Survey & permits
Site survey and excavation permits, tied to every work order
ELX is site survey and excavation permit software for electrical contractors that keeps the inspection and the permit on the work order itself. Your team records the Kashfia survey, the excavation permit and power disconnection, while ELX fills letters and matching forms from editable templates and emails them.
What does the ELX site survey and excavation permit module cover?
The stages before execution and what goes with them: site inspection, match checks, the excavation permit, power disconnection and formal letters.
Survey records with coordinates
Survey and approval dates, work details, and customer and source coordinates on a map; the customer location is saved to the work order.
Drill types and lengths
Add drill (excavation) types with their path lengths and upload survey files with reference names; types and lengths appear in the full work order report.
Match and permit decisions
Mark whether the survey and materials match and whether a permit is needed; the answers set the next route.
Matching forms by email
On a mismatch, ELX fills the matching form with order data, emails it to several recipients with attachments and returns the order to the work order team.
Excavation permit tracking
Request number and date, license number, start, duration, expiry and municipality, all required before the order moves to execution.
Permit application letter
Generate the letter from a template, edit it in a rich-text editor and email it to several addresses, with survey and work order files on the same screen.
Power disconnection request
Raised from the project screen with a date and attachments and emailed as a form; the order returns to the work order team until proof is uploaded and confirmed.
Four correspondence templates
Permit application, material matching, survey material matching and disconnection request, each with order placeholders and default recipients.
Survey and permit queues
Assign surveys and permits to users in the order’s district, and filter the survey queue by status: new, returned from permits, returned from disconnection or overdue.
How do the survey and permit stages run for each order?
The default path an order takes after registration and before it reaches the execution teams; Matrix can tailor its screens and stages to the way your company works.
- 1
Receive the survey
The order arrives from the work order stage, and a user claims it or a dispatcher assigns it.
- 2
Inspect and record
The survey team records the date, work details, coordinates, drill types and lengths, and uploads the files.
- 3
Decide on the match
On a mismatch, the form is emailed and the order returns to the work order team until material matching is confirmed.
- 4
Handle the permit
If a permit is needed, the permits team emails the application from the template and records the request number and date, then the license number, start, duration, expiry and municipality once issued.
- 5
Relay to execution
The order goes to Projects or Connections and the license is marked closed; orders needing no permit go straight from the survey.
Why do orders stall between survey and permit?
Survey photos sit on phones, permit dates in a separate spreadsheet, and letters are rewritten each time, so nobody knows which orders are ready.
ELX keeps the survey, the permit and the correspondence on the work order itself, so your team sees what each order is missing.
- The “needs permit” answer routes the order to permits or straight to execution.
- No order leaves the permits stage without its request number, license number, dates and municipality.
- Letters are filled from the order’s data, so there is no need to retype the contract number, district or address.
- Overdue surveys have their own filter in the survey queue.
What does ELX record at the survey and permit stages?
The fields documented at each step, and why your team needs them.
| Field | Stage | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Survey and approval dates | Site survey | When the inspection happened and was approved; the survey date filters the list. |
| Customer and source coordinates | Site survey | Both points on the map; the customer location is saved to the work order. |
| Drill types and path lengths | Site survey | Describe the field work and appear in the full work order report. |
| Survey and material match | Site survey | A mismatch emails the form and returns the order to the work order team. |
| Needs permit (yes / no) | Site survey | Routes the order through permits or straight to execution. |
| No-objection number | Work order | Entered once and displayed on the permit screen. |
| Request number and date | Permits | Link the order to its permit application from the day it is filed. |
| License number, start, duration, expiry, municipality | Permits | Required before relay and shown in the permit section of the full report. |
| License status (open / closed) | Permits | The license is marked closed when the order is relayed to execution. |
| Disconnection request: date and attachments | Projects | The request form is emailed and the order returns to the work order team, flagged “returned from disconnection”. |
| Disconnection proof and confirmation | Work order | Once confirmed, the order goes back to Projects or Connections. |
Site survey and excavation permit FAQ
What is the site survey (Kashfia) in ELX?
The site survey in ELX, known locally as Kashfia, is the field inspection stage that follows work order registration. The team records the date, work details, customer and source coordinates, drill types with lengths and attachments, then marks whether the survey and materials match and whether a permit is needed. See our Kashfia site survey guide.
Does ELX connect to Balady to issue excavation permits?
No. According to the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, a new excavation permit is requested only electronically through Balady, by utility entities’ representatives in infrastructure project coordination offices. ELX does not submit, issue or sync permits. It tracks each permit on the work order: request number and date, then license number, start, duration, expiry and municipality once issued. See our Balady excavation permit guide.
How can I track excavation permits across all my work orders?
In ELX, each order that needs a permit has a record on the permits screen with its request, license number, start, duration, expiry, municipality, status and no-objection number. The list filters by accreditation date, order, type and district, the dashboard shows permit-stage orders past their time limit, and the permit appears in the full work order report. See our permit tracking guide.
Can the permit application be filled and sent from work order data?
Yes. In ELX the permit application template is managed in a rich-text editor with placeholders such as order number and name, contract number, branch, district, address and work description. On the permit screen ELX fills the letter automatically; the user reviews it, edits it if needed and emails it to several addresses through the mail server configured in settings.
How is a power disconnection request handled?
In ELX the request is raised from the project screen with a date and attachments, and a template-based form is emailed to the relevant parties. The project status changes to “disconnection” and the order returns to the work order team, flagged “returned from disconnection”; once proof is uploaded and confirmed, it goes back to Projects or Connections.
Sources & references
- Ministry of Municipalities and Housing (MOMAH) – Request for Issuance of a New Excavation Permit — Regulatory context: excavation permits are requested through Balady; ELX tracks them on the work order with no Balady connection
Articles about Site survey & excavation permits
Kashfia Site Survey: What It Is and How to Run It Well
What a Kashfia site survey is, what the field team records, when a mismatch is raised and when a permit is needed, so every work order starts on solid data.
Read articleBalady Excavation Permit: Requirements and Timelines
Balady excavation permit guide for electricity contractors: who applies, requirements, processing times, permit types and license periods, to plan work ahead.
Read articleExcavation Safety Requirements in KSA: A Checklist
Excavation safety requirements for Saudi electricity contractors: site safety plan, traffic plan, route Shape Files, asset checks and a per-stage checklist.
Read articleExcavation Permit Tracking per Work Order: A Guide
Excavation permit tracking per work order: request and license numbers, dates, municipality, expiry, the permit letter and on-time handover to execution.
Read articleUtility Work Order Stages: From Receipt to Archive
A clear guide to utility work order stages: site survey, excavation permit, execution, quality, certificate, drawing and extract, plus the return paths.
Read articleHow to Choose Electrical Contractor Software in KSA
How to choose electrical contractor software in Saudi Arabia: the modules you need from work order to extract, and the questions to ask vendors first.
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