Tasha Mayes gave a terrific webinar for IBO members during August.  Here’s a summary of the best practices she covered during the webinar.

Outdoorlink’s Director of Sales, Tasha Mayes, gives some best practices for using Outdoorlink:

• New Portal, Same Feel –  Outdoorlink’s upcoming portal refresh is intended to make day-to-day system management more customizable without forcing users to relearn the platform. At launch, users can switch between the new and previous interfaces, while configuring saved views around the information most relevant to them—such as active alarms, maintenance notes, plant status, and digital versus static inventory.
• Power readings should guide maintenance decisions – A major operational theme was using **power readings before dispatching field crews**. Rather than treating every bulb-fault alert as a simple fixture replacement, teams should review the power pattern first. A smooth, stable reduction may point to a genuine bulb outage, while an erratic pattern can signal a larger electrical issue. This helps send the right person, equipment, and materials on the first trip.
• Offline” doesn’t necessarily mean dark. The session also clarified that an **offline alert is not the same as a system failure**. If connectivity is interrupted but power remains available, the controller continues operating on its last saved illumination schedule. Teams should still resolve the connectivity issue, since the schedule will not automatically adapt to daylight savings time or seasonal changes in sunrise and sunset while offline.
• Split faces for better control and diagnosis – For installations, the recommended practice is to **split faces** so each face can be controlled and monitored independently. That flexibility supports different illumination needs across a structure—for example, changing one face’s schedule for a particular advertiser—while also improving diagnostics by showing exactly which face has an issue.
• Give field teams role-based access – User access was positioned as another practical tool for improving reliability. Installers can be given limited access to turn relays on for testing and upload photos, without receiving administrative permissions. This encourages them to confirm lights are functioning after work is complete, and the command log records activity by user.
• Close the boxes! – Don’t just ignore your “tamper” alert, make sure the boxes are actually closed at the site! An open box allows water, dust, and any number of insects and animals into your box. The boxes are rated for the outdoors, but the inside is essentially a computer. If you wouldn’t leave your computer exposed to the eliments, don’t leave the inside of your box exposed either!
• Build a repeatable operating rhythm – Operators were encouraged to establish a regular review cadence: check unresolved alarms daily, run alarm and maintenance reports weekly, and complete a broader inventory audit monthly or quarterly.
• Use integrations and support to reduce manual work – Integrations with charting systems can further reduce manual work by adjusting illumination for unsold inventory, while Outdoorlink support and field crews are available for diagnostics, system updates, installations, rewires, fixture work, and related projects. Make big projects turn-key with a team that knows billboards and is equipped to handle them.