Resolve Duplicate Options

The Resolve Duplicates feature allows administrators to identify and merge duplicate records by email, student number, staff number, and vehicle plate. Its primary purpose is to maintain data accuracy, prevent operational errors, and ensure that enforcement and permit management processes rely on clean, unique data. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators responsible for system data maintenance and focuses specifically on resolving vehicle duplicates.

Setup and Configuration

This feature is a core administrative data maintenance tool and requires no specialized initial setup.

Admin Side: Administrators must have the appropriate system permissions enabled to access the data maintenance tools and execute merges.

User Side: This feature is strictly a backend administrative tool and is not accessible to end-users on the portal.

Using this Feature

Administrators can use the following instructions to generate a list of duplicate vehicles, select the appropriate retention data, and merge the records.

Resolving Duplicates By Vehicle

1. Hover over Tools and select Resolve Duplicates, then click By Vehicle.

2. Select your desired duplicate identification option to generate a list of potential duplicates.

3. Review the generated list carefully, paying close attention to vehicle descriptions and other details to confirm they are actual duplicates.

4. Click the Merge button next to the specific pair of duplicate records you wish to consolidate.

5. Select which specific data fields you wish to retain from the duplicate records in the merge function window.

6. Finalize the merge to permanently combine the records.

Available Actions and Buttons

• Strict Duplicate: Select this option to generate a list of vehicles where all three primary unique identifiers (Plate, State/Province, and Plate Type) are identical. This is used for finding exact, unambiguous duplicates.

• Include Different Plate Types: Select this option to generate a list of vehicles where the Plate and State/Province are identical, but the Plate Type may differ.

• Merge: Click this button next to a pair of duplicate entries to open the data retention window and begin the consolidation process.

The Include Different Plate Types option is highly useful for identifying input errors. For example, if a vehicle was entered once with an unspecified plate type and a second time as a passenger plate, this search criteria will flag them as potential duplicates so you can compare the make, model, and color to confirm.

Best Practices and Considerations

• Understand core vehicle identification: In OPS-COM, vehicles are uniquely identified by three key pieces of information: License Plate, Province / State, and Plate Type. All three details are essential for a vehicle to be considered unique within the system, as the exact same plate number could theoretically exist as both a passenger and commercial plate in the same province.

• Perform careful reviews before merging: Always thoroughly review potential duplicates before finalizing a merge, as merging incorrect records can lead to permanent data loss or inaccuracies. Ensure you are selecting the most accurate and complete data fields to retain during the final step.

• Establish regular data maintenance routines: Periodically run the Resolve Duplicates report to maintain a clean and accurate vehicle database. This is especially important after periods of high user registration or manual data entry. Duplicate vehicles can cause significant confusion, particularly when multiple drivers are associated with the same vehicle.

• Encourage proactive data entry: The more information included when adding a vehicle to the system, the better the system can recognize potential duplicates. It is highly recommended to always include the vehicle's color, make, model, and year to clearly identify specific vehicles and reduce errors.

• Investigate common duplicate causes: Be aware of common scenarios that lead to duplicates, such as manual data entry typos, slight variations in state entry, or orphaned violations. Identifying these root causes can help you improve user training and refine data entry procedures to minimize future occurrences.