USER GUIDE

Utility management and platform workflows

Begin with a verified asset register, an accountable owner and a clear work objective. This guide connects the utility work cycle with the ten software modules.

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Mobile app PowerPoint manual · Web app PowerPoint manual

The operating cycle

Establish the network baseline, assess demand and condition, prepare reviewed changes, monitor observations, investigate incidents, assign field work and reconcile the record after completion. Every handover should identify the equipment, current revision, responsible person, evidence and next decision.

Roles and accountability

Administrators govern review and approvals. Engineers prepare and investigate. Field engineers capture evidence and complete assigned checklists. Viewers review progress and export evidence. Your organisation defines statutory authority and safe-work procedures separately.

Before the first session

Obtain your role credentials and confirm the operating area.
Sign in, select a utility and read the section’s inline work guidance.
Distinguish labelled synthetic examples from surveyed data.
Check identifiers, coordinates, units and recorded equipment state before analysis.
Agree who reviews and accepts each output.

District overview

Objective: A shared picture of the district. Compare assets, open incidents, engineering flags and essential-service dependencies.

Network explorer

Objective: An asset register with geographic context. Search equipment, inspect connected segments, edit typed records and navigate with Mappls.

Engineering workbench

Objective: Explain how the network is connected. Trace sources and outfalls, apply barriers and inspect screening results with explicit units.

Incidents & isolation

Objective: Assess disruption before a reviewed response. Evaluate alternate paths, critical customers and cascading dependencies across utilities.

Fibre provisioning

Objective: Allocate capacity with a recorded service plan. Find feasible routes, check optical margin and reserve or release available strands.

Design & quantities

Objective: Keep proposals distinct from operating assets. Create revisioned drafts, review quantities and entered rates, then approve and commission.

Field operations

Objective: Tie work completion to asset evidence. Assign utility checklists, capture inspections and synchronize an offline inspection outbox.

Observations

Objective: Give readings an asset, unit and time. Record measurements, review exceptions and hand abnormal observations to an engineer.

Excavation review

Objective: Review shared corridors across utilities. Screen an alignment by distance and nominal depth, then retain an internal review record.

Data & integrations

Objective: Reconcile the network and retain its history. Validate GeoJSON, export inventory and analysis, and verify the change audit chain.

Common terms

Asset and segment: An identifiable equipment record and the physical connection between equipment.
Trace: A traversal of recorded network connectivity under selected direction, control-state and barrier rules.
Network revision: A version of the network used to detect stale edits and invalidate outdated reviews.
Service connection: A recorded customer or service count. Counts across utilities are not unique premises.
Screening: A simplified engineering calculation used to identify inputs or conditions requiring professional review.
SOP and work order: An SOP defines an approved work method. A work order assigns specific work, due date, crew and evidence requirements.

Engineering and operating boundaries

Review units and assumptions in every analysis. Connectivity does not establish supply pressure, electrical protection, safe isolation or excavation clearance. Follow approved utility procedures and authorised field verification. The demonstration network is synthetic.

Field capture without a connection

Prepare a field pack while online. Save inspections to the device queue. Reconnect and sign in to synchronize. If an asset changed after capture, review the current record and resolve the conflict explicitly. Keep the device and browser data intact until synchronization succeeds.

When something needs attention

If a map fails to start, use Reload map connection and check connectivity. If no source is reached, check topology, lifecycle and control states. A stale-revision message means the record changed: reopen it, review the differences and repeat the assessment. Report unexplained errors with the module name, record ID and time, without sharing credentials.

Pilot acceptance

Validate a representative network with the utility owner. Agree data-quality checks, decision owners and field evidence. Demonstrate trace, incident, design and work completion flows. Test role restrictions, recovery and data export before operational adoption.

Android and iOS native field apps · v0.5 pilot

Use the native app for a field shift: downloaded work and equipment, checklist execution, observations, GPS/photo inspections and encrypted evidence waiting to sync. Use Workspace for all ten online platform modules. Native inspection capture and the web browser’s inspection outbox are separate.

Prepare: sign in to the verified server with your assigned role, download the field pack and check its date/revision. Confirm the crew and asset for each job. The current pilot uses shared role credentials; crew search does not restrict authorization.
Start: open Work, review the job and queue Start work. Sync that transition before completing the next transition.
Inspect: open Assets or a work order’s equipment. Record observed condition and findings. Request a fresh GPS fix and take an evidence photo when appropriate; note accuracy and location uncertainty.
Measure: record the actual instrument reading with its displayed utility-specific unit and range. Follow the approved response process for abnormal or hazardous conditions.
Reconcile: open Outbox and Sync. Verify the server receipt. A connection failure retains the same identifier. Review a revision conflict against the current asset before explicitly resubmitting; do not silently overwrite another person’s change.
Complete: tick completed checks, add handover evidence, queue completion and sync. Confirm the authoritative work state before handover.
Manage the device: renew sign-in at the same server/role without losing queued records. Resolve the queue before sign-out. Sign-out clears the saved pack and drafts. Offline data is not remotely wiped when a session expires.

Work, Assets, Outbox and Settings are native screens. The online Workspace includes Mappls maps, engineering, incidents, designs, fibre, field history, observations, excavation review, data and overview. Offline map tiles, background sync, push dispatch, biometric app lock and individual crew permissions are planned releases rather than current guarantees.

Android requires Android 8 or later; iOS requires iOS 17 or later. Company signing, device camera/GPS checks and managed distribution are required before a customer rollout. The downloadable guide now covers the web platform and native mobile workflows, including roles, shift preparation, evidence and conflict review.