that had been created and made sure that all references, including history, now refer to the correct item.

Helm CONNECT Compliance

We made the following changes to Helm CONNECT Compliance in this release.

Mobile-Friendly Forms for Crews Onboard

We improved how onboard forms look and behave on mobile devices, giving crew members the flexibility to complete forms in real time, wherever they are, without returning to a desktop workstation. This reduces delays, improves data accuracy, and enhances productivity by allowing them to capture critical information on the go.

Here’s what we did:

• We made the primary buttons (Discard, Save Changes, and Finish Now) larger to make them easier to see and use.
• We made the entire form scrollable so you can scroll past the buttons in the header and see more of the form’s content. You must scroll up to the top to access the buttons and finish the form.
• We now use your device’s default date and time picker controls so that choosing a date and time feels familiar.
• We redesigned the layout of the forms windows (such as Change Log, Linked Documents, Notes, Attachments, and E-signatures) and item types (such as Part Usage) to make them easier to see.
• For anyone with permission to the Onboard > Documents > Library (Beta) tab, linked documents will now open in a mobile-friendly document viewer. Users without this permission will continue to see linked documents in the original document viewer.
• We removed the slide-out menu on the right because it’s difficult to access from a mobile device. The Change Log and Attachments windows are now only accessible by using the buttons at the top of the form.

Always Link to the Latest Version of a Document

Ensuring that a linked document always points to the latest version available in your document library enhances document management and prevents outdated information from being used accidentally. This is particularly important for compliance, safety protocols, and operational procedures, where using outdated documents can lead to costly mistakes.

In the Linked Documents window, we added a new “Use Latest Version” check box that allows you to decide whether each linked document on your forms templates and corrective actions should always use the latest version in your document library.

New Mobile-Friendly Document Viewer Available

For anyone with permission to the Library (Beta) tab under My Helm > Documents, Onboard > Documents, or Compliance > Documents, linked documents on tasks, checklists, or corrective actions will now open in a mobile-friendly document viewer with enhanced support for bookmark navigation and text search. Users without this permission will continue to see linked documents in the original document viewer.

Helm CONNECT Jobs

We made the following changes to Helm CONNECT Jobs in this release.

Label change in the “Log a new entry” window

In the “Log a new entry” window, we changed the label on the “Act” field to “Actual.”

See the Time Zone for Your Logs

In the “Log a new entry,” “Log an event,” and “Log an activity” windows, we added a new read-only “Time Zone” field so you can see the time zone in which you’re logging information.

New Configuration Tab for Onboard Readings

The Onboard Readings module provides a readings dashboard for your asset installations by live-streaming the data from equipment onboard an asset, such as engines and fuel tank sensors. In this release, we added a new Setup > Integrations > External Systems Code tab so you can create and manage widgets for the external readings you want to see on the Onboard > Logs > Readings tab.

Configure Fluid Tanks and Cargo Holds

You can now configure fluid tanks for your primary assets and cargo holds for both your primary and attached assets:

• We added a new Setup > Operations > Cargo Hold Types so you can set up and manage your organization's cargo hold types.
• For each primary asset, we added a new Management > Assets > Assets > Tanks and Cargo Holds sub-tab so you can configure its fluid tanks and cargo holds.
• For each attached asset, we added a new Management > Assets > Assets > Cargo Holds sub-tab so you can configure its cargo holds.

Automatically Calculate the Amount of Fluid in a Tank

On the new Management > Assets > Assets > Tanks and Cargo Holds sub-tab, a Sounding Tables button allows you to upload your organization’s sounding tables. When someone logs a fluid reading for a primary asset, Helm CONNECT will automatically use your sounding tables to calculate the amount of fluid in the tank.

Select Specific Cargo Holds When Loading or Discharging Cargo for Primary Assets

If you have cargo holds configured for a primary asset, when you log a new event or activity, you’ll now see a Cargo Hold list that allows you to select the cargo hold into which you’re loading or from which you’re discharging the cargo.

Log Load and Discharge Cargo Events and Activities for Attached Assets

On the Setup > Events > Events and Activity Types tabs, we added two new items to the Types list so you can now set up load and discharge cargo events and activities for your attached assets:

• Load Attached Asset Cargo: This type is intended to load cargo into an empty or partially loaded cargo hold.
• Unload Attached Asset Cargo: This type is intended to unload or discharge cargo from a fully or partially loaded cargo hold.

View the Traffic for Primary Assets

If you have the Voyages module, a new Jobs > Dispatch > Traffic tab provides you with an overview of the current and upcoming voyages for your primary assets.

View the Traffic for Attached Assets

If you have the Voyages module, a new Jobs > Dispatch > Attached Traffic tab provides you with an overview of which equipment is currently picked up or attached to a primary asset and which is sitting idle.

Improvements to the Voyages Tab in Jobs > Dispatch

If you have the Voyages module, you’ll notice the following improvements on the Jobs > Dispatch > Voyages tab:

• Draft status: We added a new status called “Draft” to the Status list.
• Email notification for planned voyages: When you set a voyage status to “Planned,” an email will be sent to the email address on the primary asset’s Management > Assets > Assets > Detail sub-tab. The email includes information about the voyage, such as the voyage number, the primary asset name, and the start and end date and times. It also provides links to open the Voyages tab from Jobs > Dispatch and Onboard > Logbook.
• Acknowledged by Asset check box: We added a new check box called “Acknowledged by Asset” to the right of the Status list to indicate whether an asset has acknowledged the voyage or not.
• Add equipment: We added a new “Equipment” sub-tab to the left on the Voyages tab. This option allows you to add equipment to a voyage, including primary and attached assets and their cargo holds.
• View maintenance: We added a new “Maintenance” sub-tab on the left of the Voyages tab. This option provides an overview of the number of in-progress checklists for any primary and attached assets that you’ve added via the “Equipment” option.
• Add billing information: We added a new “Billing” sub-tab on the left of the Voyages tab. This option allows you to add billing rates or fuel tables to the voyage.

New Voyages Tab in Onboard > Logs

If you have the Voyages module, we added a new Onboard > Logs > Voyages tab that provides a read-only view of planned, active, complete, and canceled voyages for the selected primary asset. Unlike the Voyages tab in Jobs > Dispatch, the Voyages tab in Onboard > Logs does not include draft voyages and does not allow adding a new voyage or editing any existing voyage. You can click on a voyage in the list to see the details from all the sub-tabs except Billing and Reports.

New Upcoming Voyages Widget

If you have the Voyages module, on the Onboard > Logs > Logbook tab, we added a new widget called “Upcoming Voyages” that displays the next three planned voyages for the selected primary asset. If there are more than three upcoming voyages, you’ll see a “View More” button that will take you to the Onboard > Logs > Voyages tab. If any of the upcoming voyages have not yet been acknowledged, you’ll see an “Acknowledge” button.

Helm CONNECT Personnel

We made the following changes to Helm CONNECT Personnel in this release.

Escalate Your Payroll Rates

You can now save time and reduce errors by quickly escalating your payroll rates. On the Setup > Payroll > Payroll Class tab, simply click the new Escalate Rates button to display all the options for escalating your payroll rates. Under Filters, start by selecting the specific payroll groups, payroll classes, earning codes, payroll class types, or rate types that you want to escalate. Then, under Escalation, enter the amount or percentage by which you want to escalate the rates, as well as the rounding details and effective date for the changes. When you’re ready, click Preview to review the changes and then click Save to apply them.

Improvements to the Payroll Schemes Change Log

In our last release, we introduced a new Change Log button on the Setup > Personnel > Payroll Schemes tab so you could easily see which rules in a payroll scheme had been added, deleted, or modified and by whom. In this release, we improved the payroll schemes change log by adding details about any changes that were made to the targets, conditions, or effects in a payroll scheme.

Configure the Fields on Your Payroll Requests

On the Setup > Field Configurations > Payroll Requests tab, you can now configure the following default fields to show or hide:

• Payroll Class
• Asset
• Earning Code
• Factor

Reports

We made the following changes to our reports in this release. These changes may also affect report data linked to systems outside Helm CONNECT, such as Power BI. Please contact your account manager if you have any questions.

Audits Data Source

We added a new Audit Template Name field to the Audits data source. This field lets you quickly identify which template was used for each audit, making it easier to track compliance, compare results across different audits, and standardize reporting. This enhancement also improves data consistency and simplifies analysis, helping you pinpoint trends and areas for improvement more efficiently.

Crew Certifications (Alternate) Data Source

Based on feedback we received from some customers that the Crew Certifications data source can be slow to load, we’re introducing an improved version of this data source called Crew Certifications (Alternate) for interested customers to try. In addition to faster loading times, this new data source has two additional differences from the original Crew Certifications data source:

• Notes: The Notes field displays the number of notes for each certification included in the report, unlike the original Crew Certifications report, which displayed the contents of each note on a separate line.
• Attachments: This field displays the number of attachments for each certification included in the report.

The permission for the new Crew Certifications (Alternate) data source will not be automatically turned on in your tenant when you upgrade to Version 1.31. Please talk to your account manager if you’re interested in trying this new data source. You can have both the original Crew Certifications data source and the alternate Crew Certifications data source turned on at the same time; they won’t interfere with one another.

Forms

We added “Image” and “Numeric” types to the item type filter.

Inspection Checklists, Inventory Checklists, and Maintenance Checklists Data Sources

In the Inspection Checklists, Inventory Checklists, and Maintenance Checklists data sources, under Filters, we added a Numeric option to the Item Types list.

Inspection Templates, Maintenance Templates Data Sources

Previously, reports based on these data sources would not include draft versions if no assets had been added to the draft template yet. Now, those draft versions with no assets will appear in the reports.

Labor Tracking Data Source

We added a new Asset Name field to the Labor Tracking data source to help you identify where labor hours are allocated. This enhancement improves visibility into workforce efficiency, helps with cost tracking, and simplifies decision-making when analyzing maintenance and operational efforts across different assets.

Upcoming Checklists Data Source

• Using the new " Item " group from the column selections, you can now include details on the template items for upcoming checklists.

• The Overdue filter and column now work for reading-based schedules as well as date-based schedules. Previously, they only worked for date-based schedules.

Helm CONNECT Permissions

In this release, we made the following changes to the permissions on the Setup > Users > Roles tab.

Improvement to the “Force No Asset Selected in Logs” Permission

When you use the Onboard > Logs > Logbook tab or any of the workspaces in Onboard > Logs from shore, you must select the asset you want to work with from the Asset field. To save time and improve efficiency, Helm CONNECT selects the first asset in the list by default and then allows you to select a different asset if necessary. In Version 1.29, we added an optional permission for interested customers called Extras > Force No Asset Selected in Logs. This forces the Asset field to remain empty until you select an asset. In this release, we improved this setting so that once you select an asset, Helm CONNECT will remember your selection until you log out, close the tab you’re working on, or close your browser window.

The Force No Asset Selected in Logs permission is not turned on automatically at the tenant level. Please contact your account manager if you’d like to learn more. They’d be happy to show you a demo and help you decide if this setting would be a good fit for your company’s workflows.

Affected Products: All (Platform)

New “Line Item Status Configurations” Permission

We added a new “Line Item Status Configurations” permission under Setup > Requisitions, which manages access to the new Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Status Configurations tab, where you can manage which roles within your organization are allowed to transition requisition line items to each status.

After the upgrade to Version 1.31, this permission will be automatically added to any roles that already have at least one of the following permissions:

• Setup
• Setup > Requisitions
• Setup > Requisitions > Requisition Custom Fields
• Setup > Requisitions > Requisition Fields Configurations
• Setup > Requisitions > Requisition Approval Configurations
• Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Custom Fields
• Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Fields Configurations
• Affected Products: Helm CONNECT Maintenance

New “Can Create Tags” Permission

We added a new “Can Create Tags” permission under Extras to control who can create tags throughout Helm CONNECT. Previously, there were no restrictions on creating tags, which made it difficult to manage the tags your users created. After the upgrade to Version 1.31, this new permission will be automatically added to all roles. If you don’t want specific users to have this permission, you must manually remove it from their roles.

Anyone with the existing Setup > Operations > Tags permission, which manages access to the Setup > Operations > Tags tab, will still be able to create tags on the Tags tab even without the new “Can Create Tags” permission.

Affected Products: Helm CONNECT Maintenance and Compliance

New “Replace Component” Permission

We added a new “Replace Component” permission under Maintenance > Settings to control who can replace components. Users with the new “Replace Component” permission will be able to replace components using the previous workflow, as they did before, by clicking “Log a new task” from a workspace in Onboard > Logs and then clicking “Replace Component.” However, users without the “Replace Component” permission will no longer see the option to click “Replace Component.” Instead, when they click “Log a new task,” they will go directly to the “New Task” window.

After the upgrade to Version 1.31, this permission will be automatically added to any roles that already have the “Add New Task” permission.

Affected Products: Helm CONNECT Compliance

Helm CONNECT API

We made the following changes to the Helm CONNECT API in this release. For more details, please refer to our API documentation.

Barges (api/v2/public/barges)

New endpoint.

Cargo Hold Types (api/v2/public/cargoHoldTypes)

New endpoint.

Find Companies (api/v1/jobs/companies/FindCompanies)

New query filter parameters available: IncludeInactiveCompanies, IncludeInactiveAccounts, IncludeArchived

Find Orders (api/v1/jobs/orders/FindOrders)

New query filter parameter available: assignedResourceId

Find Users (api/v1/jobs/users/FindUsers)

New query filter parameter available: ChangedSince

Reading Control External System Codes (api/v2/public/ReadingControlExternalSystemCodes)

New endpoint.

Reading Controls (api/v2/public/ReadingControls)

UnitId field renamed to ReadingTypeId

Tracked Labor (api/v2/public/TrackedLabor)

New endpoint.

Update Line Item (api/v1/hsqe/requisitions/UpdateLineItem)

The public API docs do not list restrictions on status changes, but validation rules in this endpoint will now enforce any new restrictions configured on the Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Status Configurations tab.

Updates

7.1.31.240

We addressed an issue that prevented the history details for tasks from loading for customers who use specific browser language date formats, such as English (Australian).

Affected version: 1.31

Affected products: Helm CONNECT Maintenance

7.1.31.239

We’ve improved backend efficiencies for asset installations.

Affected version: 1.31

Affected products: Platform

7.1.31.238

We addressed an issue that sometimes prevented users from being able to search for or display locations.

Affected version: 1.31

Affected products: Platform