How to manage work by exception and focus on what matters most

One of our founding principles of the Obzervr Digital Work Management Solution has always been to manage work by exception. When you’re running complex operations with critical assets, there’s no shortage of data, but more data doesn’t always mean better visibility. In fact, it often means information overload.

That’s where Obzervr's exception management capability comes in - it helps heavy industry maintenance teams simplify their day-to-day work, by surfacing only what truly needs attention. When work orders and inspections go smoothly and as planned, field technicians can complete them without noting exceptions and the assignment flows through an automated process with minimal supervisor intervention. This allows maintenance supervisors to simply review and finalise the work order, and data automatically syncs back to your organisation’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform and your Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS).

What is Obzervr's exception management?

In heavy industry organisations that rely on critical assets, we know that things don’t always go to plan. Equipment breaks down, inspections are missed, or safety checks uncover unexpected defects. These unplanned events, or exceptions, are a normal part of field work. What makes the difference to these organisations and the reliability of equipment is how quickly and effectively frontline teams respond.

The exception management capability in Obzervr's Digital Work Management Solution enables frontline teams to capture, track, and resolve these issues efficiently and in real-time.

It enables field teams to identify and report issues directly from Obzervr's Capture Mobile App, with photos, videos, or notes and instantly escalate them to Supervisors, Planners, or Maintenance Managers through the Obzervr's Supervisor Portal.

This process provides a clear line of communication between the field and the office, ensuring every exception is visible, actionable, and traceable.

How exception management works

• Frontline maintenance teams can flag equipment or maintenance issues directly in Obzervr’s Capture Mobile App, adding photos, notes, and videos on the spot. This ensures nothing is missed and supervisors have full context when actioning issues.
• ‍Supervisors, Planners and Maintenance Managers review, update status, assign, add notes or comments and close exceptions all without switching tools or screens. All exceptions appear in a single, easy to action dashboard view within Obzervr's Supervisor Portal. No spreadsheets or multiple logins required. ‍The bulk update functionality allows faster resolution of common issues, helping supervisors and maintenance managers focus and take action on what is most critical.
• Daily exception summary emails keep everyone informed.
• Real-time notifications provide instant alerts.
• Dashboards and analytics provide insights into recurring issues, helping teams address root causes faster.

Why exception management matters

In mining and related heavy industries, the pace is fast, the stakes are high, and every unexpected event can impact production performance, safety, and asset reliability. Obzervr’s exception management capability helps maintenance teams prioritise assets at risk, maintain reliability, and improve uptime by focusing attention where it’s needed most.

Rather than sifting through paperwork, thousands of lines of data, or waiting for end-of-shift handovers, maintenance teams stay ahead of risk because issues are captured once in the field by technicians and immediately surfaced to the supervisors and maintenance managers who coordinate and schedule the necessary follow-up work.

• Supervisors gain instant clarity on what requires action.
• Planners stay aligned with what’s actually happening onsite.
• Managers get a live, accurate view of operational risk and emerging trends across the organisation.
• Technicians are more responsive and efficient in the field.

For mining operations running hundreds of assets across multiple sites, the clarity gained by managing by exception compounds into a measurable operational advantage:

• fewer maintenance delays
• faster, more confident decision-making
• more predictable equipment performance

Managing by exception isn’t just about improving workflows - it’s about creating a more responsive, more connected operation where decisions happen faster and critical problems are escalated and resolved.

Because in the field, uptime is everything - and the ability to manage by exception helps you protect it.

Closing the planning gap

Findings from the State of Asset Management WA Report 2026 highlight a consistent challenge across industrial sectors: the gap between planned work management processes and how they’re actually executed in the field.

Obzervr's exception management capability helps close this gap by giving organisations clear visibility into where and when exceptions occur, whether they stem from breakdowns, procedural lapses, technical issues, or resource constraints. It provides the insight needed to strengthen planning, improve process discipline, and prevent repeat issues. By closing the gap with streamlined processes and integrated solutions maintenance productivity is increased by up to 40%.

See issues. Take action. Drive efficiency.

With Obzervr’s exception management capability, heavy industry maintenance teams can capture issues as they happen, supervisors can act on them faster, and data can be used to improve uptime and drive asset efficiency.

👉 Want to see how Obzervr’s Digital Work Management Solution and managing by exception could work in your organisation? Book a 30-minute Demo and Discovery Session or contact our team.