Utility Outage FAQs

To get started as a Reporter, open JIRA and…
1. Subscribe to the JIRA outage dashboard
2. Add the JIRA outage calendar
3. Create a ticket following one of the “1. JIRA Request Guides” within the Box training folder

Confined Space Permits (Georgetown University’s form) are required with any non-ENGIE contracted work occurring in enclosed spaces with potential hazards present. All ENGIE contracted work in confined spaces require completion of the ENGIE confined space permit.

Hot Work Permits and a 2 hour fire watch are required with any work creating sparks, flames or hot debris.

Visit Georgetown University’s Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) Forms webpage for more information.

Fire Watches are required with any work that impacts fire suppression, fire detection or any other life safety systems for more than 4 hours. Please coordinate with the University Fire Marshal or Fire Safety Coordinator to arrange for a fire watch.

Fire Watches must meet the following conditions:

• There must be one watcher for every two floors 
• Once you have two watchers you need a third for backup and brakes 
• The watchers can have no other duties during the watch and must be trained by the university’s Fire Marshall
• The watchers must keep a log of the fire watch patrols
• Any watch lasting longer than 4 hours must be approved by the Fire Marshal’s Office

Review DC Fire Prevention Division Fire Watch Procedures or the university’s Fire Watch Training.

Contact the impacted Utility Supervisor, Facilities Safety Representative or Work Management based on where your ticket appears on the left hand side of the JIRA outage dashboard. All utility supervisors and their contacts are listed on the supervisor link on the outage ticket create page.

For example, Work Management needs to review and approve your ticket if it appears in the Work Management Filter in the lower left corner of the dashboard. Once approved, you will receive a JIRA email with the ticket status changed to “4 Scheduled” and it will appear immediately on the JIRA outage calendar.

The outage request system is being transferred to a Georgetown supported work management flow platform, JIRA. Current business processes were incorporated into this tool to create one location for all outage details, provide search and tracking functions, and improve review, approval and visibility of outages. Provide feedback by completing the Outage Feedback Survey.

Outage requests may be submitted by power users like Georgetown and ENGIE Project Managers, Central Utility Plant Supervisors, Facilities Supervisors and SUAs on a case by case basis. Contact Work Management to support the review and JIRA license request through UIS.

JIRA password requires GU NetID, password and Duo authentication. Make sure to have your phone nearby to open Duo and click on approve before the JIRA Login expires. Refresh the page and login again with your phone nearby. Only long term power users may use JIRA to submit outages. If you continue to have issues or are a new user, email help@georgetown.edu (new window) with the subject line “JIRA Login Support” or “New Jira User Request”.
Reset GU NetID password
Download the Duo app

When you create an outage request close to 10 days prior to the work start date, make sure to tag (type “@” and start typing the name) Work Management in the comment box on the edit screen to confirm the target date and time of the outage. By tagging the approver, an email will share your comment and a direct link to your ticket details to review. An emergency ticket can be submitted as a Service Alert that will expedite the approval process.

An outage request may be edited in scope, date or time at any point prior to being scheduled on the Approved Outage Calendar. If there is a change in scope, make sure to tag (type “@” and start typing the name) the supervisor and safety representative in the comment section to review the ticket and leave a comment to verify the work may go ahead safely and with technician support if applicable.

Open the approved outage ticket and leave a comment and tag (type “@” and start typing the name) Rachelle King and Greg Burton at the bottom of the ticket stating the Outage is being rescheduled with the new target date and time. Cancel the ticket to remove it from the approved calendar, reopen, edit the changed fields and request validation to push the new request through the system. If the new target date is under 10 business days from the change, tag Rachelle King and Greg Burton on the new ticket in the comment section.

Email notifications are sent only when action is required or an approved request is scheduled on the Approved Outage Calendar. See exactly who is notified when throughout the processes by reviewing the Scheduled Outage Notification Scheme and Service Alert Notification Scheme diagrams. Anyone may subscribe to the Approved Outage Calendar for visibility. JIRA power users may subscribe to receive emails any time their tickets change by changing their settings to JIRA Notify Me.

Provide constructive feedback on the outage request system by completing the Outage Feedback Survey. Responses will be considered for quick and impactful changes in September 2023 or more significant changes in February 2024 phase 2 development.