Instructions For Using The Switchboard

If You Need Additional Help During This Process:

The Switchboard is a web based application that uses no special web features. It’ll work for the vast majority if users, but there is a chance that your browser won’t work with the Switchboard. If this is the case contact Tom Aten at Thomas.Aten@Wisconsin.gov or 608-267-7638 and we’ll try to assist.

Switchboard Tutorial

The highlighted link at the end of this sentence will open a short tutorial describing the function and operation of the Switchboard: tutorial (8 minutes, 37 seconds)

This tutorial shows some of the new features for the Switchboard for 2008 New Features (6 minutes, 37 seconds)

How To Find The Switchboard

The Switchboard is available at https://dnrx.wisconsin.gov/switchboard/capture.do.

When you first access the switchboard you will see the State of Wisconsin log in screen. Enter your WAMS Wisconsin User ID and password exactly as you created them (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are very important for your password). If you need information on creating a WAMS Wisconsin User ID and password, see "How To Get Started."The State of Wisconsin log in screen also provides the tools for resetting or recovering your password.

When you successfully log in you’ll see the Switchboard home page. If you are just starting to use the Switchboard, you may see a page indicating that we haven't finished setting you up.

The Switchboard takes advantage of our integrated contact and facility information to provide you with the most accurate and complete information we have. But, as you may see, our records are sometimes inaccurate and may be incomplete. That’s why we built the Switchboard – to let you correct our records, since you are the expert on your information and on the facilities you work for.

The Switchboard

The Switchboard presents three blocks of information:

1. Your Contact Information is the first block at the top. Initially you’ll see only “official record” information from the ESR.

   You can use the EDIT button to move to the screen where you can update your contact data. We encourage you to provide complete information so that we can provide better service. With over 124,000 people in the ESR, you’d be surprised how many John or Jane Smiths there are.

   The CANCEL button brings you back to the main Switchboard page and discards anything you've entered.

   The SAVE button creates a “pending changes” block on the main Switchboard page. We employ review processes for all data coming into the ESR to ensure the highest quality data and best integration potential. These review processes mean that your updates are not instantaneous. There may be situations in which we’ll contact you about your changes, for example if you give us a completely different name, which may indicate that your User ID and Password have been compromised. Generally, your changes are applied nightly and the “pending changes” block disappears.

   Additional Records: There may be a block on the right side of the main Switchboard page entitled “Additional Records” that lists any additional records we have of you. These will list different addresses, phone numbers, etc., and may be old or no longer used. You can click on each additional record to see the Contact, Facility, and Business License and Certification information, where applicable. Please contact Tom Aten at the e-mail or phone number listed above so we may remove any extra records. You may chose to keep additional records where you want us to contact you at a different address.

2. Your Facility Role Information is the second block. Here you’ll see the facilities that you have told us you have worked for.

   If you click on a facility name you’ll move to the screen that shows what you are authorized to do for that facility. If you are the official representative for the facility and want to be able to update the facility information please contact Tom Aten so we can set that up. This and other roles are displayed on the right side of the screen.

   You can click on a link, for example the EDMR, and you’ll move to that application. You can come back to the Switchboard and then move to the EDWS system, for example – all without having to log in separately. That’s what the Switchboard is for.

3. Your Business License and Certification Information is the last block. At this time the information does not link to anything further. Please see the agency’s Licenses, Permits & Registrations Web page for specific information about license or certification programs.

Updates you have made to your contact information and/or the facility contact information are applied to the ESR. The contact and facility records are flagged to indicate that you updated them. This prevents any program data system from changing what you’ve updated. This is an important part of the Switchboard. When you update a record you accept ownership of the record. We will pass your updates to our other program data systems but will lock the record so only you can further update it. Programs may have specific legal requirements for renaming a facility, for example we may require a Permit Modification request, so we may contact you with further instructions. We are working to streamline our management of your contact and facility contact information.

Ending your session

The Switchboard is a secure application so we encourage you to use the LOGOUT button in the upper right corner of the main Switchboard screen. You may also wish to close your browser to ensure that your authentication credentials have been purged from your system.

Tips

The HELP button brings you to this instruction page. If you have any suggestions for improving this material feel free to contact Tom Aten.

Time Out Limits

After a period of idle time, the system will request that you re-authenticate. Simply reenter your Wisconsin User ID and Password and you’ll be back where you left off.