A frequent customer request was that CalAmp provide a method for supervisors to be alerted when assets are being driven in a time window that is not permitted (for example, outside of their assigned schedules of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). This article covers how to set up such a notification; you can do so as follows:

Note: Prior to following the steps below, you will need to have a schedule set up with the allowed driving hours (such as from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), and it must be assigned to the assets and/or drivers (in the Edit Asset/Edit Driver dialog box). The alert will be configured to send the notice when activity occurs outside of the hours in the applied schedule. Make sure to create that schedule before adding your new Unauthorized Usage notification, if it doesn't already exist, as shown in Adding a Schedule (and to assign it to the appropriate entities).
 

For more information about notifications, go to Viewing Your Notification Configurations.

  1. In the sidebar menu on the left, click .
     
  2. Click Notifications on the flyout menu that appears.
     
    The Admin - Notifications screen will appear.
      
  3. Click Add New at the top right of the screen.
     
    The Add Notification dialog box will appear.
       
  4. In the Notification Name field, type an alert name that will inform the recipient that an asset is being driven outside of its approved work schedule, such as "Unauthorized Usage."
     
    By default, the group you currently have selected in the Group Chooser will be set for the group to add the notification to.
     
  5. If you would like to place it in a different group, click the Group drop-down arrow and select the group from the list.
    Note: Only assets in the group you choose will trigger the Unauthorized Usage notification you configure, plus its subgroups if you make the alert inheritable.
     
    Assets in groups that are higher up in your organization's hierarchy (such as the specified group's parent group) will NOT trigger the notification.
     
    If you want the new notification to be activated by all your assets, place it in your top-level group (and leave Inheritable selected).
  6. Click the Notification Type drop-down arrow and select iOn Event.
     
  7. Click the Schedule drop-down arrow and select the name of the schedule that specifies the hours your assets are allowed to be driven.
    Note: You will only be able to apply schedules in the same group as the notification (or a schedule from a parent group that is inheritable).

    As mentioned earlier, you should create the schedule before you add the alert. See Adding a Schedule for details.
    After you select a schedule, a new field will appear to its right, Schedule Reference.
      
  8. Click the Schedule Reference drop-down arrow and select Outside Schedule (so that the notification will be triggered and sent during the exact opposite segment of the day from the schedule — when drivers are not permitted to be using your vehicles).
     
  9. Type an explanation that will tell the recipient that an asset is being driven outside of its authorized work hours in the Description field (such as "Unauthorized asset use").
     
  10. Click the Severity drop-down arrow and select the priority level of the alert: Low, Medium, High, or Urgent (formerly Critical).
     
  11. Leave the Notification Status field at its default value of Enabled.
    Note: If the notification is set to Disabled or Suspended, its triggering event won't be looked for, and the alert won't be reported to CalAmp. But this won't likely be what you want when you are adding a new notification.
  12. If you want the alert to be triggered by assets in subgroups of the group it is assigned to (so the subgroups, or child groups, inherit the notification from the parent group), leave Inheritable selected.
     
    If you want it to be sent out only for that single group's assets, deselect Inheritable.
     
  13. Under Triggers, click the Event drop-down arrow and select Ignition On.
     
    Note: Alternatively, you could select Motion as the triggering event.
  14. Scroll down to the Notification Actions section.
      
  15. Select the Email and/or SMS On/Off toggle ( means selected, and deselected) to have the notification sent to the concerned parties (such as one of your organization's software administrators, a driver supervisor, or yourself) by email or text and then follow step 16 and/or 17, respectively.
    Note: Specifying at least one email or mobile number is required before you can save the alert.
  16. For Email, follow these steps:
      
    1. Type (or copy and paste) the first recipient's email address on the Primary Recipients line.
       
    2. If you want the notification to be sent to multiple people, type a comma after the first address and then enter the next recipient's email address (and so on).
      Note: You can now include a space after the comma. (Previously, this caused an error, but now, it's acceptable to either space the email addresses out or leave no space between them.)
    3. To add carbon copy (CC) recipients, click Add Secondary Recipients and enter their email addresses where "CC: Enter email(s)" appears.
        
    4. On the Email Subject line, type the email subject text (perhaps just the name or description of the alert).
         
  17. For SMS, type the cell phone number of the person you want to receive the text on its Enter Number line, using the format +13175551234.
      
    To add multiple people, place a comma after the preceding phone number and then type the next one.
    Note: You can now include a space after the comma. (Previously, this caused an error, but now, it's acceptable to either space the phone numbers out or leave no space between them.)
  18. Click Done.
       
    If the group you placed the alert in is the one you have selected in the Group Chooser (or is a child of it and you have View Subgroups selected), your new alert will appear in the Admin - Notifications list.
       
    Also, a success message will appear at the bottom of the screen.
      
  19. Click OK to dismiss it. (Or you can wait a few seconds, and it will automatically close.)
     
    Your Unauthorized Usage alert will be triggered any time your drivers use your vehicles outside of their authorized work schedules (such as after 5:00 in the evening up until 9:00 in the morning if you applied a schedule of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

PRO TIP


If you have previously created an Unauthorized Usage notification, you can copy it if you need another and make slight modifications, such as one for a different group or different shift. See the second section of Adding a Notification (Alert), "Duplicating a Notification," for details.