qtraca.com

Trainees do their training in the Training Centre, a simple web portal that works on a phone, tablet or shared PC. They do not get a username or password. You give them two things: the portal link (or a QR code that opens it) and their personal 4-digit PIN. This article covers the staff side of that: where the link and QR code come from, how PINs work, and the rules that protect sign-in. What the trainee sees is covered in Accessing the training portal.

Where to find it: Setup > Training > Portal Access for the site’s link and QR code. For one trainee’s link and PIN, open them from Training > Trainees and click Invite. For a printable list of every PIN, click Trainee PINs on Training > Trainees.

Concepts

Quick start

1. Open the trainee from Training > Trainees and click Invite.
2. In Trainee Access Information, click Copy Link and send the link to the trainee, or let them scan the QR code.
3. Tell them their PIN, shown in large digits on the same panel.
4. The trainee opens the link, enters the PIN and lands in the Training Centre.

Portal Access: the site link and QR code

Training Portal Access gives you one link and QR code to display for everyone, such as a poster in the canteen or a label on a shared tablet.

The link is for the site you are working in, as the screen says: “Share this URL with trainees at your current site.” PINs are checked against the site in the link, so each site needs its own link and poster. To get another site’s link, switch to that site first. A QR code printed from a course points at that course’s own site.

If you see “No trainee key has been generated yet. Generate one in Account Settings to enable portal access.” there is no link to show yet. See The trainee key.

Inviting one trainee

Click Invite on the trainee screen. A panel opens above the trainee’s details. Nothing is sent to the trainee; you pass on the details yourself.

• The panel reads “Share the link (or let the trainee scan the QR code), then give them their PIN:” followed by the PIN.
• Copy Link and Copy PIN copy each to the clipboard. The QR code on the right opens the same link.
• The link is for the site you are working in, which is the trainee’s site because the trainee list only shows that site.
• Close the panel with the × in its corner.

Invite is not shown for a trainee linked to a QTRACA user account.

PINs

• A PIN is created automatically when the trainee is created. It is 4 digits and no other trainee on the same site has it.
• The PIN is shown on the trainee screen with Copy and Regenerate.
• Only Active trainees can sign in. A deactivated trainee’s PIN is refused just like a wrong one, and a deactivated trainee who is already signed in loses access straight away.

Regenerating a PIN

Regenerate a PIN when a trainee’s PIN has been shared or seen by someone else. QTRACA asks first:

After Regenerate, the message “PIN has been regenerated.” appears and the new PIN shows on the screen. The old PIN stops working immediately, so give the trainee the new one. A trainee who is already signed in stays signed in until their session ends.

If a trainee has no PIN, the screen shows Not generated with a Generate PIN button instead.

The Trainee PIN Report

Trainee PINs on the Training > Trainees list opens the Trainee PIN Report. It shows the site’s Trainer Access URL with Copy and a QR code, then a table of First Name, Last Name and PIN. Use Print to hand out PIN slips, or Export CSV for a spreadsheet.

• It lists trainees on the site you are working in that have a PIN and are not linked to a QTRACA user account, and says how many: “Showing N standalone trainee(s) with PINs.”
• A printed PIN list is everyone’s sign-in. Keep it with whoever hands out PINs, not on the wall with the QR code.

Sign-in protection and lockouts

A 4-digit PIN is easy to guess by trying numbers, so QTRACA limits failed attempts. Attempts are counted by network address. Every device behind the same internet connection counts as one, so all the tablets in a factory share a counter.

While locked, the trainee sees “Too many attempts. Please try again in” followed by the time remaining. Staff cannot lift a lockout early; it has to expire.

• A correct PIN resets the count for that site, but not the address-wide count.
• The hour-long limit is deliberately not a day. On a shared factory connection, one person guessing would otherwise stop every trainee on site for a full shift.
• If trainees keep getting locked out, check that they are using the link for their own site. Every attempt through the wrong site’s link fails and counts.

How long a trainee stays signed in

• A session lasts up to 24 hours.
• It also ends when the trainee closes the browser tab. On a shared tablet, closing the tab is enough to hand it to the next person.
• A signed-in trainee sees only their own training records. They cannot open anyone else’s course, document or result, even with a direct link.

Offline use and fingerprint or face sign-in are not available. Older guidance describing them is out of date: trainees need a connection, and they sign in with their PIN every session. Trainees can still add the Training Centre to their home screen; see Installing the app.

The trainee key

The trainee key is in Account Settings under Training, in the Trainee Key field. Its Generate button creates a new key. The field’s note warns: “Rotating the key will invalidate all previously shared trainer URLs.”

That includes every printed QR code poster, every course QR code, every link already sent in an email, and links saved on trainees’ phones. Rotate the key only when a link has got out to people who should not have it, and be ready to reprint and resend.

Availability and permissions

• The Training Centre and Portal Access are part of the Training module.
• Anyone with access to Training can view Portal Access and the invite panel.
• Only Admin and Training Coordinator users can generate or regenerate PINs.
• Generating a new trainee key requires permission to edit Account Settings.

Things to know

• One link per site. Portal Access builds the link for the site you are working in, and a course QR code for the course’s site. A trainee can only sign in through their own site’s link.
• The link is not a secret; the PIN is. The link can go on a poster. Hand PINs out privately.
• Invite sends nothing. It shows the details for you to pass on.
• No offline mode and no biometric sign-in.
• The PIN report is a list of everyone’s sign-in. Print it only when you need it, and keep it private.