Standard Operating Procedures

(Version 3.5 – Modified 4/24/23)

Purpose

 The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure is to serve as a guideline for Spindle Support operations.  This Standard Operating Procedure document will outline and identify the following items; support channels, incident reporting, expected support response times, and escalation procedures.

Support Channels

Spindle customers have the available functionality to access the Spindle Support Center, the Spindle Resource Center, and by emailing our Support Team.  Clickable links are below.  Support Tickets can be submitted 24/7/365.

• Spindle Support Help Center.
• Spindle Resource Center – Accessible at SpindleLIVE
• Email Support support@spindlelive.com

In the event tickets that have been submitted and can’t be resolved using electronic communication, support will be provided VIA phone.  We also offer a convenient method to schedule a time that suits your availability for open support tickets.  All outbound telephone support is prioritized based on priority, described in further detail on the following page.  Every effort will be made to contact the submitter of the ticket VIA the open ticket (via email), as well as telephone communication as warranted, provided the correct contact information has been supplied.

APAC Region

For customer locations within the APAC region with an issue rated as a P0 (Urgent) (see below for priority descriptions), a telephone call should be placed with the local Spindle representative for assistance with a P0 (Urgent) issue. A support ticket should be created to document the support issue in detail.

Incident Reporting

All support incidents are required to be submitted and tracked utilizing the Spindle Support Center Portal.  The Spindle Support Center Portal is described in the section mentioned above under "Support Channel."  When submitting a new support ticket (incident), we request that detailed information be provided.  The minimum amount of necessary information as described includes the contact name, contact number, and description of the issue in detail.  Spindle Support utilizes this information to correctly identify and diagnose a problem or concern accordingly and contact the appropriate submitter of the support ticket as necessary for proper resolution.

Expected Support Response Times

Spindle Support makes every effort to respond to all incidents submitted in a timely fashion periodically on the same day of the ticket submission.  If a response is not received on the same day of ticket submission, the Spindle Support team will prioritize all issues based on priority.  The following list below outlines the definition, along with the corresponding priority level and projected response times.

• P0 (Urgent)
  • The entire Spindle system is down, which results in entire production being unable to be tracked.
  • Support Response Time – within 1 hour

• P1 (High)
  • Production equipment piece or critical feature or function of the Spindle software is not working as designed. 
  • Support Response Time – within 8 hours (this is dependent on the issue)

• P2 (Normal)
  • Feature or function of the Spindle software is currently not functioning as designed.
  • Support Response Time – within 48 – 72 business hours

• P3 (Low)
  • Minimal impact on workflow, “How-to” questions, training, configuration changes or modifications, equipment orders
  • Support Response Time – within 5 – 7 business days

Spindle support makes every effort to respond to all incidents that have been adequately submitted within a reasonable amount of time.  In the event this isn’t achieved, the Spindle support team will prioritize all issues based on priority.  Periodically, Spindle will be unable to resolve tickets pending additional information from the customer.  In this event, Spindle has created a process to notify the customer (requester) daily VIA email communication for four days to provide the additional requested information as necessary.

Once the necessary information has been provided, the Spindle support team will complete the request as instructed.  If no response is received after the fourth business day, the support ticket will be closed without further communication.  If the support ticket is closed due to non-response, a new or follow-up support ticket will need to be created.

Periodically, the Spindle support team will escalate tickets to other teams within the Spindle organization or third-party vendors for resolution. Occasionally some items may need to be reviewed by the Spindle Product Development team to diagnose an issue in-depth, including root cause resolution.  We will utilize the ticketing system to communicate any necessary updates when tickets are escalated and provide the expected resolution time frame if available.

Please review "Priority Examples" for examples of the various support instances for reference.  This list is not inclusive of all support-related issues or questions.

 Enhancement Requests

Enhancement requests are considered changes to Spindle's software current functionality and will not follow the same response times as mentioned above. All enhancement requests should be entered in the Spindle Resource Center on SpindleLIVE (the Red Question Mark in the lower right-hand corner) under “Share Your Feedback”.  Feedback requests received will either be prioritized or potentially voted on by Spindle’s customer base to determine if the feature will be included in a current or future software release. Not all software enhancement requests will be fulfilled or be a part of a current or future software release. The Customer Feedback Policy is accessible at the Spindle Customer Feedback Policy.

Escalations

The Spindle Support team will escalate critical business-impacting issues as necessary to limit the downtime of business operations.  Once the Spindle Support team receives a support ticket, they will review the ticket submission and route it to Spindle's appropriate team as necessary.  At any time after following the severity guideline mentioned above, the customer may request an update on a ticket by responding to the most recent email message or the solved ticket request.  An update request can also be submitted VIA the Spindle Support portal.

Priority Examples

The listed priority examples are mentioned below.  This list is not inclusive of all potential issues that could be within a customer location.  All ticket priority issues will vary depending on the specific case.

• P0 (Urgent)
  • No data collection is taking place
  • Spindle Server is down
  • The entire Spindle Network is down, and error messages on all login stations preventing employees from logging into Spindle.
  • Inability to run production reports utilizing SpindleLIVE
• P1 (High)
  • ALL Spindle visual workplace monitors are not functioning
  • Equipment not collecting production data (Isolated to a single equipment or area)
  • Spindle Software functionality is not working as designed
• P2 (Normal)
  • An isolated issue with a production display not displaying production data
  • Login station is not functioning (Isolated to a single login station or area)
  • Data discrepancy related to production counts on reports
  • Feature or function of the Spindle software is currently not functioning as designed.
• P3 (Low)
  • Spindle Administration changes
    • Classification changes & classification setup, standard changes
    • Equipment setup includes programming changes (request to set up and program new equipment should be allowed seven business days to be completed)
    • Adding new employees / removing employees
  • Spindle Display Changes – this includes modifying current Spindle visual workplace display setup or setting up new visual workplace display configurations.
  • External DataShare Connections
  • Requests to add Spindle administration shortcuts to third-party computers. Prior authorization may be needed from the Company's Corporate IT Department to install remote shortcuts

Feature requests & functionality enhancements to Spindle software will follow a different process outside of the Spindle Support SOP (this is dependent on the scope of changes; please review “Enhancement Requests”).  More information can be obtained from the Customer Success Team or Support Team.

Examples of Standard Support

Standard support is provided based on what is currently provided in the annual license fee cost.  Below is a list of the standard support items, including but not limited to the following items.

• Spindle network infrastructure support
• Spindle software support
• System monitoring
• Software maintenance & updates
• Software platform upgrades
• Troubleshooting of Spindle hardware issues
• External DataShare Support
• Count validations

Examples of Billed Support

Billed support is support charges that will be incurred for modifications to the current setup.  Items included in billed support are included but not limited to the following things mentioned below.

• Spindle Administration changes
• Classification changes & classification setup, standard changes
• Equipment setup includes programming changes
• Adding new employees to Spindle Admin / Removing employees from Spindle Admin
• Spindle Display Changes – this includes modifying current Spindle visual workplace display setup and setting up new visual workplace displays.
• Requests to add Spindle dashboard shortcuts (phased out functionality) & Spindle administration shortcuts on third-party computers. Prior authorization may be needed from the Company's IT Department to install remote shortcuts.