The empowered field force - Leveraging new technologies in support of field operations
Brian Jackson
TXU Electric and Gas
1601 Bryan Street
Dallas, TX 75201 USA
Jason Linley
Tadpole Cartesia Inc.
2300 Faraday Avenue
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Abstract
This presentation details TXU’s successful field deployment of a work management and
mapping system designed to support the compliance management aspects of gas
operations. The focus of the presentation highlights the substantial operational gains
realized when essential data is placed in the hands of the field workforce. Areas covered
will include systems architecture and functionality, hardware, increased data integrity and
accuracy, increased operational efficiencies, planned wireless upgrades, and payback
periods.
Overview
The enterprise-wide adoption of new working practices and information technology in
the utilities and telecommunications industries are issues that top on agendas as the
industry looks to maximize returns on assets and realize efficiencies where it counts most
- in the field.
Historically, investments in tools to enhance field worker productivity have taken second
place to network assets and key central systems for improving information on customers.
The costs of appropriate field hardware, together with the technical challenges of
providing both the operational job-related information and the map data that is so often
needed, have also meant that field systems rarely made it to the top of the investment list.
But that has changed. Deregulation forces the utilities to become competitive, customer-centric,
and to come to grips with a new business model of declining revenues 'per
customer unit' from the supply of gas, water and electricity. It also forces utilities to look
at how best to lower the cost of their operations whilst maintaining safety standards, and
to maintain current levels of profits needed to pay for the investments required to develop
their networks and cope with the estimated increases in demand for services by 2020.
There are two constants in any utility's business model. One hundred percent of its assets
delivering service to industry and the consumer are in the field. And sixty to seventy
percent of its extended workforce will be called upon at some time to repair, maintain,
upgrade and inspect those assets.
And there is the problem. Be it surveyors, field inspectors, work gangs, maintenance, or
emergency repair teams, the information used by the vast majority to get the job done is
probably old data and certainly ill-suited to productive and efficient field working,
particularly in arduous conditions.
A typical utility will make countless changes and updates to its network every day and
that data is depicted on maps - hundreds of them - and stored on paper - reams of it.
There are just too many maps and too much paper being used in the field for efficient
management of field tasks, or to bring about a heterogeneous, distributed corporate
network with all working off the same score sheet.
Today’s new systems reduce payback times dramatically, and the traditional paper-intensive
fieldwork is beginning to adopt technology. Some utilities have already
provided field workers with access to job or geographic information systems (GIS) - the
key to their vast networks and service reliability - and are beginning to enjoy the results
in terms of productivity gains and more efficient work practices. Up to sevenfold
productivity gains have been reported, compared with previous paper-based working
practices, with quantifiable payback periods ranging between twelve and twenty months.
The opportunities are now clear. By enabling up-to-date work management and GIS data
on assets held at a utility's corporate headquarters to be provided to mobile workforces on
field computers, they'll be able to repair outages more quickly, reduce customer lost
minutes, and improve scheduled maintenance productivity. By allowing engineers to
inspect and record asset data in the field, utilities can eliminate paper-based reporting,
and improve overall efficiency.
By the enterprise-wide, use of appropriate technology in the field, utilities can strengthen
relationships with their customers, improve customer interaction efficiency, and provide
superior customer service levels at reasonable cost.
TXU Electric & Gas is no different from the rest of the industry. Constantly looking for
more productive methods of working in the field, the Gas Distribution Division has
created technology that automates key work processes. Aimed at supporting the
company's pledge to deliver value and customer support, a compliance management
system (CM+) was developed to track and assign all work to a technician in the field;
plus, provide up to date GIS information
