Introduction to Microsoft Power Automate

Overview

Microsoft Power Automate is a cloud-based service that enables you to create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, collect data, and more.

Setting Up Power Automate

1. Sign In: Go to the Power Automate website and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. Access the Dashboard: Once signed in, you will see the Power Automate dashboard.

Creating a New Flow for SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment

Step 1: Create a New Flow

1. Navigate to My Flows:

   • From the left-hand menu, click on "My flows".
   • Click on "New flow" and select "Automated cloud flow".

2. Set Flow Parameters:

   • Name your flow (e.g., "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment Automation").
   • Choose the trigger "When a new response is submitted" from the Microsoft Forms connector.
   • Click on "Create".

Step 2: Setting Up the Trigger

1. Configure Form Trigger:
   • Under the trigger "When a new response is submitted", select your Form from the "Form Id" dropdown (ensure your form is already created in Microsoft Forms).

Step 3: Get Response Details

1. Add New Step:

   • Click on "New step".
   • In the "Choose an action" box, search for "Forms".
   • Select "Get response details".

2. Configure Get Response Details:

   • In the "Form Id" dropdown, select your Form.
   • In the "Response Id" field, select "Response Id" from the dynamic content.

Step 4: Process the Response

1. Process the Form Response:

   • Add a new step if you wish to process the data, such as storing it in a SharePoint list or sending an email.

2. Example Action - Create Item in SharePoint:

   • Click on "New step".

   • Search for "SharePoint" and select "Create item".

   • Configuration:

     • Site Address: Select the SharePoint site where you want to store the data.
     • List Name: Select the name of the list.
     • Map your form responses to the relevant SharePoint columns using the dynamic content.

3. Example Action - Send an Email:

   • Click on "New step".

   • Search for "Outlook" and select "Send an email (V2)".

   • Configuration:

     • To: Input the recipient(s).
     • Subject: Create a subject line (e.g., "New HSSE Risk Assessment Submitted").
     • Body: Customize the email body with the relevant content and dynamic fields from the form response.

Step 5: Save and Test

1. Save the Flow:

   • Click on "Save" at the top right corner.

2. Test the Flow:

   • You can test the flow by submitting a new response to the form. The flow should trigger and execute the configured actions.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have created an automated workflow using Microsoft Power Automate to process responses from the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment Microsoft Form. This workflow can be further customized based on additional requirements and processes.

For more complex scenarios or additional customization, you can explore Power Automate's extensive library of connectors and actions.

Setting Up Microsoft Forms and Understanding Branch Logic

Step 1: Creating the Microsoft Form for SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment

1. Create the Form:

   • Go to forms.microsoft.com and log in with your credentials.
   • Click on New Form.
   • Title your form as "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment".

2. Adding Questions:

   • Add the necessary questions for your risk assessment. Ensure that the questions capture all required data points.
   • Use various question types like choice, text, rating, etc., depending on the requirement.

Step 2: Implementing Branch Logic in Microsoft Forms

1. Access Branch Logic:

   • Click on the three dots (...) at the top right of a question.
   • Select Branching.

2. Setting Up Branch Logic:

   • Identify a question that directs the respondent to different subsequent questions based on their answer.
   • For example, if you have a question "Is the risk level high?" with options "Yes" and "No":
     • If "Yes" is selected:
       • Branch to a question that asks for more details about the identified high risk.
     • If "No" is selected:
       • Skip to the next section or end the form.

3. Finalizing Branches:

   • After you set up your branches, navigate through the branching logic to ensure it follows the correct path for each scenario.
   • Click on Back to exit the branching setup.

Step 3: Creating a Power Automate Flow to Process Form Responses

1. Start Flow Creation:

   • Go to flow.microsoft.com and log in with your credentials.
   • Click on Create and select Automated Flow.

2. Configure Trigger:

   • Choose the "When a new response is submitted" trigger from Microsoft Forms.
   • Select your HSSE Risk Assessment Form from the dropdown list.

3. Get Response Details:

   • Add a new action Get response details.
   • Specify the Form ID and the Response ID from the previous trigger.

4. Processing the Response:

   • Add actions to process the response as per your requirements. For instance, you might:
     • Compose Action: Extract and organize form data.
     • Condition Action: Implement decision-making based on form responses, e.g., if the risk level is high, send an alert email.
     • Create a SharePoint Item: Store responses in a SharePoint list for record-keeping and further analysis.

   - Action: Get Response Details
     Form ID: YOUR_FORM_ID
     Response ID: dynamic_response_id
   
   - Action: Compose
     Input: response_data
   
   - Action: Condition
     Condition: if(high_risk_response)
     Actions: 
       - Send Email: notify_team
       - Create Item: SharePoint_list

5. Finalizing and Testing:

   • After adding all necessary actions, save the flow.
   • Test the flow by submitting a few sample responses to ensure that it processes the responses correctly and performs the expected actions.

Summary

By following these steps, you will have a Microsoft Form with branching logic tailored for HSSE risk assessment. Additionally, Power Automate will handle real-time processing of the responses, ensuring that any necessary actions are taken based on the form data. This setup allows you to automate and streamline the risk assessment process efficiently.

Creating a Basic Flow in Power Automate

Objective: Automate the processing of responses from the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment Microsoft Form.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Open Power Automate

1. Navigate to the Power Automate portal by entering https://flow.microsoft.com in your web browser.
2. Sign in with your credentials.

Step 2: Create a New Flow

1. Click on Create in the left-hand side navigation menu.
2. Select Automated cloud flow.

Step 3: Define the Trigger

1. In the Build an automated flow window, provide a flow name like "SPM Risk Assessment Response Processor".
2. In the Choose your flow's trigger search box, type "Forms".
3. Select When a new response is submitted from the list.
4. Click on Create.

Step 4: Configure the Trigger

1. In the Form Id dropdown, select the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment form.

Step 5: Get Form Response Details

1. Click on + New step.
2. In the search box, type "Forms" and select Get response details.
3. Configure it as follows:
   • Form Id: Select the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment form.
   • Response Id: Select Response Id from the When a new response is submitted trigger.

Step 6: Add Conditions to Process Responses

1. Click on + New step.
2. Search for Condition and select the control.
3. Configure the condition:
   • Choose a value: Select a field from the form response that you want to apply logic on, e.g., "Risk Level".
   • Condition: Select the condition, e.g., is equal to.
   • Value: Set the value to check, e.g., "High".

Step 7: Specify Actions Based on Conditions

If the Condition is Met:

1. Within the If yes branch, click Add an action.
2. Select an action to perform, e.g., send an email notification.
   • Type "Outlook" in the search box and select Send an email.
   • Configure it with recipient, subject, and body including form response details.

If the Condition is Not Met:

1. Within the If no branch, click Add an action.
2. Select an appropriate action, e.g., notify a different team or log the response in a SharePoint list.
   • Type "SharePoint" in the search box and select Create item.
   • Configure the SharePoint details including site address, list name, and columns to populate.

Step 8: Save and Test the Flow

1. Click on Save in the top right corner.
2. Perform a test by manually submitting the form and verifying that the flow triggers and processes the response correctly.

That's it! You now have a basic flow that automates the processing of responses from the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment form in Power Automate.

Advanced Data Handling and Conditional Logic in Power Automate

Objective:

Automate the processing of responses from the SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment Microsoft Form using Power Automate with advanced data handling and conditional logic.

Prerequisites:

• A Microsoft Form named "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment" is already created.
• A basic Power Automate flow is already created.
• Microsoft Power Automate environment is set up.

Steps:

1. Initialize Variables

First, let's initialize the necessary variables to handle your data effectively.

1. Add a new step after your trigger and select "Initialize variable".
2. Set the Name to riskLevel, Type to String, and Value to an empty string "".

{
  "inputs": {
    "variables": [
      {
        "name": "riskLevel",
        "type": "string",
        "value": ""
      }
    ]
  }
}

2. Get Response Details

Add the "Get response details" action to fetch the responses from your form.

• Form ID: Select your "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment" form.
• Response ID: Select Response ID from the trigger output.

3. Parse Form Response

Assuming that one of the questions on the form is Risk Score, we'll use this score in our conditional logic.

1. Add a new step and select "Parse JSON".
2. In the Content field, use the dynamic content to select the Get response details step output.
3. In the Schema field, generate a schema based on your form response.

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "RiskScore": {
      "type": "number"
    },
    ...
  }
}

4. Apply Conditional Logic

Use a Condition control to apply logic based on the Risk Score.

1. Add a new step and select "Condition".
2. Configure the condition:
   • Value: Use the RiskScore from the outputs of Parse JSON.
   • Condition: greater than
   • Value: 7

5. Set Variable Based on Condition

Based on the condition, set the riskLevel variable.

If Yes (Risk Score > 7):

1. Add an action under the Yes branch, select "Set variable".
2. Name: Select riskLevel.
3. Value: High.

{
  "inputs": {
    "name": "riskLevel",
    "value": "High"
  }
}

If No (Risk Score ≤ 7):

1. Add an action under the No branch, select "Set variable".
2. Name: Select riskLevel.
3. Value: Low or Medium.

{
  "inputs": {
    "name": "riskLevel",
    "value": "Low or Medium"
  }
}

6. Use Data for Further Actions

After setting the riskLevel, you can use this variable to take further actions, such as sending notifications or updating a database.

1. Add a new step to notify the concerned team with the risk level.
2. Select "Send an email" action:
   • To: team@example.com
   • Subject: HSSE Risk Assessment Notification
   • Body: The risk level for the recent assessment is: @{variables('riskLevel')}

{
  "inputs": {
    "to": "team@example.com",
    "subject": "HSSE Risk Assessment Notification",
    "body": "The risk level for the recent assessment is: @{variables('riskLevel')}"
  }
}

Summary:

In this section of the project, you have implemented advanced data handling and conditional logic in Power Automate to process HSSE Risk Assessment responses effectively. By initializing variables, parsing JSON responses, applying conditional logic, and using the result for further actions, this setup ensures automated and efficient processing of form responses.

Part 5: Generating PDFs and Sending Emails in Power Automate

Prerequisites

• A Microsoft Form titled "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment" with the required fields and response data.
• A connected Power Automate environment.
• Access to Microsoft 365 services including Forms, OneDrive, SharePoint, Outlook, and the Microsoft Power Automate connectors.

Steps to Create a Power Automate Flow for PDF Generation and Email Sending

1. Trigger the Flow from Microsoft Forms

1. Go to Power Automate.
2. Create a new flow: 'Automated-from blank'.
3. Choose "When a new response is submitted" trigger for "Microsoft Forms".
4. Select your form "SPM Contractor HSSE Risk Assessment".

2. Get Response Details

1. Add a new step: "Get response details".
2. Specify the Form ID and the Response ID from the previous form trigger.

3. Compose PDF Content

1. Add a new step: "Compose".

2. Create the HTML content for your PDF file. Use the dynamic values from the 'Get response details' action.

   Example:

   
   
   HSSE Risk Assessment Report
   Contractor Name: @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']}
   Project Name: @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ProjectName']}
   
   
   

4. Convert HTML to PDF

1. Add a new step to "Convert HTML to PDF". If you do not have a direct connector, you may use "OneDrive" to create a HTML file and then convert it using another service like Encodian or Plumsail.

   Example with Encodian:

   1. Add the action: "Encodian Convert HTML to PDF".
   2. For the Html field, map the output of your previous "Compose" action.

5. Save the PDF File

1. Add a new step: "Create file" in OneDrive or SharePoint.

2. Configure it to save the PDF generated in the previous action.

   Example (OneDrive for Business):

   • Folder Path: /PDF Reports/
   • File Name: @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']}_RiskAssessment.pdf
   • File Content: Use the content returned by the Encodian PDF conversion.

6. Send the Email with PDF Attachment

1. Add a new step: "Send an email (V2)" using Office 365 Outlook.
2. Configure the email fields:
   • To: Specify where you want to send it (e.g., someone@example.com).
   • Subject: "HSSE Risk Assessment Report - @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']}"
   • Body: A brief summary of the assessment.
   • Attachments Name: @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']}_RiskAssessment.pdf
   • Attachments Content: Use the content from the "Create file" action.

Example:

To: someone@example.com Subject: HSSE Risk Assessment Report - @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']} Body: Dear Team,

Please find attached the HSSE Risk Assessment Report for @{outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/ContractorName']}.

Best regards, Your Team

Implementation Summary

You now have a Power Automate flow setup which:

1. Triggers when a new response is submitted.
2. Fetches the response details.
3. Composes an HTML representation of the response.
4. Converts the HTML to PDF.
5. Saves the PDF to OneDrive or SharePoint.
6. Sends an email with the PDF attached.

This flow automates the process of generating a PDF report from form responses and sending it via email, thus saving time and ensuring efficient documentation and communication.

Complete the flow and test it with a sample response to ensure all parts are working correctly.