Introduction to Microsoft Forms and Power Automate

Overview

This unit introduces Microsoft Forms and Power Automate and illustrates their use for automating processes. We'll demonstrate how to create an automated workflow for assessing and managing Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) risks for contractor activities.

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is a simple web-based application that allows users to collect data via surveys, quizzes, and polls.

Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is a service that enables the creation of automated workflows between different applications and services without the need for coding.

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create a Microsoft Form

1. Access Microsoft Forms:

   • Go to Microsoft Forms.
   • Log in with your Microsoft 365 account.

2. Create a New Form:

   • Click on "New Form" to create a new survey.
   • Add questions relevant to assessing HSSE risks, for example:
     • Text: "Contractor Name"
     • Date: "Activity Date"
     • Choice: "Risk Level" (Low, Medium, High)
     • Text: "Describe the potential HSSE risk."

3. Share the Form:

   • Click the "Share" button.
   • Copy the link to share with contractors or embed it on a suitable platform.

Step 2: Create a Power Automate Flow

1. Access Power Automate:

   • Go to Power Automate.
   • Log in with your Microsoft 365 account.

2. Create a New Flow:

   • Click on "Create" -> "Automated cloud flow".
   • Name your flow, e.g., "HSSE Risk Assessment".
   • Choose "When a new response is submitted" as the trigger and click "Create".

3. Configure the Trigger:

   • Select the Microsoft Form you created in Step 1.
   • Choose "New step" and add "Get response details" action.
   • Configure it to get details from the form response.

4. Process the Form Data with Actions:

   • Add a condition to assess the risk level:

     If Risk Level is 'High'
         Send an email to HSSE Team
         Create a task in Microsoft Planner
     Else
         Log response in Excel or SharePoint list

5. Example Actions:

   Send an Email:

   • Add an action "Send an email (V2)".
   • Configure the email with details from the form response, e.g.,:
     • Subject: "High Risk Activity Alert - [Contractor Name]"
     • Body: "A high-risk activity has been reported. Please review the details: \n Contractor Name: [Contractor Name] \n Activity Date: [Activity Date] \n Description: [Description of HSSE risk]"
     • Add appropriate email recipients.

   Create a Task in Planner:

   • Add an action "Create a task" in Planner.
   • Configure the task details using dynamic content from the form:
     • Title: "Review HSSE Risk for [Contractor Name]"
     • Assigned to: [Appropriate individual]
     • Notes: [Description of HSSE risk]
     • Start Date: [Activity Date]

   Log response in Excel/SharePoint:

   • Add an action "Add a row into a table" for Excel, or "Create item" for SharePoint.
   • Select the appropriate storage location and map form responses accordingly.

Step 3: Test the Flow

• Submit a test response using the Microsoft Form.
• Verify that the actions in the Power Automate flow are triggered correctly.
• Check that the email is received, the task is created, and the form data is logged as expected.

Conclusion

By integrating Microsoft Forms and Power Automate, you can efficiently streamline the process of assessing and managing HSSE risks for contractor activities. This automation reduces manual effort and ensures timely and organized risk management.

Creating and Managing Microsoft Forms for Data Collection

This section demonstrates how to use Microsoft Forms for data collection regarding HSSE risks for contractor activities. It will then describe using Power Automate to automate the assessment and handling of the collected data.

Step 1: Designing the Microsoft Form

1. Create a New Form

   • Navigate to Microsoft Forms.
   • Click on "New Form".
   • Name the form e.g., "HSSE Risk Assessment for Contractor Activities".

2. Add Questions to the Form

   • Question 1: "Name of Contractor"
     • Type: Text
   • Question 2: "Describe the Activity"
     • Type: Text
     • Multiline: Enabled
   • Question 3: "Date of Activity"
     • Type: Date
   • Question 4: "Identify Potential Risks"
     • Type: Choice
     • Options: "Fall", "Electric Shock", "Burn", "Chemical Exposure", "Other"

Step 2: Using Power Automate for Automated Processing

1. Create a New Automated Flow

   • Go to Power Automate.
   • Click on "Create" and select "Automated cloud flow".

2. Setting the Trigger

   • Choose the trigger: "When a new response is submitted" in Microsoft Forms.
   • Link it to the "HSSE Risk Assessment for Contractor Activities" form.

3. Add Actions to the Flow

   Get Response Details

   • Action: "Get response details"
   • Form ID: Select your form.
   • Response ID: Use the unique identifier provided in the previous trigger step.

   Condition for Risk Type

   • Action: "Condition"
   • Condition: If "Identify Potential Risks" Contains "Fall" (Repeat for all risks)

   Condition Outcomes

   • If Yes:
     • Add action "Send an email".
     • Set up the email with appropriate risk details; e.g.:
       • To: safety.officer@example.com
       • Subject: HSSE Risk Identified: Fall
       • Body: A potential fall risk has been identified. Details: {Details from response}.

Step 3: Example Flow Diagram

[Trigger: New Form Response Submitted]
             |
             v
[Action: Get Response Details]
             |
             v
[Condition: If "Identify Potential Risks" Contains Specific Risk]
    |            |            |              |
    v            v            v              v
[Condition: Fall]---> [Condition: Electric Shock]---> [Condition: Burn]---> [Condition: Chemical Exposure]
    |            |            |              |
    v            v            v              v
[Send Email] [Send Email]  [Send Email]  [Send Email]

Send an Email Action Example Configuration

• To: recipient@example.com
• Subject: HSSE Risk Alert: {RiskType}
• Body:

  Attention,
  
  A new HSSE risk has been identified from the contractor activities.
  
  Contractor: {Name of Contractor}
  Activity: {Description}
  Date: {Date}
  Risk Type: {RiskType}
  
  Please address this immediately.
  
  Best regards,
  HSSE Team

Conclusion

By designing a Microsoft Form and using Power Automate, personnel can efficiently collect, assess, and handle HSSE risks related to contractor activities. This automated flow helps ensure that risks are promptly communicated to the appropriate safety officers for immediate action.

Designing Power Automate Flows: An Overview

The purpose of this section is to implement a workflow using Power Automate to assess and manage HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) risks for contractor activities. This workflow will collect data from Microsoft Forms, evaluate the information, and execute actions based on risk assessment criteria.

Step 1: Trigger Flow with Form Submission

1. Flow Trigger: Use the "When a new response is submitted" trigger for Microsoft Forms.

   Trigger:
   - When a new response is submitted (From your specific Microsoft Form)

2. Get Response Details: Use the "Get response details" action to fetch the detailed responses from the form.

   Action:
   - Get response details
       - Form ID: [Your Form ID]
       - Response ID: [Response ID from trigger]

Step 2: Initialize Variables

1. Initialize Variables: Create variables to store the parsed form data.

   Action:
   - Initialize variable
       - Name: contractorName
       - Type: String
       - Value: [Response data corresponding to contractor name]
   
   - Initialize variable
       - Name: riskLevel
       - Type: String
       - Value: [Response data corresponding to risk level]

Step 3: Assess Risk Level

1. Condition to Evaluate Risk:

   Condition:
   - If riskLevel equals 'High'

2. Notification for High Risk:

   • Send Email to HSSE manager with details.
   • Create a Task in Planner for immediate attention.

   Actions:
   - If True:
       - Send an email
           - To: HSSE Manager
           - Subject: High Risk Contractor Activity
           - Body: Details of contractorName and associated risks
   
       - Create a task (Planner)
           - Plan Id: [Planner Plan ID]
           - Title: High Risk Contractor Activity: [contractorName]
           - Assigned To: [HSSE Manager]
           - Due Date: [Appropriate date]
   
   - If False:
       - Proceed to next action

Step 4: Documentation and Logging

1. Log the Information:
   • Log all activities and decisions to a SharePoint list for record-keeping and future reference.

   Action:
   - Create item (SharePoint List)
       - Site Address: [Your SharePoint site address]
       - List Name: HSSE Risk Log
       - Title: Risk Assessment for [contractorName]
       - Risk Level: [riskLevel]
       - Status: [Appropriate Status]

Step 5: Confirmation and Completion

1. Send Confirmation: Notify the person who submitted the form.

   Action:
   - Send an email
       - To: [Submitter’s Email]
       - Subject: Form Submission Receipt
       - Body: Thank you, [Submitter’s Name]. Your submission regarding the activity of [contractorName] has been received and is under process.

Flow Diagram Outline

Start -> Trigger (Form Submission) -> Get Response Details -> Initialize Variables
       -> Condition (Evaluate Risk Level)
             -> If High Risk:
                   -> Send Email to HSSE Manager
                   -> Create Task in Planner
             -> If Not High Risk:
                   -> Proceed to Next Step
       -> Log Information to SharePoint
       -> Send Confirmation Email
End

Conclusion

This practical guide demonstrates how to leverage Power Automate to build workflows that handle HSSE risks for contractor activities. It ensures data is collected, assessed, and actions are taken through automated processes, enhancing efficiency and safety management. Implementing this blueprint helps in maintaining an organized, responsive, and compliant HSSE management system.

Implementing Conditional Logic and Branching in Flows

In Power Automate, implementing conditional logic and branching allows you to create a flow that can diverge based on certain conditions. We'll assume you have a basic understanding of creating flows and directly dive into the conditional logic and branching within a flow to assess and handle HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) risks for contractor activities.

Here's a step-by-step process on how to incorporate conditional logic and branching in your Power Automate flow:

Step 1: Trigger

Assume the trigger is already set up using a form response to capture contractor activity details.

Step 2: Initialize Variables

Initialize variables if needed to store any data for condition checks later on. You can do this by inserting the "Initialize variable" action:

• Action: Initialize variable
  • Name: RiskLevel
  • Type: String
  • Value: Empty

Step 3: Apply Conditional Logic

Use the "Condition" control to apply conditional logic.

Example Scenario:

Let's assume the form has a field named "Risk Assessment" that categorizes the risk into "High", "Medium", and "Low". Based on this risk level, we need to perform different actions.

• Action: Condition
  • Condition: If "Risk Assessment" is equal to "High"

Inside Condition (High Risk)

1. Branch 1 (If Yes):

   • Action: Set variable

     • Name: RiskLevel
     • Value: High

   • Action: Send an email

     • To: hsse.manager@company.com
     • Subject: High Risk Activity Detected
     • Body: A high-risk contractor activity has been reported. Immediate action required.

2. Branch 2 (If No): Add another condition to handle medium risks.

Step 4: Nested Condition for Medium Risk

In the "If No" branch of the first condition, add another condition to check if the risk level is medium.

• Action: Condition
  • Condition: If "Risk Assessment" is equal to "Medium"

Inside Condition (Medium Risk)

1. Branch 1 (If Yes):

   • Action: Set variable

     • Name: RiskLevel
     • Value: Medium

   • Action: Send an email

     • To: hsse.team@company.com
     • Subject: Medium Risk Activity Detected
     • Body: A medium-risk contractor activity has been reported. Please review and take necessary precautions.

2. Branch 2 (If No): This branch will handle low-risk activities implicitly.

Step 5: Handling Low Risk (Implicit Else)

After the nested conditions for both "High" and "Medium" risks, you can handle the low-risk scenario as:

• Action: Set variable

  • Name: RiskLevel
  • Value: Low

• Action: Send an email

  • To: hsse.auditor@company.com
  • Subject: Low Risk Activity Detected
  • Body: A low-risk contractor activity has been reported. No immediate action required, but recordkeeping is necessary.

Step 6: Additional Branches (If Required)

Based on your requirements, you may add more branches or nested conditions by repeating Steps 3 and 4 and modifying the logic accordingly.

Conclusion

You now have a Power Automate flow that assesses HSSE risks based on contractor activity details, using conditional logic to branch and handle each risk level appropriately. This structured branching and conditional handling ensures that each risk category triggers specific necessary actions.

By following these steps, you can implement conditional logic and branching in your Power Automate flows to create a dynamic and effective automated HSSE risk management process.

Generating and Managing PDF Reports with Power Automate

Overview

In this section, we detail the implementation of generating and managing PDF reports using Power Automate as part of your project for assessing and handling HSSE risks for contractor activities. Assume all preceding steps such as data collection, flow design, and conditional logic are already implemented.

Flow Structure

Step 1: Trigger Flow

Begin by triggering the flow once your form submission (data collection) is completed.

1. Trigger: When a new response is submitted in Microsoft Forms.

Step 2: Initialize Variables

Initialize a variable to concatenate form responses.

1. Action: Initialize variable
   • Name: ReportContent
   • Type: String
   • Value: "" (empty string)

Step 3: Get Form Responses

Retrieve the responses from the submitted form.

1. Action: Get response details
   • Form ID: [Your Form ID]
   • Response ID: Responses ID from the trigger

Step 4: Append Responses to Variable

Append each form response to the ReportContent variable.

1. Action: Append to string variable
   • Name: ReportContent
   • Value: Question1: @(outputs('Get_response_details')?['body/question1'])
   • Repeat for all the questions

Step 5: Create HTML Content

Create HTML Content to format the PDF.

1. Action: Compose
   • Inputs:

     
       
         
       
       
         
     HSSE Risk Report
         
     @{variables('ReportContent')}
       
     

Step 6: Convert HTML to PDF

Use a third-party connector such as Plumsail Documents or Encodian to convert HTML to PDF.

1. Action: Convert HTML to PDF (Plumsail Documents)
   • HTML Content: Outputs from the Compose action
   • File Name: HSSE_Risk_Report.pdf

Step 7: Save/Email PDF

Choose an action to either save the PDF in OneDrive/SharePoint or email it.

1. Action: Create file (OneDrive for Business)
   • Path: /Reports
   • File Name: HSSE_Risk_Report_@{utcNow('yyyyMMddHHmmss')}.pdf
   • File Content: Outputs from the Convert HTML to PDF action

Alternatively, email the PDF:

1. Action: Send an email (Office 365 Outlook)
   • To: Your Email
   • Subject: HSSE Risk Report
   • Body: The attached PDF report contains the latest HSSE risk assessment.
   • Attachments:
     • Name: HSSE_Risk_Report.pdf
     • Content: Outputs from the Convert HTML to PDF action

Full Power Automate Flow Summary

1. Trigger: When a new response is submitted in Microsoft Forms
2. Action: Initialize variable 'ReportContent' = ""
3. Action: Get response details
4. Action: Append form responses to 'ReportContent' variable
5. Action: Compose HTML Content

HSSE Risk Report

@{variables('ReportContent')}

``` 6. Action: Convert HTML to PDF (Plumsail Documents) - HTML Content: Outputs from Compose action - File Name: `HSSE_Risk_Report.pdf` 7. Action: Create file (OneDrive for Business) - Path: `/Reports` - File Name: `HSSE_Risk_Report_@{utcNow('yyyyMMddHHmmss')}.pdf` - File Content: Outputs from Convert HTML to PDF action ``` OR ``` 7. Action: Send an email (Office 365 Outlook) - To: Your Email - Subject: HSSE Risk Report - Body: The attached PDF report contains the latest HSSE risk assessment. - Attachments: - Name: HSSE_Risk_Report.pdf - Content: Outputs from Convert HTML to PDF action ```

Conclusion

Follow the above steps to generate and manage PDF reports using Power Automate effectively. This approach integrates form responses, converts them into a formatted PDF, and either saves or emails the report automatically.