Overview
This is the administrator's checklist for setting up Downtime: who can do what, which Locations track operation, which categories people choose from, and whether a Downtime creates an Assignment automatically. Work through the sections in order before your teams start logging Downtime.
For how a Downtime behaves once it's logged — its states, closing it and how it counts in reports — see Using downtime in Mobaro.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Super Users or a Role with Organization › Administrate for the Configuration settings; Locations › Modify to enable Operational Logging on a Location |
Where | Configuration › Downtime, Configuration › Locations, Locations and Roles |
Works on | Backend (web). The settings apply in the Backend, the Mobaro app and RideOps. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: Getting these foundations right is what makes Downtime data trustworthy: the right people can log it, only the Locations you care about are tracked, every entry has a clear cause, and the faults that need fixing become tracked work.
Decide who can do what
Downtime uses two different kinds of access:
Task | Who can do it |
Open and close a Location (app, RideOps or the Backend toggle), and start a Downtime in the app or RideOps | Anyone who can see the Location. If Limit location operational state management to (user groups) is set, only members of those User Groups. |
Use the Backend Downtime list: start, edit, close and delete Downtimes; correct a Location's Uptime Summary | Super Users, or a Role with Operations › Manage Downtime plus access to the Location |
Change the Configuration settings in this article | Super Users, or a Role with Organization › Administrate |
To grant Manage Downtime, open Roles, choose or create a Role, tick Manage Downtime under Operations, and save. See Set up Roles to manage permissions.
To limit who can open and close Locations, go to Configuration › Locations and add User Groups to Limit location operational state management to (user groups) under Operational Settings. In the Mobaro app this limit also applies to Super Users.
Enable Operational Logging
A Location only tracks uptime and Downtime when Enable Operational Logging is on. It's off by default. To turn it on for several Locations at once, open Locations, click Toggle Multiselect, select the Locations and click Edit. Set operational logging of locations to Enable, click Update selected values, then Confirm. For one Location, open its editor and tick Enable Operational Logging in the Operations panel.
🛑 Critical: Turning Operational Logging off also turns RideOps off for that Location and closes the Location if it's open. Turn it off only for Locations you no longer want to track.
To measure Downtime against the hours a Location is meant to be open, also give it opening hours — see Add opening hours to a Location. For the rest of Operational Logging, see Utilizing Operational Logging.
Create Downtime categories
Categories record why a Location went down, such as Mechanical, Weather or Staffing. The same list is used in the Backend, the app and RideOps, and it drives the Downtime by Category widget and the category filter on the Location MTTR MTBF widget.
1. Add each category
Go to Configuration › Downtime. Under Downtime Categories, click Create new category, enter the name and click OK. Category names must be unique.
2. Choose how categories are picked
Set Selection type to Single Choice or Multiple Choice. Tick Required to make sure every Downtime has a category.
You can rename a category with Edit category. Delete category removes the category from every Downtime that uses it.
Choose automatic Assignments
Under Downtime Settings on Configuration › Downtime, tick Create an assignment when a new downtime is started. Choose the Assignment assignee (User Group) (required) and, where the panel offers them, the Assignment's type, priority and categories, then save.
The Assignment is created as high priority and linked to the Downtime, which makes the Downtime Blocking: the Location can't be opened until the Assignment is resolved. This setting applies to Downtimes started in the Mobaro app and RideOps. In RideOps, a Downtime Template can override it with Inherit, Create or Do not create — see Creating downtime templates for use in RideOps.
⚠️ Heads-up: Downtimes started in the Backend never create an Assignment automatically, even with this setting on. To add one, tick Create Assignment in the Downtime editor.
The same panel has Allow RideOps operator to resolve non blocking downtime, which lets RideOps operators resolve Open Downtimes from the tablet.
What's next
Your teams can now log Downtime from the Mobaro app or RideOps. You close each Downtime in the Backend to confirm its duration (see Using downtime in Mobaro), and the figures flow into Dashboards.
Best practices
Keep categories few and distinct, and tick Required, so every Downtime is classified the same way.
Turn on Create an assignment when a new downtime is started only if every app and RideOps Downtime needs maintenance sign-off. If it depends on the cause, use RideOps Downtime Templates instead.
Give Manage Downtime only to the people who review and close Downtimes. Operators don't need it to open, close or start a Downtime.
Frequently asked questions
What permissions do I need to give a user so they can log downtime?
To open and close Locations and start a Downtime in the Mobaro app or RideOps, they only need access to the Location (and membership of the limiting User Groups, if set). To use the Backend Downtime list or add past Downtime, give them Operations › Manage Downtime.
Why doesn't a user have the Operations tile in the app?
The tile needs a Location with Enable Operational Logging that the user can access, and membership of the limiting User Groups, if set. An area availability rule can also hide the tile. See Managing Downtime and uptime from the mobile app.
What's the difference between Create and Do not create on a downtime template?
Create gives every Downtime started from that RideOps template an Assignment, so it's Blocking. Do not create makes it Open. Inherit follows Create an assignment when a new downtime is started. See Creating downtime templates for use in RideOps.
If I turn on automatic assignments for downtime, does that also apply to downtime created in the Backend?
No. Create an assignment when a new downtime is started only applies to Downtimes started in the Mobaro app and RideOps. In the Backend, tick Create Assignment in the Downtime editor when you want one.
Can I turn Operational Logging off later?
Yes, but it also switches RideOps off for that Location and closes the Location if it's open. Its uptime and Downtime history is kept.