Maintenance work

Maintenance tasks are recorded against a site with a description of the task, the person assigned, a due date and, once done, the completion date. A task moves through four states: open when raised, approved when the site manager agrees the work, in progress while the technician is on it, and completed when it is done. Tasks come from operational events that need a response, and from planned work the site manager schedules.

The approval step exists because maintenance on a wind farm means people at height, turbines taken out of production and sometimes contractors on site. The site manager approves each task before it starts. The person assigned can see exactly which tasks are approved and waiting for them.

The site manager approves; the maintenance technician does the work and records it.

• Raised with context. A task raised from an event is on the same site as the event, so the reason for the work stays attached.
• Approved before started. Only approved tasks move to in progress.
• Completed with a date. Completing a task records when it was done, so due and completed dates can be compared.

Agree who can raise tasks and who approves them, including cover when the site manager is away. Agree how contractors are recorded: as people with user accounts, or as notes on the task. Decide how far ahead planned work is entered and how overdue tasks are followed up. Prepare examples of a corrective task raised from a fault, a planned service, a task that is cancelled before approval and a task that runs past its due date.

A blade inspection is due on three turbines at one site next week. The site manager raises the tasks, assigns them to the technician, and approves them once the weather window and crane are confirmed. On the day, the technician starts each task, completes it and records the completion date. The tasks drop off the maintenance in progress list and appear in the completion report against their due dates.

If the weather window closes before the work starts, the tasks are changed or cancelled while they are still in the future. Work that was already accepted keeps its history instead of being rewritten.

• Maintenance tasks awaiting approval — Open tasks waiting for the site manager.
• My maintenance tasks — The technician’s own tasks and due dates.
• Maintenance in progress — Approved and in-progress work by site.

• Maintenance approval and completion: From a raised task to completed work.
• Event to resolution: How tasks raised from events fit into resolving them.

Check permissions before inviting contractors.