Asset fault triage

Triaging a reported fault

The classification decides the response time and it is set by risk, never by how the report was worded.

Classify by danger first

Immediate danger to life — exposed conductor, gas smell, structural collapse, flooding into a property. Dispatch now, and give the caller the make-safe instruction before ending the call.

Danger without immediacy — the trip hazard, the unlit stair, the leaning pole. Same day, with the area made safe.

Service affecting and cosmetic follow the published response classes.

Capture for the crew

Precise location, with an asset reference or a what3words if there is no address · what is wrong · when it started · whether anybody has been hurt · the access constraint — locked gate, livestock, a dog, restricted hours.

That last one is the field most often skipped and the commonest reason a crew returns without doing the work.

Never

Downgrade because it has been reported before, or promise an attendance time outside the published class.