MikeZ
02-01-2012, 08:17 PM
A few people have had issues recently attempting to submit documents like the SES this year. I have some information on all this that I'll share here.
SAE plans to evolve fsaeonline.com into "the place" to give out information related to FSAE. The relocation of the forms, templates, and downloads to this site AND the document submission is part of that. The 2012 rules mention this and instruct people to follow the guide posted at www.fsaeonline.com/go/submit (http://www.fsaeonline.com/go/submit) for how to submit the documents mentioned elsewhere in the rules that are required as part of attending competition.
What is CdsWeb?
A new portion of fsaeonline.com is has recently come online and is being used this season. This new area, CdsWeb, will be the portal through which various FSAE-related information is managed. Most areas of CdsWeb are not public, meaning a login will be required to access any of this information. This helps protect the information submitted through there and keeps up with who submitted what, and for which team and which competition. We understand that some of this data is considered team-proprietary so we've put a lot of effort into ensuring it's protection.
This first phase introduces the ability for teams to submit Design reports, simple Cost reports, and other similar documents online and instantly verify that the document was received by the system. The site knows which competitions your team has registered for and will provide a "slot" for each type of document that you'll need to submit along with due dates and details for each. This means no more emailing attachments and hoping they get through! It also means that you can go back a few days or weeks later and view the document you submitted just to verify that it was the correct one. You can also submit an updated version of the document all the way up to the Due Date and be sure that the correct (updated) one will get used by the organizers and judges. You can actually submit some documents for the first time (or submit an updated version) AFTER the Due Date up until the "No Submissions Accepted After" date, but the typical late penalties (per day) will be applied. Still, it's all online and should be a lot easier to keep up with.
Getting Started
A team gets started using CdsWeb for the very first time by registering for one of the competitions on the main SAE Collegiate Design Series site (same as always). At checkout, you'll receive a registration order number (aka, confirmation number) that will be used as your Authentication Number for the first-time signup with CdsWeb. The team captain (or a team advisor) can then visit www.fsaeonline.com/go/signup (http://www.fsaeonline.com/go/signup) to create a new account. (Be aware that the competition registration data has to flow from one system to another, so we recommend that captains wait 1 business day after registering for a competition before attempting to signup, otherwise your Authentication Number might not be recognized yet.) At the bottom of the signup page there is a list of affiliations; the captain should select "Team Captain or Advisor". During the next step, the system will allow you to select a School and Team, and will ask for the Confirmation Number. The number will be verified immediately, and then the captain can login and will show up as affiliated with his/her team. An advisor or co-captain can repeat this same process if desired.
If your captain wants other team members to be able to use CdsWeb (encouraged, but not required), then a team member can go through the same signup process but simply select "Team Member" instead of "Team Captain or Advisor". No Authentication Number will be required, and a request to affiliate with the team will be sent to the team captains for approval. Once approved, the team members can also login to CdsWeb and see features related to that team, such as the document submission area.
The nice thing is that, once you go through getting these accounts created and affiliated to your school and team, they are good year after year. Team captains remain captains of that team until they choose to transfer those rights to another team member. Team members remain affiliated with the team until they withdraw or until a captain removes their affiliation.
Hope that helps. If you guys have other questions or want more information, ask here and I'll keep an eye on the thread. Thanks!
SAE plans to evolve fsaeonline.com into "the place" to give out information related to FSAE. The relocation of the forms, templates, and downloads to this site AND the document submission is part of that. The 2012 rules mention this and instruct people to follow the guide posted at www.fsaeonline.com/go/submit (http://www.fsaeonline.com/go/submit) for how to submit the documents mentioned elsewhere in the rules that are required as part of attending competition.
What is CdsWeb?
A new portion of fsaeonline.com is has recently come online and is being used this season. This new area, CdsWeb, will be the portal through which various FSAE-related information is managed. Most areas of CdsWeb are not public, meaning a login will be required to access any of this information. This helps protect the information submitted through there and keeps up with who submitted what, and for which team and which competition. We understand that some of this data is considered team-proprietary so we've put a lot of effort into ensuring it's protection.
This first phase introduces the ability for teams to submit Design reports, simple Cost reports, and other similar documents online and instantly verify that the document was received by the system. The site knows which competitions your team has registered for and will provide a "slot" for each type of document that you'll need to submit along with due dates and details for each. This means no more emailing attachments and hoping they get through! It also means that you can go back a few days or weeks later and view the document you submitted just to verify that it was the correct one. You can also submit an updated version of the document all the way up to the Due Date and be sure that the correct (updated) one will get used by the organizers and judges. You can actually submit some documents for the first time (or submit an updated version) AFTER the Due Date up until the "No Submissions Accepted After" date, but the typical late penalties (per day) will be applied. Still, it's all online and should be a lot easier to keep up with.
Getting Started
A team gets started using CdsWeb for the very first time by registering for one of the competitions on the main SAE Collegiate Design Series site (same as always). At checkout, you'll receive a registration order number (aka, confirmation number) that will be used as your Authentication Number for the first-time signup with CdsWeb. The team captain (or a team advisor) can then visit www.fsaeonline.com/go/signup (http://www.fsaeonline.com/go/signup) to create a new account. (Be aware that the competition registration data has to flow from one system to another, so we recommend that captains wait 1 business day after registering for a competition before attempting to signup, otherwise your Authentication Number might not be recognized yet.) At the bottom of the signup page there is a list of affiliations; the captain should select "Team Captain or Advisor". During the next step, the system will allow you to select a School and Team, and will ask for the Confirmation Number. The number will be verified immediately, and then the captain can login and will show up as affiliated with his/her team. An advisor or co-captain can repeat this same process if desired.
If your captain wants other team members to be able to use CdsWeb (encouraged, but not required), then a team member can go through the same signup process but simply select "Team Member" instead of "Team Captain or Advisor". No Authentication Number will be required, and a request to affiliate with the team will be sent to the team captains for approval. Once approved, the team members can also login to CdsWeb and see features related to that team, such as the document submission area.
The nice thing is that, once you go through getting these accounts created and affiliated to your school and team, they are good year after year. Team captains remain captains of that team until they choose to transfer those rights to another team member. Team members remain affiliated with the team until they withdraw or until a captain removes their affiliation.
Hope that helps. If you guys have other questions or want more information, ask here and I'll keep an eye on the thread. Thanks!