Every fault gets a priority, and a clock
Every reactive call is classified against the contract's SLA matrix: a priority from P1 to P4, a response and a fix target, and a clock that starts the moment the call lands. The same matrix, applied across operators, shifts and channels, so nothing turns on who answered the phone.
- Client
- Aldgate Borough Council · 42 buildings
- Contract
- NEC4 Term Service Contract
- Contract value
- £2.4m per year
- Reference
- ALD-DSP-S02
- Period
- 1 to 31 May 2026 · Month 18
- Prepared by
- Sentinel FM Ltd · via BuiltAI
Illustrative example: fictional project and parties.
The matrix decides, not the operator
This stage takes each reactive call captured at intake (Stage 01) and classifies it against the contract's SLA matrix. The priority sets two targets - an engineer on site (response) and the fault cleared (fix) - and breach of either triggers a deduction under the NEC4 term service contract's performance mechanism, measured against a 95.0% SLA compliance target. Triage assigns the priority from the fault category, so the classification does not turn on which operator answered, which shift it landed on, or which channel it came through.
In May 2026, 180 reactive calls across the 42 Aldgate Borough Council buildings were triaged here before being handed to Stage 03, the Ticket Brief. Consistent triage is what makes the downstream SLA clock, and any later deductions defence, hold up.
Four priorities, each with a response and a fix target
The contract defines four priority levels. Each carries a response target and a fix target, and the per-incident deduction shown applies if either is breached. Triage sets the level from the fault category, then checks for any trigger that would override it.
| Priority | Definition | Response | Fix | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | EmergencyLife safety, building closure or statutory breach - gas leak, fire system failure, flooding closing a building, no heating in an occupied care setting. A P1 not acknowledged within 15 minutes auto-escalates to the Operations Director. | 1 hr | 4 hrs | £500 |
| P2 | UrgentService affecting, significant impact on building use - active roof leak, lift failure, major plumbing fault, HVAC failure, fire door failure | 4 hrs | 8 hrs | £250 |
| P3 | RoutineStandard repair, no immediate safety or operational impact - non-critical heating, minor plumbing, partial lighting failure, door or lock repair | 24 hrs | 5 days | £100 |
| P4 | Planned / lowScheduled, cosmetic or can be batched - external lighting column, cosmetic repair, signage, non-urgent grounds work, asset labelling | 48 hrs | 20 days | £50 |
Five triggers that override the initial priority
Some calls arrive looking like a P2 or P3 but carry a condition that should raise them. Triage checks five triggers on every ticket, and any one of them overrides the fault-category classification.
- Life safety - a gas, fire, electrical or structural hazard to people on site.
- Building closure - a fault that stops a building opening or operating.
- Vulnerable occupant - risk to an elderly, young or disabled occupant.
- Statutory breach - a breach of a statutory duty (gas, legionella, fire, asbestos).
- Repeat call - a third call on the same asset within 90 days, raising a root-cause flag.
TKT-2026-03847 - triaging the library roof leak
A recurring roof leak at Aldgate Central Library runs through the four triage steps: match the fault, check the escalation triggers, check for a repeat call, then set the clock.
- Fault category match.
From intake the fault reads roofing, leak, active ingress. The matrix maps an active roof leak to P2 Urgent: a 4-hour response and an 8-hour fix.
- Escalation check.
Intake flagged a wall socket and reading lamp within 1.5m of pooling water - a possible life-safety trigger. The lamp had been isolated by staff, the socket was not submerged, and barriers were in place, so it was assessed as a monitored risk. The priority was held at P2, with a standing rule to re-triage to P1 the moment water reaches socket height.
- Repeat-call check.
This is the third recorded call on the same northeast valley gutter across seven months, after TKT-2025-01204 (October 2025) and TKT-2025-02891 (January 2026). The linked history records an October felt patch and a January silicone repair. The recurrence warrants a root-cause review, but the supplied dates do not demonstrate the three-calls-within-90-days trigger.
- SLA clock set.
Priority confirmed P2 Urgent. The clock started at 09:14 on 13 May 2026, when the call was received. Response target 13:14 (4 hours), fix target 17:14 (8 hours). Deduction exposure if either target is breached: £250.
Historical ID check pending: the October and January events use 2025/2026 year-prefix variants for 01204 and 02891 across the linked records. Dates, repairs and costs are retained; no canonical predecessor ID is established.
Electrical isolated locally by staff. No imminent electrocution risk. If water level rises or reaches socket height, re-triage to P1 immediately.Operator triage note, TKT-2026-03847
180 calls classified this month
The May distribution across the four priorities. Routine P3 work is the bulk of the month; emergencies are rare but time-critical.
Three tickets were re-triaged this month after the escalation check overrode the initial classification. In each case the fault category alone would have understated the risk, and the trigger caught it before the clock was set against the wrong target:
| Site | Escalation trigger | Initial | Re-triaged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community centre | Gas smell - life safety | P2 | P1 |
| Leisure centre | Fire alarm panel failure - life safety | P2 | P1 |
| Sheltered housing day centre | Heating failure - vulnerable occupant | P3 | P2 |
Three re-triages in a month is a small number, but each is a call put on the right clock instead of the wrong one, and a safety risk caught at triage rather than downstream.
Every triage decision, and the operator's reasoning for holding or raising a priority, is logged against the ticket. All 8 P1 emergencies were responded to within the one-hour target, and no escalation flag was missed. If a deduction is later alleged, that contemporaneous note is the first line of the deductions defence.
Stage 02 gate - priority set, clock running
A ticket does not move on to Stage 03, the Ticket Brief, until each of these is in place. A wrong priority costs time downstream; a missed escalation can cost far more.
- Priority assigned from the contract SLA matrix.
- All five escalation triggers checked and the outcome documented.
- SLA clock started, with response and fix targets set.
- Operator reasoning recorded for any deductions defence.
- Repeat-call flag raised where an asset qualifies.
- Ticket handed to Stage 03, the Ticket Brief.
Hand-off to Stage 03: TKT-2026-03847 is confirmed P2 with a 4-hour response and an 8-hour fix. A root-cause review is requested because the leak has recurred across seven months; this example does not establish that the automatic 90-day threshold was met. Statutory note: Aldgate Central Library is a Grade II listed building, so no external modifications without consent.