This article covers what changes you can make using Rico’s customisation options and how to do these. If you don’t understand any of the concepts below, a more in-depth overview and understanding of Rico’s customisation options is given here. The diagram below provides an overview of what can be customised on Rico. Further details on each of what can be changed and how to do this are provided below: Workflows Components Templated Responses Reports Sections Design Text Styles Custom Components Workflows A workflow is made up of components, below, to complete and overall assessment. What you can change At the workflow level you can create new workflows or edit / remove existing workflows. Components What you can change: Title Type Instruction Ordering / Grouping Title Name on the left sidebar and name on the page (these can be different if desired). Component types Most common is a text field, but there are also other type of Rico component: Project Setup Subject Site Search Consideration Checklists Considerations Activity adder (for added Plan Documents) Standards assessment (for added Plan Documents) Provisions assessment (for added Plan Documents) Instructions Instructions for a given page. These are free text and can include any formatting available in text editor in Rico. Ordering/Grouping The order which components appear on the left sidebar. Components can also be ‘nested’ within eachother, i.e. grouped under a heading, appearing as a dropdown on the left sidebar. How to change: Get in touch either by emailing support or organising a remote meeting (for larger changes) To make this faster you can state the change you’d like to the properties above, otherwise, we can work this out with you. Add new, remove existing, edit existing component titled X Set property (type / instruction / ordering/grouping) to X Templated Responses What you can change Title Contents Title Name of a templated response to identify it when using the import function. Contents The contents to be imported into a text field. This can include any formatting available in text editor in Rico. How to change You can make changes to templated responses in Rico, under settings > templated responses Otherwise, feel free to get in touch with support Reports Reports / Report templates are specified for each workflow.  What you can change At the report level you can create new reports (you may want to have multiple reports or report options for a given workflow such as a main report and an appendix) or edit / remove existing reports for a given workflow. Sections What you can change Title Contents Ordering / Grouping Title Heading for a section in a report, appears in the Table of Contents where applicable. Contents The contents of a section line up with the outputs of a corresponding workflow component. Here you must specify the workflow component you’d like to end up under a section, or create a new workflow component where you’d like a new section in your report.   Ordering / Grouping The order which sections appear in a report. Sections can be on different levels / below other headings. How to change: Get in touch either by emailing support or organising a remote meeting (for larger changes) To make this faster you can state the change you’d like to the properties above, otherwise, we can work this out with you. Add new, remove existing, edit existing section titled X Set property (content / ordering/grouping) to X Design Styling Styling lines up with styles in MS Word and applies to all reports output from your organisation. What you can change Properties for a given text style Properties for tables Text Styles The following list of styles can be applied to various text outputs from Rico: Body Normal Framework Caption Title Subtitle Header Footer Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Heading 4 Heading 5 Appendix Heading TODO Tag Table Normal Table Framework Table Heading Table Column Heading Table Cell Heading TOC 1 TOC 2 The style applying to specific piece of text can be identified in MS Word by selecting the text and looking at what style has been applied to it (under the styles menu).   Properties The following properties can be set for a given style: Font Capitalisation Bold Italics Underline Font Size Font Color Character Spacing Paragraph Heading Numbering Level Table of Contents Level Page Break Before Alignment Keep With Next Spacing Before Spacing After Contextual Spacing Line Spacing Indent Left Indent Hanging Table Styling The following properties for tables created in Rico workflows can be changed. These apply to all tables in the organisation and cannot be customised to individual tables. Table cell fill - for Main Heading cells, Table borders Heading and Normal Cell fonts (these are the Table Heading, Table Column Heading and Table Normal styles as listed above, respectively.) How to change: Get in touch either by emailing support or organising a remote meeting (for larger changes) To make this faster you can state the property(s) to be changed for each style you’d like to edit, otherwise, we can work this out with you. Custom Components Custom components are static designs or text to be inserted into a given Report such as: Cover pages Header(s) Footer(s) Disclaimer Document Control Record Other static components / to be edited after outputting What can be changed Any static design (image, table) or text to be inserted into a report and the location this is inserted. How to change: Get in touch either by emailing support or organising a remote meeting (for larger changes) To make this faster you can send the ‘component’ as a word document and state where this is to be inserted and in what report outputs, otherwise, we can work this out with you.

Some planners using Rico also use 12d Synergy. The following article details how these two products can work best alongside each other. As pictured below, Rico focuses on drafting reports, while Synergy focuses on the review stage. Use Rico to draft documents then check these into Synergy for review We suggest you use Rico to draft reports up to the point of handing off a project for review. Then it can be downloaded and checked into Synergy where you can continue with the review process. Updating Rico with changes made in Synergy If significant changes to your report are made during review, you may wish to have these updated in Rico so they can be imported into future jobs. This can be done, but it does require you to manually update these in Rico. Whether you go back into Rico to make changes is a matter of whether you think it’s worth it, we have the following guidance: You don't need to update in Rico when the change is specific to a project or minor. This is because the import function is generally only a starting point for future assessments which you then adapt to the job at hand. Best to update in Rico when the change is a major or applies to core/common assessments. This is because it could create a better starting point for future projects or correct an error that could affect future projects.

Rico uses GIS to locate parcels of land that relate to a project. To find a parcel of land, you may either search for an address or an appellation. This article deals with common issues that may arise in trying to locate the correct parcel of land. Search does not return any / desired result for address or appellation 1) Go to https://data.linz.govt.nz/data/?q=primary+land 2) Confirm the ‘NZ Primary Land Parcels’ Map is added (this should already be selected following the link above). 3) Locate the parcel of land you are after, either by using the 'find address or place' search or by navigating on the map viewer to your parcel of land 4) Click on the parcel. This will bring up the appellation for the parcel which is the most reliable way to locate a site (noting that sometimes appellations and addresses appear in slightly different forms from different sources). 5) Copy this appellation and paste it into the Rico Subject Site Search. If you cannot locate an appellation for your subject site Get in touch with support@rico.nz to confirm this and we will do our best to help you,

Applications for changes or cancellations of consent conditions on an application by consent holder can be made in Rico. Under Section 127 of the Resource Management Act, such applications are instructed to be treated “as if .. the application were an application for a resource consent for a discretionary activity” In this way, Section 127 Applications on Rico are effectively treated as resource consent applications, where the change or cancellation of consent conditions on an application is an activity with a discretionary status. Identify Section 127 consideration in consideration checklist Section 127 is flagged in the considerations checklist, under the RMA Considerations section. Add activity for changes under Resource Management Act 1991 - Section 127 planning document The checklist question triggers a planning document called Resource Management Act 1991 - Section 127 which can then be added to the project. Add the changes activity under the Resource Management Act 1991 - Section 127 planning document, as pictured below. This will add a reason for consent and update the overall status of the application to Discretionary. Assess the effects of the proposed changes Under Section 127, effects assessments are focussed on the effects of the changes or cancellations in conditions proposed. As a result, in Rico, the assessment follows a similar structure as an assessment for a resource consent application, with the key difference being the focus is on the proposed changes as opposed to the entire proposal.

Introduction When it comes to planning assessments, Rico is often seen as a one-size-fits-all software system. However, this is far from the truth. While Rico offers standard workflows and report templates, its real value lies in the enhancements it provides to the planning assessment process. We understand that planners have their own unique approaches to planning assessments. That's why we've made Rico completely customisable. This article will explain how you can tailor Rico to meet your specific needs and improve your planning assessment processes. Customisation Overview Customisation on Rico is divided into three parts: Workflows, Reports, and Styling. Each of these steps plays a crucial role in the planning assessment process, and customising them can help you tailor Rico to your specific needs. Here's a breakdown of each step and the customisation options available: Workflows: Workflows are the process of preparing a planning assessment. Here, you can pull relevant information into projects and provide your professional opinions. Customisation options for workflows include adding or removing steps, creating custom fields, and demonstrating compliance against rules and provisions. Reports: Reports are the outputs of a planning assessment. This is where the information entered and assessments made in workflows are output into a word document. Customisation options for reports include choosing which information to output into reports and customising report templates. Design: Design is how the reports look. This is where you can set up custom cover pages, headers, footers, fonts, and styles to make report outputs identical to your own. Customisation options for styling include customising fonts, colours, and logos, and creating custom cover pages and headers. By customising these three parts of Rico, you can make the planning assessment process more efficient and tailored to your needs. Workflows Before diving into the details, it's important to note that most planners typically think of assessments as reports rather than workflows. While laying out a workflow in a similar format to a report is a common approach, it's essential to understand the nature of workflows and reports in Rico to fully utilize its functionality and adapt it to your needs. In Rico, workflows can be broken down into two components: the overall 'job to be done' and the steps needed to complete it. The 'job to be done' refers to the overarching goal that the workflow aims to achieve. Examples of this could include a resource consent application assessment, certificate of compliance assessment, or planning check. Steps are the individual parts that make up the job to be done. Rico encourages a systematic approach to planning assessments, breaking down the overall job into smaller, more manageable tasks. Examples of these steps could include providing a site description, assessing relevant rules from a plan section, or addressing a specific section under the RMA. Components To help you complete each step, Rico offers a variety of components. These components can range from a simple text field for entering an assessment, to more complex tools like the Subject Site Search feature (where you search for an address and Rico automatically retrieves all the relevant planning information for that site). Below is a complete list of the available components and their functionality. If you have access to Rico, you can see how they are used in various steps of the standard workflows. Project Setup - Add basic information about the project Subject Site Search - Identify the subject site and pull in relevant information from GIS Consideration Checklists - Extensive check to identify relevant planning considerations Considerations - Provide an overview of considerations identified in the Subject Site Search and Consideration Checklists and ability to add any planning document to the project to be assessed. Activity adder (for added Plan Documents) - Add relevant activities from a planning document to your project and provide a description for why they are triggered. Standards assessment (for added Plan Documents) - Add, assess and comment on relevant standards to be included in your project. Provisions assessment (for added Plan Documents) - Add and comment on relevant provisions such as objectives, policies, matters, assessment criteria etc. Assessment field - Allows you to provide a response or assessment in relation to a specific requirement or consideration or ‘exclude’ that step where irrelevant. Projects Ultimately, a workflow creates a process to work through completing a given planning assessment. Each time you create a new project, you’ll start with a fresh workflow that you can start working through, completing and populating the various steps. Reports A project on Rico can be exported as a report anytime. This report will take all the assessments you've made and turn them into a Word document that’s downloaded from Rico. It’s good to familiarise yourself with how information and assessments flow from workflows to reports. Using the Review tab helps with this and you can see this in action with the standard workflows and reports set up in Rico. In addition to seeing what reports look like, the preview updates in real-time so you can see how the work you’re completing in steps of the workflow translates to sections of your report. When customizing reports on Rico, you need to set the structure of the report. This includes the title and table of contents. The title is simply the name of the report. This appears in the dropdown at the top of the review tab which is next to the ‘download’ button you click to download a report. Think of the structure of the report as a table of contents, where you list the headings in the report in order. Each section in a report is populated with assessments you've made at each step of the workflow. Each step creates information to output, which can then be piped into report sections. You set the structure of a report by listing out the headings and which information is to be output under each of those headings. You can have more than one report option. For instance, for the same workflow, you could have a main report like an assessment of environmental effects and a secondary report to use as an appendix like an application checklist. However, it's worth noting that it’s best to keep the number of reports to a minimum and have these line up as closely as possible with workflows to keep things simple. Design So far, we've discussed how to create assessments in a workflow and export them into a report. By default, reports in Rico have a basic design that can be customized to your liking. Currently, changes require assistance on the Rico side to be made. We typically use an example report in Word format to configure the following: Fonts, paragraph spacing, indents, and more. Cover Pages Headers and Footers + other report sections (such as a document control record or disclaimer) Get in touch with us to discuss any of the above changes further. We'd be happy to help.