Hi there! Happy to help you set up SLA Breach Alerts in FieldPulse. These notifications are designed to give you and your team a heads-up when a work order is at risk of missing—or has already missed—your promised service level agreement.
What Are SLA Breach Alerts?
SLA Breach Alerts automatically notify designated users when a work order approaches or exceeds a defined time threshold. This helps dispatchers and managers take action before a missed commitment becomes a customer problem.
Before You Begin
To use SLA Breach Alerts, you will need:
- Admin or Scheduler permissions — the alert configuration is found in Settings > Notifications > SLA Rules
- At least one SLA rule defined in your account (e.g., "Emergency Response: 4 hours from creation")
- Notification recipients configured (users, roles, or email addresses)
Setting Up an SLA Breach Alert
- Navigate to Settings > Notifications > SLA Rules.
- Click New SLA Rule or select an existing rule to edit.
- Under Alert Timing, choose when to trigger:
- Warning — fires before the SLA deadline (e.g., 30 minutes prior)
- Breach — fires when the SLA deadline passes
- Both — recommended for critical service tiers
- Under Notify, select who receives the alert:
- Assigned dispatcher
- Specific users or roles
- External email addresses (for manager visibility)
- Choose delivery method: In-app notification, Email, SMS, or any combination.
- Click Save Rule.
Understanding Alert Triggers
| Trigger Type | When It Fires | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|
| First Response SLA | Time from work order creation to first status change | Customer acknowledgment commitments |
| Resolution SLA | Time from creation to "Completed" status | Job completion guarantees |
| On-Site Arrival SLA | Time from scheduled arrival to technician check-in | Appointment window promises |
What the Alert Contains
Alert notifications include:
- Work order number and customer name
- SLA deadline and current status (approaching / breached / elapsed time)
- Direct link to the work order in FieldPulse
- Assigned technician and current location (if location tracking is enabled)
Common Configuration Tips
Great question that comes up often: Should I send warnings to technicians or just managers?
In my experience, warning alerts are most effective when they go to dispatchers who can reallocate resources. Breach alerts should typically escalate to managers for service recovery. You can use Escalation Rules (found in the same settings panel) to automatically notify a second tier if the breach is not acknowledged within 15 minutes.
Troubleshooting
Alert not firing? Check that:
- The work order is assigned to a service type with an active SLA rule
- The work order status is not already "Completed" or "Cancelled"
- Notification preferences for recipients allow SLA alerts (some users disable these in their profile)
- Time zone settings match between the SLA rule and the work order location
Related Articles
See also: Setting Up Customer Notifications | Configuring SMS and Email Alerts | SLA Compliance Reporting