Utilities are making heavy investments in workforce management (WFM), to optimize resource utilization, improve field technicians’ efficiency, and to monitor project progress.
The convergence of WFM and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) becomes a powerful tool for utilities in achieving these goals. For utility companies, GIS provides an additional layer of spatial intelligence to their WFM solutions, allowing them to not only track where their people, assets and tasks are, but also how to optimize them. The collaboration is not just a technological or software upgrade, but a tactical shift for utilities in planning, monitoring and executing field operations.
What is GIS?
GIS or Geographic Information System is a system or an application that is designed to analyze and display geographically related data. Before integrating GIS into their network, utilities need to understand its various capabilities and advantages, so as to gain maximum returns from their investment. For utilities, specifically in smart metering and energy projects, GIS applications become essential to conduct surveys, manage their resources and develop project development strategies.
With the ability to store, analyze and present geospatial data in a visual format, GIS technology provides a foundational base to attain a deep understanding of the ‘where’ of utility operations. Now, when GIS is integrated with WFM solutions, which is concerned with managing the ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘when’ of field operations, utility companies can improve their situational awareness and make data-backed decisions.
In the next section, we explore how utility organizations can transform their field operations, by combining the capabilities of GIS and WFM technology and drive significant improvements across their infrastructure.
Smarter Utility Operations With GIS-Enabled WFM
Location-based task allocation: Optimizing productivity in real-time
With GIS-WFM integration, organizations can unlock the ability to optimize task allocation based on real-time location intelligence. Not so long ago, workers had to rely on static schedules along with limited visibility into field operations, leading to inefficiencies and delays. With tools like Grid that combine the best features of GIS and WFM, technicians can be allocated tasks based on their expertise, real-time conditions and location proximity.
How it works?
Field teams are provided with GPS-enabled mobile devices that continuously share their location with the central system. Every incoming task will be allocated based on the urgency, proximity to available workers and keeping in line with SLA requirements. Platforms like Grid leverages intelligent algorithms to identify the most suitable technician for the task based on their workload, traffic conditions and skills set. The task is then automatically dispatched to the assigned member’s mobile device, along with every relevant detail like consumer details, guidelines and asset history. Moreover, as situations change, for instance, a sudden traffic congestion, the tool re-routes field teams instantaneously, optimizing travel duration and ensuring timely delivery.
Greater situational awareness:Tracking field activities in real-time
Knowing where your field teams are and what they are doing is a critical feature for utility companies. GIS-integrated WFM tools like Grid allows users to gain an end-to-end view of the entire field operations remotely. This includes monitoring task progress, field team location tracking, and identifying potential mishaps as soon as possible. The above capabilities enables organizations to enhance their situational awareness, helping them maintain operational efficiency, and adherence to safety and compliance.
How it works?
Non-field users will be able to access the location of all field teams, track the status of every ongoing task, along with relevant geospatial details such as weather conditions, traffic patterns and asset locations. This becomes crucial whenever a damage to the utility infrastructure occurs, and they need to prioritize repairs to ensure quick restoration of services. With WFM mobile tools such as Grid, field users can upload photos of damaged assets and provide detailed updates on their condition. This high-level transparency into severity of damage, along with data such as the number of consumers affected help prioritize repairs.
Parallely, supervisors or managers are able to monitor task progress in real-time, track milestones and completion rates, and get updated on any issue faced by field technicians. The utility can also provide updates to their consumers via notifications, with insights like real-time data on repair progress and estimated duration for service restoration.
Optimized inventory management: Streamlining asset flow
An efficient approach to inventory management means that every field team member possesses the right tools or materials at their disposal whenever required. WFM tools with GIS capabilities streamlines this process by linking inventory data with geospatial details, ensuring real-time view into asset location, stock levels and usage patterns.
How it works?
Every item in inventory- from smart meters to cables, are tagged with location data to ensure easy tracking. Utilities are able to track their movement throughout the supply chain, from warehouses to field vehicles.
WFM solutions such as Grid continuously monitors stock levels at multiple locations, and auto-generating alerts whenever the stock falls below set thresholds. Here, GIS capabilities become critical in optimizing delivery routes for inventory replenishment, reducing travel time and minimizing fuel costs. This helps utilities optimize the delivery of assets to field teams, ensuring they have the required equipment, be it during project completion or service disruptions. Additionally, location tagging assets also help minimize the risk of theft, with the WFM tool generating alerts if any asset is being moved without authorization.
Data validation and approvals: Ensuring accuracy and compliance
One of the most crucial tasks for any utility is to ensure data accuracy and compliance at all times. This is to reduce the risk of penalties, as well as improve data integrity during decision making. Tools like Grid enhances this process by validating captured data against set geospatial parameters, maintaining field operations adherence to regulatory frameworks.
How it works?
Suppose field workers are using WFM tools like Grid to capture meter details during an ongoing operations & maintenance process. Here, the system auto-validates the data captured using the mobile app to flag possible instances of discrepancies or mismatches in real-time. For example, field data such as meter readings are cross referenced with set geospatial parameters to ensure information accuracy. Any deviation from regulatory standards during task execution is automatically flagged by the system. In this way, utilities are able to maintain a thorough record of all incidents, maintain a comprehensive audit trail and reduce risk of penalties.
As we have seen above, GIS-enabled WFM solutions offer a clear path for enhanced asset monitoring, maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements, streamlining task allocation and more. The question is no longer if utilities need to adopt this approach, but rather how quickly they can so as to stay competitive and relevant. Grid's WFM tool comes with pre-built templates, which can be customized as per your operational needs. This significantly brings down the setup time for any large utility with numerous systems, helping accelerate project initiation.
Are you curious to know more about how our WFM tool paves the way for a smarter, faster and more efficient approach to workforce management? Connect with our experts today or schedule a demo to know more.
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