Operational events

Operational events identify outages, maintenance, alarms and curtailments at a site. Each event has the time it began, an optional recovery time, a description and a status that moves through Open, Acknowledged and Resolved. The Business Overview brings open and assigned work into one portfolio view. A plant operator can raise the event; an Operations Manager then acknowledges the response and decides whether a maintenance task is needed.

The actual start time is important because an event can be reported after it begins. The end time records recovery, rather than the moment a person happened to edit the record. Acknowledgment tells the next shift that the issue has been seen. Resolution should follow a check of recovery and any intended response work. The operational event also anchors a generating unit, giving staff the reason and site context when they inspect unit state.

• First report. Record the actual start time, site and event type when the operator raises an event.
• Response. Use Open and Acknowledged to separate unreviewed events from work the manager has taken on.
• Recovery. Record the actual end time and inspect site work before marking the event Resolved.

• Event categories. Agree when a condition is recorded as an outage, alarm, curtailment or maintenance event.
• Response ownership. Name the manager who acknowledges events and decides when site work is needed.
• Recovery evidence. Decide which staff confirm the recovery time and whether related tasks should be checked before resolution.

An alarm starts during the evening shift and is entered when the operator reaches the desk. The operator records when it actually began, its site and description. The manager sees the Open event, acknowledges it and asks for a task if a technician must inspect equipment. When the condition ends, the manager records the recovery time and reviews the task outcome before marking the event Resolved. The board preserves the distinction between newly raised, acknowledged and closed events across shifts. The task and event both identify the site; the manager checks them together during handover. The event record keeps the actual start and end times, while the task records its own due and completion times. The Operations Manager should confirm both records before declaring the response complete, especially when an alarm was reported after it began.

The manager can use the Business Overview to see the open event portfolio alongside assigned maintenance work. This gives the shift lead a starting point for review, while the event record carries the precise type, start time and response status. Ask the incoming operator to explain which events still need acknowledgment and which have a confirmed recovery time.

• Open Operational Events — New site events needing an initial response.
• Operational Events Board — Events grouped by response status.

See the related operating process and data model when agreeing who records each step.