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Automations FAQ

This article answers frequently asked questions about automations in the MaintainX application.

Why didn't my automation run at all?​​

If an automation didn’t run, it means that the conditions defined in the trigger were not met at the time of the event.

For example, if an automation is set to trigger when a meter reading is above 50, but a value of 40 is entered, the automation will not run. In these cases, no automation logs will be generated because the automation was never activated.

To learn more about how to set up an automation properly so it runs smoothly, see Create an Automation.

Why did my automation get skipped?​

Automations themselves no longer get "skipped" as a whole. Instead, when an automation is triggered, each individual action within it is evaluated independently and may be executed or skipped based on specific criteria. One reason an action may be skipped is due to its retrigger timeout. This prevents repeated triggering within a defined interval (by default, 5 minutes) to avoid redundant notifications or actions.

Another reason, specific to when you create a work order, is if the option Create only if previous Work Order generated from Automation is closed is checked in the work order. In this case, if the previously generated work order is still open, the action will be skipped to prevent duplicates.

To check if this is the reason, go to the automation’s Action History.

Hover over the Skipped tag to see the tooltip message for more details.

For more information, see Action History.

Why did my automation fail?​

An automation can fail when it’s assigned to a Requester user in a work order. Requester users can’t be assigned to work orders. The work order still gets created, but it isn't assigned to anyone, and the automation shows as Failed to run.

Make sure your automation is set up correctly and assigns work orders to the correct users when you create a work order.

For more information, see Create an Automation.

Why am I getting duplicate work orders and notifications from automations?​

Automations create new work orders every time their trigger conditions are met and the retrigger interval has passed (5 minutes by default). This means that if a triggering condition persists, such as a meter value staying above a threshold, you may receive multiple work orders or email notifications as frequently as every 5 minutes.

Unlike the work order trigger feature, which avoids creating a new work order if one already exists and isn’t marked as Done, the automations will continue to retrigger unless configured otherwise.

To help manage this, do the following:

  • Adjust the retrigger interval to reduce how frequently the automation can fire.
  • When you create a work order, select the checkbox Create only if the previous Work Order generated from Automation is closed. This ensures that a new work order is only created once the previous one is complete.

For details, see Create an Automation.

Can I export automations in bulk?​

At the moment, MaintainX doesn't allow bulk exports of automations.

Learn More​

To learn more about automations, see the following: