Working with Damage Assessments
The Damage Assessments feature includes summaries of existing damage assessments (displayed in the Event Details Damage Assessments tab) and methods for creating new damage assessments. New damage assessments may be associated with an existing event, a device, or may be created as fuzzy events provided that the geographical location of the damage is specified.
Damage assessments include:
• Damage description, such as the location, network section affected, and so on.
• Damaged assets, which can be modeled (present as selectable objects in NMS model) and non-modeled.
• Crew types needed for the repair.
Based on the reported damage, the system will calculate estimated repair time for an event. If multiple damaged assets exist for an event, the system will calculate the estimated repair time by adding together estimated repair times from each active damaged asset. Damage assessment trouble codes have associated clue symbols, which will be displayed in Viewer at the damage locations.
Notes:
• Damage assessment incidents are not included in counts for the event.
• Damage assessment cannot be performed for switching events, fault current events, and meets.
Understanding the Damage Assessment Window
The Damage Assessment window is used to create or edit damage assessment information. The Damage Assessment window is displayed when you do one of the following:
• To create a new fuzzy (in other words, not associated to an event) Damage Assessment, select New and then Damage Assessment... from the Web Workspace File menu or clicking the New Damage Assessment button () on the Web Workspace toolbar.
• To create a new damage assessment for an existing event, select the event row in the Work Agenda, and then select Damage Assessment... from the Work Agenda's Actions menu. The Event Details Damage Assessments tab will open. Select New from the Damage Assessments tab's File menu.
• To create a new damage assessment for a device, open the Control Tool for the device to associate with a new damage assessment. Select the Control Tool's Damage Assessment... option to open the Event Details Damage Assessments tab. Select New from the Damage Assessments tab's File menu.
• To open an existing Damage Assessment, open the Event Details Damage Assessments tab, select the damage assessment in the table, and then select Open... from the tab's File menu.
Menu and Toolbar Icons
File Menu
Menu Option | Description | Toolbar Icon |
|---|---|---|
Reload | Reloads the data | |
Save | Saves changes to the Damage Assessment | |
Assessing | The damage is being assessed. | |
Assessed | The damage assessment is complete. | |
Standing By | The damage is in standby mode. | |
Fixed | The damage is fixed. | |
Obsolete | The damage assessment is no longer valid. | |
Exit | Closes the Damage Assessment window. | -- |
The Damage Assessment window displays the following fields and buttons:
• The Damage Assessment # is the ID of the damage assessment.
• Event # is the ID of the event associated with this damage assessment. 0 is displayed if an event has not yet been created for this damage assessment. Once event is created, click the Reload button to populate the field with the event ID. The Event Details button () to the right of the field opens the Event Details for the event.
• Patrol Event # is the ID of the patrol event associated with the damage assessment, if applicable. The Event Details button () to the right of the field opens Event Details for the patrol event; the button is only enabled when the Patrol Event # field is populated.
• Report Date is the date and time when damage assessment was performed. Click the date‑time icon to use the date picker to set the date.
• Reporting Crew Information
These fields represent the crew that reported the damage assessment.
• The Reported By field is the crew that reported the damage.
• The Select Crew button () opens the Select Crew dialog box so you can select the crew that reported the damage.
• Phone # is the mobile number of the crew that reported the damage.
• Assigned Crew Information
These fields represent the crew assigned to the damage assessment, if different from the Reporting Crew.
• The Assigned Crew field is the crew assigned to the damage assessment.
• The Select Crew button () opens the Select Crew dialog box so you can select the assigned crew.
• Phone # is the mobile number of the crew assigned to the damage assessment.
Understanding the Damage Location Section
• Zone is the name of the company, region, branch, substation, and feeder.
• Device is the device alias of the primary damaged asset.
Actions
• : view the device in the Viewer.
• Address is the street address where the damage assessment was performed.
• Latitude: latitude of the primary damaged asset.
• Longitude: longitude of the primary damaged asset.
Actions
• : focuses the Viewer on the saved latitude and longitude coordinates.
Action
• 
: opens the Control Zone selection menu, which allows you to associate fuzzy damage assessment with a control zone. This is only possible during the initial creation of the damage assessment.
: opens the Control Zone selection menu, which allows you to associate fuzzy damage assessment with a control zone. This is only possible during the initial creation of the damage assessment.Understanding the Damage Specifics Section
• Section Affected allows you to specific the section affected by the damage. You can select from a list or enter a value manually.
• Location allows you to specify the damage location. You can select from a list or enter a value manually.
• The Hazard check box indicates a hazardous situation.
• The Street Light Damage check box indicates whether street light damage is reported.
• The Crew Types indicates the types of crews needed to repair the damage. Enter the number of each crew type.
• Comments contains any remarks associated with the damage specifics.
Understanding the Damaged Assets Section
• The Add Damaged Asset button () opens the Damaged Asset dialog box so you can enter information about the damaged asset. See Understanding the Damaged Assets Dialog Box for details.
• The Edit Damaged Asset button () opens the Damaged Asset dialog box so you can edit information about the selected damaged asset. See Understanding the Damaged Assets Dialog Box for details.
• The Remove Selected Damaged Assets button () allows you to mark rows in the Damaged Assets table for removal. Rows marked for removal display a red background. The row for the main damaged asset cannot be marked for removal.
• The Display Attributes of the Damaged Device button () opens Attributes window displaying device attributes of the selected damaged asset. Disabled if non-modeled asset is selected.
• The Set as Main Damaged Asset button (
) sets the selected damaged asset as the main asset for this damage assessment. This option is disabled if the current main asset or a non-modeled asset without geographical location is selected.
) sets the selected damaged asset as the main asset for this damage assessment. This option is disabled if the current main asset or a non-modeled asset without geographical location is selected.• The Focus Viewer on the Damaged Device button () focuses Viewer on the damaged device.
• The Focus Viewer on Damage Location button () focuses Viewer on the geographical location of the selected damaged asset.
• The M column displays the main asset indicator.
• Event # displays the event index associated with the damaged asset.
• Device displays alias of the damaged device (only populated for modeled assets).
• Asset Name contains the device class description for modeled assets or asset type for non-modeled assets.
• Status displays the Open or Closed status for switchable assets; for non-switchable assets, N/A will be displayed.
• Condition displays the damage condition, such as Damaged, Down, or OK.
• Phases displays the affected phases.
• Size displays asset size. The meaning of size differs depending on the asset type. For example, for a pole, size can be length of the pole in feet, for a fuse, it can be rated current in amps, and so forth.
• Quantity displays the number of instances of the damaged asset (for a modeled asset this value is always 1).
• Truck Accessible displays flag indicating whether damage location is truck-accessible.
• Repair Time displays time needed to repair damaged asset(s).
• Comments displays remarks associated with the damaged asset.
Understanding the Damaged Assets Dialog Box
The Damaged Assets dialog box is used to add details about the asset to a new or existing damaged asset definition. The dialog box has the following features:
• The Asset/Device mode toggle button. The button allows you to switch between entering information for non-modeled damaged devices or those present in NMS model, respectively.
• In non-modeled mode, the Asset drop-down list allows you to select the type of asset. Available only in asset mode.
• In modeled mode, the Device field allows you to enter the name of the damaged device. A yellow background indicates that the device has not been validated and linked. You may set the device by either searching for the device or linking to a device selected in the Viewer.
• To enter the modeled asset by name, enter all or part of the device name and click the search button (), and then select the device in the Select Device dialog box. Select the desired device from the list, and click OK.
• To link to a device selected in the Viewer, click the Select Modeled Asset button (). The device ID will populate the Device field. Once the device has been selected, the field below it will populate with the device type.
• The Status drop-down list allows you to specify the device status (Open/Closed) for switchable assets.
• The Condition drop-down list allows you to specify condition (Damaged/Down/OK) of the asset.
• The Phases Affected check boxes allow you to specify affected phases.
• The Size field allows you to enter asset size. This is a free-form text field.
• The Quantity field allows you to specify number of damaged instances of this asset type for non-modeled assets. In modeled device mode, this field is not editable and displays the number one (1).
• The Truck Accessible Location check box allows you to specify whether the damage location is truck-accessible.
• The Create Separate Event check box allows you to request that a separate event is created in NMS for this asset. This can only be done for a device with coordinates.
• The Est Time to Repair (HH:MM) field allows you to override the repair time calculated by the system for this asset.
• The Latitude field displays the latitude coordinate of the damage location.
• The Longitude field displays the longitude coordinate of the damage location.
• The Select Location... () button opens the Select Damage Location dialog box, which allows you to select the damage location in the Viewer.
• The Comments field allows you to enter comments for this damaged asset.
• The OK button saves the information entered and closes the dialog box.
• The Cancel button discards the information entered and closes the dialog box.
Understanding the Attachments Section
The Attachments section allows you to attach a file or link an externally stored file to the damage assessment.
Actions
• The Add Attachment button ()opens the Attach Files dialog box that allows you to attach a file to the damage assessment. Maximum size of the attachment is 50M.
• The Add Link button (
) opens the Add Link dialog box that allows you to add a link to an externally stored attachment that is accessible with an URL. To add a link, complete the following fields:
) opens the Add Link dialog box that allows you to add a link to an externally stored attachment that is accessible with an URL. To add a link, complete the following fields: Name: a name that is unique to the damage assessment.
URL: link to attachment.
Description: short description of the attachment contents.
Click OK to add the attachment link or click Cancel to abort the action.
• The Delete Attachment button () marks the selected attachments for removal.
• The Open Attachment button () opens the selected attachment. Links are opened in a web browser. Files are opened using application associated with the given file type.
• The Save Attachment button () saves local copies of the selected attachments.
Table Columns
• Name: attachment name (unique within a single damage assessment).
• File Size: attachment size in bytes (0 for links).
• Modified Date: last modification date for file attachments.
• Status: status of the attachment (New, Modified or Deleted).
• Link: URL of the externally stored attachment.
• Description: attachment description.
Status Bar
The status bar displays the damage assessment status (New, Assessed, Complete, or Obsolete) and the estimated time to repair the reported damage. This is calculated from the information entered in the Damaged Assets table.
Creating Fuzzy Damage Assessments
When a crew reports damage that is not associated with an event in the system, you may create a fuzzy damage assessment and link it to a location in the Viewer. Like with creating an event, you may create a fuzzy damage assessment for an outage or non-outage situation.
1. Open the Viewer to the general location of the damage.
2. Create a new damage assessment by clicking the new Damage Assessment button () in the Web Workspace toolbar.
3. On the Damaged Assets pane, click the Add damaged asset... button () to open Damaged Asset dialog box.
4. Click the location selection button () to open the Select Damage Location dialog box.
5. Click the location in the Viewer where the damage was found. The Select Damage Location dialog box will be populated with the latitude and longitude data from the Viewer.
6. Click OK to accept the latitude and longitude.
7. Select the asset type, enter any other available information about the damage assets, and then click OK. Add any other known information to the damage assessment and click the Save button.
8. Close the Damage Assessment.
When you reopen the damage assessment, click the damage location focus button () to open the Viewer and focus on the saved coordinate data.
Fuzzy damage assessment can be associated to a device by populating the Device field with the valid alias (either by entering it directly or selecting device in the Viewer) and then saving the damage assessment.