This paper describes the fault management at a distribution system operator (DSO) including all steps, from detection to restoration. Differences in this work depending on equipment available are compared such as remote versus manual disconnectors. Often, in reliability models of power distribution, a restoration time is assumed; sometimes divided into parts such as an identification time and a repair/switching time. The approach is to describe the actual work by interviewing several people working at a DSO. Furthermore results from a former study at the same DSO are summarized to provide a complete picture of the asset management at a DSO.

The aim of this study is to provide a detailed description of actual work to use as reference when developing more comprehensive analysis methods. Another possible usage is to improve current asset management by e.g. identify potential improvements in working methods using existing equipments or to use as input to project planning. These kinds of studies decrease the gap between theoretical models and the reality of workers at DSOs, which probably is the most important contribution of this paper.