# Organization Setup *The one-time configuration every activity inherits - utilities, the ISF, and rating scales.* # Utilities ### Overview — What a Utility Is ? A **utility** is an organization in NSCAT. Every user belongs to one, every activity belongs to one, and the utility decides two things that matter downstream: · **Which ISF** its assessments are measured against — the Trait and Attribute hierarchy that questions, themes, and reports are organized by. · **The default rating scale** new activities in that utility start with. Utilities are managed from two entries under **Administration → Utility** in the sidebar: **Add Utility** and **Manage Utility**. Both open as dialogs, so you can reach them from any page.
**Action** **COG Admin** **Utility Admin**
**Add Utility** Yes —
**Manage Utility** — any utility Yes —
**Manage Utility** — their own utility Yes Yes
**HEADS UP **A utility must be given an **ISF Name** when it is created, so **the ISF has to exist first**. If you are setting up a new organization, build the ISF before you add the utility — see **The ISF**.
### Adding a Utility Open **Administration → Utility → Add Utility**. Available to COG Admins only. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/vDkzWulkLFgKbTWR-RuDimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/vDkzWulkLFgKbTWR-RuDimage.png) *The Add Utility dialog.* #### The fields
**Field** **What it does**
**Short Name** The abbreviation used throughout the app — in pickers, report headers, and column labels. Required. Keep it genuinely short.
**Long Name** The organization's full name, for report title pages and formal output. Required.
**ISF Name** The ISF this utility's assessments are measured against, chosen from the existing ISFs. Required.
**Default Rating Scale Configuration** The scale new activities start with — 3-point or 7-point, with optional custom labels. See below.
**GOOD TO KNOW Short Name** is more visible than it looks. It is what identifies the utility in every picker and on cross-activity reports, and it is what NSCAT compares when deciding whether a Utility Admin may edit a given activity's team. Choose it carefully — renaming it later changes labels on existing reports.
**PRO TIP **The rating scale you set here is only a **default for new activities**. You do not have to get it perfect before creating the utility — but changing it later will not touch activities that already exist.
When the form is valid, submit. The utility becomes available immediately as an **Organization** when registering users and as a home for new activities. ### Managing a Utility Open **Administration → Utility → Manage Utility**. The dialog starts with a **Utility to be updated** picker. Choose a utility and its current values load into the form below, where the field labels change to **New Short Name**, **New Long Name**, and **New ISF Name** to make clear you are replacing existing values. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/LQJfNpoEVxRrdEXM-3ACimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/LQJfNpoEVxRrdEXM-3ACimage.png) *The Manage Utility dialog with a utility selected.*
**GOOD TO KNOW **If you are a **Utility Admin**, the **Utility to be updated** picker is fixed to your own utility and cannot be changed. That is expected — you can edit your organization but not anyone else's. A **COG Admin** can select any utility.
#### Changing the ISF **New ISF Name** repoints the utility at a different ISF.
**HEADS UP **Changing a utility's ISF is a structural change, not a relabelling. Existing questions, themes, and reports are organized by the **old** ISF's Traits and Attributes. Repointing the utility mid-programme can leave reports grouped against a framework the utility no longer uses. Treat this as a set-up-time decision, and change it only when no assessment is in flight.
#### Changing the names **New Short Name** and **New Long Name** take effect everywhere immediately, including on reports already generated from past activities.
**HEADS UP **There is no history on the short name. If you rename it, a report run last year and re-opened today shows the **new** name. If your organization needs the old name preserved on past output, export those reports before renaming.
### Default Rating Scale Configuration The **Default Rating Scale Configuration** panel sets the scale that **new activities** in this utility begin with. It appears in both the Add and Manage dialogs. *\[* [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/ycmwgZRnhD3ZXqyB-go8image.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/ycmwgZRnhD3ZXqyB-go8image.png) *The Default Rating Scale Configuration panel, set to 7-point.* #### Choosing the scale Two options, selected with the **Rating Scale** toggle:
**Scale** **Positions** **Numeric values**
**3-Point** Negative, Neutral, Positive -1, 0, +1
**7-Point** Strongly Negative through Strongly Positive -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3
The numeric values are fixed and cannot be edited — they are what report averages and trend lines are calculated from. #### Customizing the labels Expand **Customize Rating Labels (Optional)** to replace the wording respondents see. Each position shows its own field, numbered, with the default wording as the placeholder and a **Numeric value:** hint underneath so you can see exactly which value you are renaming. The fields are colour-coded — red for negative positions, grey for neutral, green for positive.
**GOOD TO KNOW **Labels are optional. Leave a field empty and that position uses the standard wording shown in its placeholder — *Slightly Positive (+1)* and so on. You can rename some positions and leave others alone.
**PRO TIP **The **Preview: How ratings will appear to users** panel underneath updates live as you type, and it lays the options out exactly as a respondent will see them — in a row for 3-point, in a column for 7-point. Check your wording there before saving.
#### What the setting does and does not affect
**HEADS UP **This is a **default for new activities only**. Activities that already exist keep the rating scale they were created with — changing it here will not update them, and NSCAT tells you so in the dialog. To change a specific activity's scale, do it on that activity's **Properties** page, where restrictions apply once responses exist. See **Rating Scales**.
#### When the panel is read-only If you see **"You have read-only access. Contact your administrator to modify rating scale settings."**, you can view the configuration but not change it. You may edit the rating scale when: · You are a **COG Admin** — for any utility, or · You are a **Utility Admin** and the utility on screen is **your own**.
**GOOD TO KNOW **A Utility Admin viewing another utility gets the read-only notice on the scale panel even where other fields look editable. The check is specifically utility-against-utility, not role alone.
### Common Problems
**What you see** **What it means**
**Add Utility** missing from the sidebar It is COG Admin only. **Manage Utility** shows for both roles.
**Utility to be updated** picker is greyed out You are a Utility Admin — it is fixed to your own utility by design.
No ISFs in the **ISF Name** list No ISF exists yet. A COG Admin must create one first.
Read-only notice on the rating scale panel You are a Utility Admin viewing a utility that is not yours.
Changed the default scale but an activity still uses the old one Expected. The default applies to **new** activities only.
Save button stays disabled A required field is empty — **Short Name**, **Long Name**, or **ISF Name**.
A renamed utility shows the new name on an old report Expected. The short name is not versioned. Export before renaming if you need the old name preserved.
# The ISF ### Overview — The Assessment Framework The **ISF** is the framework every NSCAT assessment is measured against. It is a two-level hierarchy: · **Traits** — the top level. Broad areas of safety culture. · **Attributes** — the second level. The specific characteristics that make up each Trait. Every question in the pool, every theme, and every report grouping hangs off this structure. A utility is assigned one ISF, and all its activities inherit it. Managed from **Administration → ISF** in the sidebar: **Add ISF** and **Manage ISF**. Both are **COG Admin only** — a Utility Admin cannot see either entry.
**HEADS UP **The ISF is the deepest layer of NSCAT's configuration and the hardest to change once assessments are running. Build it before you create utilities, questions, or themes. Everything above it is organized by the names you set here.
**GOOD TO KNOW **Themes are named by convention as Attribute - Trait. The Traits and Attributes you define here are what those theme names refer to, so the ISF has to be settled before themes can be created sensibly.
### Adding an ISF Open **Administration → ISF → Add ISF**. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/o82iHZatwEj2zwQd-9ssimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/o82iHZatwEj2zwQd-9ssimage.png) *The Add ISF dialog with two Traits defined.* #### Naming the ISF **ISF Name** is required. This is what appears in the **ISF Name** picker when creating or editing a utility, so make it identifiable — a standard's name and revision works well. #### Adding Traits The **+** button below the name — tooltip **Add New Trait** — appends an empty Trait. Each Trait is an expandable panel with two fields:
**Field** **Required** **What it does**
**Long Name of Trait** **Yes** The Trait's full name. This is the panel's title and what appears in reports and theme names.
**Short Name of Trait** No An abbreviation for tight spaces such as chart axes and column headers.
**PRO TIP **A Trait's panel header stays **dark grey** until you enter its **Long Name**, then turns **blue**. When you have added several Traits at once, the grey headers are the ones still missing their required name — a quick way to spot what is incomplete before you save.
#### Adding Attributes Inside an expanded Trait, its own **+** button — tooltip **Add New Attribute** — appends an Attribute under that Trait. Attributes take the same two fields:
**Field** **Required** **What it does**
**Long Name of Attribute** **Yes** The Attribute's full name. Used in reports and as the first half of a theme name.
**Short Name of Attribute** No An abbreviation for charts and narrow columns.
Attributes are listed in order under their Trait, separated by striped rules.
**GOOD TO KNOW Add New Attribute** adds to the Trait whose panel you are inside — the button is scoped to that Trait, not to the ISF. If an Attribute lands in the wrong place, check which panel was open.
**PRO TIP **Short names are optional but worth filling in. Long Trait and Attribute names get truncated on chart axes and CPRO report columns; where a short name exists, NSCAT uses it and the report stays readable.
### Managing an Existing ISF Open **Administration → ISF → Manage ISF**, then pick from **ISF to be updated**. The structure loads for editing, and field labels change to **New ISF Name**, **New Long Name of Trait**, and so on. You can rename the ISF, rename any Trait or Attribute, and add new Traits and Attributes to the existing structure. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/wDYiqPWf2KIaigvn-aXoimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/wDYiqPWf2KIaigvn-aXoimage.png) *Manage ISF, with an existing Trait expanded.* #### Saved items cannot be deleted This is the most important thing to understand about editing an ISF. **Delete buttons appear only on Traits and Attributes you have just added and not yet saved.** Once an item has been saved, its delete button is gone — permanently. You can rename it, but you cannot remove it.
**Item** **Delete available?**
A Trait or Attribute you added in this session, before saving **Yes** — the delete icon is shown
Anything already saved in the ISF **No** — no delete icon exists
**HEADS UP **There is no way to delete a saved Trait or Attribute from the interface. Questions, themes, and historical report data are all organized by these items, so removing one would orphan existing records. **Check the structure carefully before you save a new ISF** — a mistyped extra Attribute is permanent.
**PRO TIP **Before saving, work down the Traits and confirm every panel header is blue and every Attribute is one you meant to add. While nothing is saved, the delete icons are still there and mistakes cost nothing. After saving, your only remedy is renaming.
**GOOD TO KNOW **If an Attribute becomes obsolete, the practical approach is to leave it in place and stop writing questions against it. Renaming it to make its status obvious — a (retired) suffix, for example — keeps historical reports intact while steering new work away from it.
#### Renaming ripples outward Renaming a Trait or Attribute changes it **everywhere**, including on reports generated from past activities. There is no version history.
**HEADS UP **Renaming an Attribute breaks the link readers rely on between a **theme** and its Attribute. Themes are named Attribute - Trait by convention but are stored as their own text — they do **not** update automatically, and nothing warns you. After renaming anything in the ISF, review **Theme Management** and rename the affected themes to match.
### Building an ISF — Recommended Order 1. **Decide the full structure on paper first.** Traits, then Attributes under each. Because saved items cannot be deleted, the design work belongs outside NSCAT. 2. **Open Add ISF and enter the ISF Name.** 3. **Add every Trait,** giving each its Long Name and, ideally, a Short Name. 4. **Expand each Trait and add its Attributes.** 5. **Review the whole structure.** Every panel header blue; no stray empty rows; no duplicates. Delete anything wrong — you can still do that now. 6. **Save.** 7. **Create or repoint the utility** at this ISF. See **Utilities**. 8. **Create the themes** that map onto these Attributes and Traits.
**GOOD TO KNOW **An ISF can be shared by several utilities. If two organizations assess against the same standard, point both at one ISF rather than building near-duplicates — cross-utility reporting stays comparable that way.
### Common Problems
**What you see** **What it means**
**Add ISF** / **Manage ISF** missing from the sidebar Both are COG Admin only. A Utility Admin cannot reach them.
Save button stays disabled A required **Long Name** is empty — the ISF's, a Trait's, or an Attribute's. Look for dark grey panel headers.
A Trait panel header is dark grey Its **Long Name** is blank. Expand it and fill the field in.
No delete icon on a Trait or Attribute It is already saved. Saved items cannot be deleted — only renamed.
An Attribute appeared under the wrong Trait **Add New Attribute** adds to the open panel. Rename it in place, or add a correct one and leave the other renamed to something clearly retired.
Theme names no longer match the ISF after a rename Theme names are stored independently and do not follow ISF renames. Update them in **Theme Management**.
No ISFs offered when creating a utility None exists yet. Create one here first.
# Rating Scales ### Overview — Two Places, One Setting A **rating scale** is the set of options a respondent picks from when answering a rated survey question, and the numeric values NSCAT uses to average and trend those answers. The scale is configured in **two places**, and they do different jobs:
**Where** **What it sets** **Reached from**
**Manage Utility** The **default** for activities created from now on in that utility. **Administration → Utility → Manage Utility**
**Activity Properties** The scale used by **one specific activity**. The activity's menu → **Properties**
**HEADS UP **The utility setting is a **default applied at creation time**, not a live link. Changing it never updates an existing activity. If you need to change an activity that already exists, do it on that activity's **Properties** page.
### The Two Scales NSCAT offers a choice of two, and only two, scales.
**Scale** **Positions** **Values used in calculations**
**3-Point** Negative, Neutral, Positive -1, 0, +1
**7-Point** Strongly Negative, Moderately Negative, Slightly Negative, Neutral, Slightly Positive, Moderately Positive, Strongly Positive -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3
The values are fixed. You can rename any position, but you cannot change what a position is worth — averages, theme scores, CPRO rankings, and trend lines are all computed from these numbers.
**GOOD TO KNOW **Both scales are symmetrical around a **Neutral** midpoint of 0. That is what makes a positive or negative average meaningful in reports, and it is why the position count is fixed at 3 or 7 rather than freely configurable.
**PRO TIP **Choose 7-point when you want to distinguish strength of feeling and expect enough responses to make the finer gradations meaningful. Choose 3-point for shorter surveys, hard-copy collection, or when respondents are unlikely to use seven positions consistently. Whichever you pick, keep it consistent across activities you intend to trend together.
### Setting the Utility Default In **Manage Utility**, the **Default Rating Scale Configuration** panel sets what new activities inherit. Full detail is on **Utilities**; in brief: · The **Rating Scale** toggle picks 3-Point or 7-Point. · **Customize Rating Labels (Optional)** replaces the wording for any position. · **Preview: How ratings will appear to users** shows the result live. You may edit it when you are a **COG Admin** (any utility), or a **Utility Admin** whose own utility is the one on screen. Otherwise the panel shows **"You have read-only access."**
**PRO TIP **Set the utility default once, before the first activity is created, and leave it alone. Every activity then starts consistent, and cross-activity reports stay comparable without anyone having to remember to adjust each one.
### Setting an Activity's Scale Open the activity's **Properties** page. The **Rating Scale Configuration** section works the same way as the utility panel — a scale toggle, optional per-position labels, and a live preview. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/TfMG4iR4aZYtlWOa-UABimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/TfMG4iR4aZYtlWOa-UABimage.png) *Rating Scale Configuration on the Properties page.* On success you get **Rating Scale Saved** — *"The activity rating scale has been saved successfully."* #### Who can change it All three conditions must hold: 1. The activity is **not locked**. 2. You are a **COG Admin**, **or** a **Utility Admin** whose utility matches the activity's utility. 3. The activity has **no recorded responses** (see below).
**GOOD TO KNOW **A locked activity disables the scale controls along with everything else, and locking also hides **Properties** from the activity's menu entirely. A COG Admin must unlock the activity first — see **Manage Activities**.
#### The responses lock **Once an activity has any recorded response, its scale type is frozen.** Attempting to switch it snaps the toggle back to its previous value and shows: [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/vESt8FXrRf3wHY74-4scimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/vESt8FXrRf3wHY74-4scimage.png) ***Cannot Change Rating Scale**** — The rating scale type cannot be changed because this activity already has recorded responses.* You may still see a related message on the survey side: ***Cannot Change Rating Scale**** — The rating scale cannot be changed because responses have already been submitted.*
**HEADS UP **This lock is deliberate and cannot be overridden — not by a COG Admin, not by unlocking the activity. A response recorded as "+2 on a 7-point scale" has no honest equivalent on a 3-point scale, so NSCAT refuses rather than silently reinterpreting your data. **Fix the scale before you distribute the survey link.**
**GOOD TO KNOW **The lock is on the **scale type** — the choice of 3 versus 7. It does not stop you from correcting **labels**. Renaming a position only changes displayed wording; the underlying values, and therefore every existing response, are unaffected.
**PRO TIP **If an activity is already collecting responses on the wrong scale and the data so far is expendable, the only route is a **new activity** created with the correct scale. Decide early — the cost of starting over grows with every response.
#### Switching scale clears the labels Changing between 3-Point and 7-Point on an activity **discards any custom labels** you had entered. This is unavoidable — the two scales have different numbers of positions, so old labels cannot be mapped onto new ones.
**PRO TIP **Settle the scale type **first**, then write the labels. Doing it the other way round means typing them twice.
### Customizing Labels Both panels list one field per position, numbered, with the standard wording as the placeholder and the position's numeric value shown as a hint. Fields are colour-coded — red for negative, grey for neutral, green for positive. Leave a field empty and that position falls back to its standard wording. You can rename some positions and leave the rest alone. [![image.png](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/8yjUSqHSiJc7SaaS-SkJimage.png)](http://knowledge.services.conexusnuclear.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/8yjUSqHSiJc7SaaS-SkJimage.png)
**GOOD TO KNOW **Custom labels change only what respondents and report readers **see**. A position renamed from *Slightly Positive* to *Somewhat Agree* is still worth **+1** in every calculation.
**HEADS UP **Keep custom labels in the same **direction and order** as the positions they replace — position 1 is always the most negative. Labelling them out of order will not change the maths, but it will make every report read backwards.
**PRO TIP **Custom labels are the right tool when your organization has house wording for survey scales, or when a translated survey needs phrasing the standard labels do not give. Check the result in the preview panel — it renders exactly as respondents will see it.
### Common Problems
**What you see** **What it means**
**Cannot Change Rating Scale** — *already has recorded responses* The scale type is frozen. Labels can still be edited; the type cannot. A new activity is the only route.
Scale toggle snaps back on its own Same cause — the activity has responses.
**"You have read-only access"** on the utility panel You are a Utility Admin viewing a utility that is not yours.
Scale controls greyed out on **Properties** The activity is locked, or the activity's utility is not yours.
**Properties** missing from the activity menu The activity is locked. A COG Admin must unlock it.
Custom labels vanished You switched scale type. Labels are cleared on switch — re-enter them after settling the type.
Changed the utility default; existing activity unchanged Expected. The default applies at creation time only.
Two activities won't trend together sensibly They likely use different scale types. Trend activities that share a scale.