Work Order
Management Guide
Everything you need to create, manage, and close work orders for your streetlight network — from automated detection to crew dispatch and validation.
Introduction
Operations managers and administrators use UbiVu® via a web browser to configure automation rules, manage maintenance zones, review work orders, and monitor the network.
- Create & configure Automation Rules
- Manage Maintenance Zones
- Review & close Work Orders
- Manage Service Tickets
- Add notes, assign vendors, view history
Field crews use the UbiCell® mobile app to locate work orders on a map, start and update them on-site, run device controls, and capture notes and photos from the field.
- Find assigned Work Orders on the map
- Start a Work Order within 500 ft of the pole
- Toggle light on/off and adjust brightness
- Set reasons, root cause & resolution
- Add photos, voice notes & text notes
UbiVu® automates the detection and management of streetlight issues across your network. When the analytics engine identifies a problem — such as a light out or a flickering luminaire — it can automatically generate a Work Order (WO) and coordinate with your field crew's scheduling system, without requiring manual intervention.
Work Order Lifecycle
Status Flow
A work order moves through the following statuses. Steps shown with a dashed border are conditional — they only apply in specific scenarios described below.
| Status | What it means | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Pending Review | Your team reviews whether the issue can be resolved remotely before sending a crew to the field. | Work orders where a remote fix may be possible (e.g., scheduling or sensor configuration issues) |
| New | The work order is open and waiting for crew assignment in your scheduling system. | All work orders |
| In Progress | A crew has been assigned and dispatched to the field. | All work orders |
| Completed | The crew has finished work in the field. To cancel without completing work, set the resolution to Cancelled when closing. | All work orders |
| Pending Validation | UbiVu® monitors for 48 hours to confirm the issue does not recur. If the same alert fires again, the work order automatically reopens. | Automated work orders only |
| Closed | The 48-hour validation window passed with no recurrence, or the work order was manually closed. | All work orders |
Automation Rules
Where to find it
Navigate to Panel Administration → Lighting → Automation Rules. Here you can create and manage the rules that determine which alerts automatically generate work orders, and for which groups of poles.
Alert Types That Can Trigger Work Orders
The following alert types are available for automatic work order creation. Alerts marked with a blue chip may first enter Pending Review before dispatch.
Blue chips: these alert types may indicate a configuration or scheduling issue — your team can review and potentially fix them remotely before dispatching a crew.
Creating an Automation Rule
- Name the rule — choose a descriptive name that identifies the scope (e.g., "Northeast District — Lamp Faults").
- Select the poles to cover — choose All Poles, a specific Tag group, or a Management Area.
- Choose the alert types — select the fault types from the list above that should trigger a work order.
- Set the occurrence threshold — decide how many times an alert must appear within 24 hours before a work order is created.
- Enable clustering (optional) — if many poles in the same area are affected simultaneously, enable this to group them into a single Group Work Order.
- Mark as urgent (optional) — work orders created by this rule will be flagged as urgent in your scheduling system.
Maintenance Zones
What are Maintenance Zones?
A Maintenance Zone tells UbiVu® to pause automatic work order creation for a defined set of poles during a scheduled window — for example, during a planned equipment upgrade or contractor activity. No alerts from those poles will generate work orders while the zone is active.
Where to find it
Navigate to Panel Administration → Lighting → Planned Maintenance.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Task Name | A descriptive label for this maintenance task. |
| Scope | Select poles by Tag or by Management Area. |
| Schedule | Set a start and end date/time for the suppression window. |
| Activation Mode | Choose whether the zone activates automatically on the scheduled date, or requires a manual activation from the task list. |
| Force Work Order Creation | Override the suppression for specific situations — enable this to allow work order creation even while the maintenance zone is active. |
| Outage Reporting | Optionally push affected pole data to the external outage reporting feed. |
Group Work Orders
What is a Group Work Order?
A Group Work Order (GWO) is a container that bundles multiple individual work orders together — useful when several poles in the same area experience the same fault simultaneously. Your crew handles one dispatched task rather than managing dozens of separate tickets.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Group Work Order ID | Unique identifier for the group container (e.g., GWO-00123). |
| Completion Status | A progress bar showing what percentage of the individual work orders inside the group have been completed. |
| AI Summary | An automatically generated summary of the issues affecting the group. |
| Reasons | Aggregated list of all alert types across the child work orders. |
| Vendor / Assigned To | Set the responsible vendor and crew for the entire group at once. |
Ticket Stacking
What is Ticket Stacking?
Ticket stacking prevents duplicate work orders for the same pole. If a pole already has an active work order and a new alert fires for it, the new alert is added to the existing work order as an additional reason — rather than creating a separate ticket. This keeps your crew's dispatch list accurate and consolidated.
Stacking Rules
- One active work order per pole at all times. New alerts on an already-open pole go to reasons, not a new ticket.
- All alert types accumulate into the Reasons list, regardless of the type of fault.
- A 24-hour check window prevents duplicate evaluations. If an automation rule was already evaluated for a pole within the last 24 hours, no additional scan runs until the next daily cycle.
- A work order closes only when all stacked reasons are resolved, not just the first one reported.
Service Tickets
What is a Service Ticket?
Service tickets capture customer-reported issues — complaints received by phone, email, or external systems. They link directly to the work order for the affected pole, keeping all information in one place.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Ticket Number | Unique identifier (e.g., ST-1234). |
| Pole ID / Address | The specific asset and location being reported. |
| Customer Comments | Free text field for the customer's description of the problem. |
| Reason (AI-suggested) | UbiVu® automatically suggests fault categories based on the customer's comments (e.g., Light Out, Flickering Light). |
| Customer Contact | Name, email, and phone number for follow-up. |
| Notify Customer By | Send updates to the customer via Email, SMS, or both. |
| Media | Attach photos from the customer or the field. |
Notes & Voice Notes
Every work order — including Group Work Orders — supports multiple note types. Notes can be pinned to the top of the list for quick visibility, and all notes are included in the PDF export (except voice notes).
* Requires Manage Work Order permission.
Crew Dispatch
How dispatch works
When a work order is ready to be sent to your field scheduling system, UbiVu® sends it automatically. Whether and when that happens depends on the type of alert that triggered the work order.
Field App Walkthrough
Using the Field App
Field crews manage work orders directly from their smartphone using the UbiCell® mobile app. The app shows work orders on a live map and allows crews to start, update, and complete them from the field — including testing the light fixture remotely through Device Controls.
Step 1 — Log in and select your task type
Open the app and log in with your UbiVu® credentials. On the next screen, select Maintenance to see your assigned work orders on the map.
Step 2 — Find and open a Work Order on the map
The map shows work order markers at each pole. Tap a marker to see the Work Order Preview — with its ID, current status, reason, and the Start Work Order button. You must be within 500 ft of the pole to start. You can also use the search icon at the bottom to find a work order by number.
Step 3 — Work Order goes In Progress
Once started, the status automatically changes to In Progress. Fill in root cause, resolution, and notes. If you need to leave temporarily, tap X — progress is saved and you can resume anytime from the map. Use the Controls button to test the light remotely.
Step 4 — Device Controls
The Device Control panel lets you toggle the light on/off and adjust brightness from your phone. It also shows live status from the UbiCell® controller — useful for diagnosing Day Burner or Light Off at Night alerts. After testing, return to the work order form.
Step 5 — Complete the Work Order
When the issue is resolved, set the state to Completed, confirm or add to the reason(s), select root cause and resolution, fill in fixture details if applicable, and add a note. A note is required whenever changes are made. Tap Save to submit.
Step 6 — Add Notes and Save
Add text notes, photos, or voice recordings to document the work. Notes are required when changes are made. Tap Save — the work order is now Completed and enters the 48-hour validation window.
Quick Reference
Navigation Shortcuts
| Where to go | Path in UbiVu® |
|---|---|
| Manage Automation Rules | Panel Administration → Lighting → Automation Rules |
| Schedule a Maintenance Zone | Panel Administration → Lighting → Planned Maintenance |
| View Active Work Orders | Lighting → Work Orders (filter by Status) |
| Create a Service Ticket | Lighting → Service Tickets → New Ticket |
| View Group Work Orders | Lighting → Work Orders → filter Type: Group |