What response targets should you set by priority?
The short answer
- An automatic reply is not a response, and one number hides that.
- Six clocks sit between the request and the closeout, each with its own owner.
- Define what a priority means before you attach a time to it.
- Fill the target table from your own work order history.
A maintenance request can receive an automatic reply in seconds and still sit untouched for the rest of the day. The system records a response, while the location sees that nobody has taken action.
The confusion starts when every step is rolled into one number called "response time." A useful service-level plan separates the handoffs, assigns an owner to each one, and makes it clear which promise the location is actually receiving.
Response is not one clock
Track six points between the first request and the final closeout.
Swipe to see the whole table
| Clock | What it measures | What stops the clock | Typical owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human review | Time from submission until someone reviews the risk, confirms the priority, and identifies missing information | The request has been reviewed by a person | Facilities coordinator |
| Service provider acceptance | Time from dispatch until a provider agrees to take the work | The provider accepts the job | Dispatcher or service manager |
| Arrival | Time from acceptance until the technician reaches the location | The technician checks in on site | Service provider |
| Risk containment | Time until active damage or immediate risk is under control | Water is stopped, power is isolated, or the site is secured | Technician and facilities lead |
| Service restoration | Time until the affected area, asset, or operation can be used again | Normal use returns, even if follow-up work remains | Service provider |
| Closeout | Time until the notes, photos, final scope, invoice, and follow-up work are recorded | The completed record passes review | Service provider and facilities coordinator |
These clocks answer different questions. A fast human review does not guarantee a fast arrival, and an arrival does not mean the problem was fixed. Reporting them separately shows where the delay actually occurred.
Define each priority before assigning a time
Priority should reflect visible risk and operational impact. It should not depend on which location manager is the most persistent.
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| Priority | Plain-language meaning | Typical conditions |
|---|---|---|
| P1: Emergency | Someone could be harmed, major damage is actively spreading, the location cannot be secured, or the location cannot operate safely | Smoke or sparks, uncontrolled water near electrical equipment, a serious life-safety issue, or an entrance that cannot be secured |
| P2: Urgent | The issue is seriously affecting operations or is likely to get worse, but there is no immediate threat to life or major property loss | Refrigeration temperature is rising, a major area is unusable, or a critical asset is down without a practical workaround |
| P3: Routine | The impact is limited, the condition is stable, and the location has a reasonable workaround | A single fixture is out, a noncritical door is difficult to use, or cosmetic damage needs repair |
When there is a real emergency, the location should contact 911, the fire department, police, or the utility first. A work order does not replace emergency services.
What times should go in the target table?
There is no responsible universal answer for arrival or completion. A plumbing network in Miami, an elevator provider in a small market, and a refrigeration call at midnight will not perform on the same timeline.
Build the table in two parts:
- Set the internal targets.Human review, dispatch, escalation, and updates are controlled by your own process. Keep those expectations consistent across the portfolio.
- Set the field targets.Acceptance, arrival, containment, and restoration should reflect the trade, market, site hours, and after-hours coverage.
Use a table like this for each priority:
Swipe to see the whole table
| Target | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human review | Within ___ minutes, 24/7 | Within ___ minutes during coverage hours | Within ___ business hours |
| Provider acceptance | Within ___ minutes | Within ___ hours | By ___ |
| Arrival | By trade and market | By trade and market | Scheduled date |
| Status updates | Every ___ minutes until contained | At each status change or every ___ hours | When the schedule changes |
| Risk containment | As soon as the hazard can be controlled safely | Defined by issue type | Usually not applicable |
| Service restoration | Target by trade and condition | Target by trade and condition | Scheduled completion |
| Closeout | Within ___ hours after work | Within ___ hours after work | Within ___ business day(s) |
Fill the blanks from actual work-order history. Use the median to understand normal performance and the 90th percentile to see what locations experience when a job runs long. A target built only around the average will hide the difficult calls.
Public organizations offer useful examples of how priorities can be defined, but their times should not be copied into a private facility program. Pasco County publishes separate definitions and targets for its own facilities. The useful lesson is the structure: define the condition and the expected response together, then set the timing around the operation and service network you actually have.
Keep the meaning consistent when the market changes
A P1 should mean the same thing at every location. What may change is how long a specific trade needs to arrive.
If a remote market has limited overnight coverage, write that reality into the arrival target and escalation plan. Do not weaken the definition of P1 to make the report look better. The risk is still an emergency even when the nearest qualified technician is farther away.
Before publishing a target, test it against:
- Actual arrival history by trade and market
- Normal and after-hours performance
- Travel time and site-access restrictions
- Parts or equipment that require specialty support
- The availability of a qualified backup provider
An honest target gives the location something it can plan around. An unrealistic promise creates more calls and less trust.
Write the after-hours plan separately
Most response tables are built around normal business hours, but the plan is tested at night, on weekends, and during holidays.
The after-hours section should state:
- Who reviews and confirms a P1
- Which number the location should call
- Which providers have verified live-answer coverage
- When the backup provider or manager is contacted
- What the location should do while help is on the way
- How often the location will receive an update
Test the call list. A number in a spreadsheet is not coverage until someone confirms that it reaches the right person after hours.
Allow priority changes, but record them
A priority may need to move up or down when new information arrives. Record who changed it, when it changed, and why.
Review those changes monthly. Frequent upgrades from P3 to P2 may mean routine work is sitting too long. Frequent downgrades after arrival may mean the request form is missing the questions needed to judge the impact correctly.
The change itself is not the problem. Unexplained changes are.
Pause only the clock that is truly blocked
Some events justify a pause:
- The location cannot provide access
- Work cannot continue safely
- Required approval is still pending
- A required part is on order
- The customer has asked for work to be held
Record the reason, the person responsible for the next step, and the next update date. A parts delay may pause the restoration target, but it should not erase the original arrival time. Each clock should preserve what actually happened.
Escalate before the miss
Set escalation points before a live job needs them. At minimum, name:
- The facilities coordinator handling the request
- The manager who can remove an internal block
- The person who can activate a backup service provider
- The location contact who needs the update
The fourth name is easy to overlook. The location may not be able to speed up the repair, but it still needs enough information to protect customers, employees, inventory, and the day's operation.
Review the whole path
Do not reward a fast acknowledgement while ignoring a slow repair. Review:
- Percentage of requests reviewed within target
- Percentage accepted and arrived within target
- Time to contain risk
- Time to restore normal use
- Percentage completed on the first visit
- Priority changes and the reasons behind them
- Closeout time and documentation quality
First-visit completion deserves special attention. When the right technician arrives with the right information and parts, arrival, restoration, cost, and customer experience usually improve together.
Pebble keeps each timestamp, owner, update, and priority change on the same work order. That makes it possible to see whether delay is happening during review, dispatch, travel, repair, or closeout instead of treating the entire job as one response-time number.
ReferencePasco County Facilities Management service level agreement.
Bedrock Facility Solutions
Bedrock Facility Solutions manages facility programs for multi-location operators across the United States.
Published 4 August 2026. Last reviewed 25 August 2026.