# Performance alert investigation records | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/workflow-performance-alert-investigations
Last updated: 2026-10-19

Before an asset operator handover, inventory each performance alert as a complete investigation: the telemetry window around the alert, the checks and actions taken, the work order if there was one, the confirmed cause and how the fix was verified. Note which system holds each record, how many sites and years it covers, who owns it under the operations agreement and when the outgoing operator loses access. Then introduce the executive who can authorize a data discussion; licensing depends on rights, qualification and the proposed use.

A performance alert is the monitoring system saying a turbine or inverter is producing less than it should. The alert itself is cheap. The investigation that follows, ruling out weather, finding the failed component and proving the fix, is the expensive part, and it is the part an operator handover is most likely to leave on the wrong side of the transfer.

## What should be inventoried before an asset operator handover affects performance alert investigations history?

Record classes, time coverage, system owners and the real access deadline. An operator handover is a hard deadline because the outgoing operator can lose platform access on the transfer date.

Ask the asset operations director, and write down only the answers:

1. Which record classes exist: alerts, telemetry windows, analyst notes, work orders, cause codes, verification checks?
2. How many sites and years do closed investigations cover, and where are the gaps?
3. Does the monitoring platform belong to the operator or to the asset owner, and who administers it?
4. Which records does the operations agreement require the operator to hand over, and which may it keep?
5. Are weather-only cases recorded anywhere outside the monitoring platform?
6. On what date does the outgoing operator lose access?

Do not take exports, screenshots or logins, and do not advise anyone to retain data beyond the company's policy, its contracts or its authority.

## Why investigation history splits at a handover

Because the records that make up one investigation usually have two owners. The telemetry and the monitoring platform commonly belong to the asset owner. The reasoning, meaning the analyst's notes, the procedure followed and the root-cause write-up, is often the operator's own work product. A handover agreement lists what moves to the incoming operator, and anything it does not list stays with a company that is about to lose the login.

Standards explain why both halves matter. NERC's GADS wind reporting instructions use cause codes to identify the equipment that caused an outage. If a plant stops for extreme weather with no failed equipment, a weather code can be used; if equipment fails during the weather event, the failed equipment is the cause and the weather is recorded as the Contributing Operating Condition, a required field. A reported code says which way the case was decided. Only the investigation record shows how. Expected output itself rests on measurement standards: IEC 61400-12-1 sets the procedure for measuring a single wind turbine's power performance, and IEC 61724-1 defines classes of photovoltaic monitoring systems. Ask which basis the alerts were raised against, because it changes how the history reads.

## The handover sequence, and where records get stranded

Four moments decide whether an operator's investigation history stays readable. The graphic for this page follows the same order.

| Moment | What happens | Question for the inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Handover notice | Owner and operator agree a transfer is coming | Which record classes exist, across how many sites and years? |
| Agreement checked | The O&M agreement allocates records | Which go to the owner, such as telemetry, and which stay with the operator, such as notes? |
| Transfer date | Platform access moves to the incoming operator | Are the operator's notes held in a system it controls? |
| Operator access ends | The outgoing operator's logins are closed | Anything not listed or copied before this date is stranded |

## An illustrative inventory sheet

Illustrative only; the company and figures are fictional. A 230-person renewable operations and maintenance company is handing six wind sites back to their owner. Its asset operations director fills in the sheet from the agreement and the transition plan.

| Record class | System | Years held | Owner under agreement | Handed over? | Readable until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telemetry and alerts | Owner's monitoring platform | 2017 to now | Asset owner | Stays with the platform | Not affected |
| Cause codes | Monitoring platform, GADS reporting | 2018 to now | Asset owner | Yes | Not affected |
| Analyst investigation notes | Operator's case log | 2017 to now | Operator | No | Operator's own retention |
| Work orders and parts | Operator's maintenance system | 2016 to now | Operator | Open orders only | Operator's own retention |
| Weather-only cases | Shared spreadsheets | 2019 to now | Operator | No | Operator access to shared drive |

Reading the sheet: the owner keeps the signal, while the operator keeps the explanation. Notes held inside the owner's platform, rather than the operator's case log, would be stranded on the day access ends, which is why the question about where notes are written matters most.

## Who decides, and does the company qualify?

The asset operations director knows the records. The CEO or COO of the operator decides whether a licensing discussion fits, and counsel reads the O&M agreement to confirm what the operator may license at all. The asset owner's consent may be needed for anything derived from its telemetry.

The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.

What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: dataset demand, the rights review result, what must be removed and whether any offer follows. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. If the handover is part of a sale of the operating company, the [IT handover checklist](/resources/it-handover-checklist-sale-of-business) lists systems that tend to be switched off. Energy sector candidates are grouped under [energy and utilities](/industries/energy-and-utilities), and all sectors under [industries](/industries).

## Go deeper on performance alert investigations

- [Performance alert investigations exception examples](/guides/performance-alert-investigations-exception-examples): one alert with two possible causes, worked through step by step.
- [Performance alert investigations records across systems](/guides/performance-alert-investigations-records-across-systems): a system map of the identifiers that join telemetry, notes and work orders.
- [Who can license performance alert investigations records](/questions/who-can-license-performance-alert-investigations-records): a decision tree for operator, owner and counsel sign-off.
- [Performance alert investigations referral brief template](/resources/performance-alert-investigations-referral-brief-template): a fill-in, metadata-only brief for the introduction.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If an operator client is handing over sites and its investigation notes may stay behind on a platform it is about to lose, [register as a partner](/register), check the company against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and read the [program terms](/terms) before you make the introduction.

## Sources

- https://www.nerc.com/globalassets/programs/rapa/gads/wind/2026-gads-wind-data-reporting-instructions.pdf
- https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/68499
- https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/65561
- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms