From Chaos to Control: How WFM Systems Overcome Utility Workforce Challenges

In the utility sector today, the demand for reliable, sustainable practices along with the need for continued operational efficiency are ever increasing. Adding fire to that fuel are regulatory frameworks, which require meticulous data accuracy and compliance. And let’s not forget the complexity utilities face in managing a diverse workforce, involving numerous contractors, managers and field operators, each with their own systems and procedures. A lack of cohesion among these stakeholders not only impacts efficiency but also pose significant risks in terms of service quality. Therefore, it becomes all the more crucial that utilities invest in WFM (workforce management) solutions that help them navigate through these hurdles with greater precision.  

Workforce Management Challenges for Utilities and How WFM Solutions Help Overcome Them

In this section, we will provide a detailed outlook into multiple workforce management challenges and offer effective solutions. 

Job allocation to multiple contractors 

During large scale projects, it can be difficult to manage the long list of contractors and field team operators. Since each contractor and operator is responsible for specific areas, it can introduce logistical complexities and delay in delivery. One of the core challenges is that manually coordinating tasks across multiple teams calls for significant administrative overhead. In the absence of a centralized portal for communication, this opens up possibilities for miscommunication and errors. Moreover, different stakeholders such as contractors may adhere to varying standards and procedures, which further leads to inconsistent outcomes. 

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In this context, an ideal WFM solution should facilitate seamless work management and scheduling. The system should have a feature that helps assign and manage jobs for field teams in conducting surveys, meter installation and O&M activities, and description of the issue. Administrators should also be able to define custom job types, and associated workflows. For instance, using our WFM solution Grid Ops, administrators can create custom forms for ‘meter installation’ job type including steps such as pre-installation, physical installation and post-installation testing. Our solution also comes with a mobile interface that supports drag-and-drop scheduling, allowing dispatchers to assign jobs to available field teams based on their availability, location and skillset. By ensuring efficient allocation of resources and providing field teams with necessary information and tools via a mobile app, field operators are able to complete the jobs quickly and accurately. 

Data silos

Large enterprises have disparate systems and manual data entry processes, which often result in data silos. These silos could potentially hinder real-time visibility into project progress, inventory tracking and possible roadblocks. The lack or absence of a unified data source could lead to errors and inconsistencies in decision making. Moreover, data silos prevent utilities from attaining a unified view of operations, which further makes it challenging to figure out future bottlenecks and inefficiencies. 

For organizations to overcome the above hurdles and streamline collaboration among multiple stakeholders, an ideal WFM solution must act as a centralized communication platform. This means enabling every stakeholder with a medium to communicate and share information in real-time. The system should support integration with a wide range of utility systems, such as our solution Grid. Our WFM system facilitates integration with various utility systems via APIs, webhooks, database connections, SharePoint, SFTP, and data streaming platforms like Kafka or MQTT. At the same time, the WFM system also needs to provide a unified dashboard with real-time data visualizations, which allows stakeholders involved to track project progress, identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions. 

Inventory management

In large scale projects, enterprises can often find it challenging to ensure that the right devices and equipment are available to field users whenever required. Instances of misallocation or theft could potentially stall project progress and lead to increase in hidden costs. A technical impact of such incidents would be utilities running out of necessary equipment as a result of stockout, resulting in costly delays. On the other hand, having an excess inventory could also tie up capital and increase the risk of obsolescence. From a larger business perspective, inventory shortages often delay project completion, lead to higher storage costs and also result in waste & theft. 

A modern WFM solution should facilitate efficient management of inventory such as smart meters, SIM cards, NIC cards, cables, etc, to minimize delays and misallocation. The system needs to provide real-time inventory visibility to stakeholders across multiple locations (warehouse, field teams, trucks). For instance, our WFM solution GridOps facilitates real-time inventory tracking via barcode scanning, RFID tags and GPS tracking. The system also auto-triggers alerts whenever inventory levels fall below predefined thresholds, prompting the creation of replenishment orders. Additionally, physical inventory count is also reconciled with system records, allowing for easy identification of discrepancies and prevention of errors. 

Lengthy validation and approval process

Validation procedures during projects such as smart meter upgradation often include numerous stakeholders- back office teams, field managers, contractors and sometimes, even the utility itself. Lengthy approval processes can also create bottlenecks, delaying project completion. Additionally, manual data validation often lacks a clear audit trail, which in turn makes it difficult to track changes and identify accountability. The organizational impact of such delays in data validation and approval are extended project timelines and compliance issues. 

When selecting a WFM solution, utilities must ensure that it facilitates automated data validation and mutli-level QA/QC (quality assurance/ quality control) procedures. A modern WFM system enables the auto-validation of captured data, along with flagging of discrepancies or mismatches in real-time. Like our solution Grid, where field teams capture data using the mobile app, and the data is validated against predefined rules and thresholds. Additionally, our system can also be configured to ensure that the data goes through a multi-level approval workflow, with each installation undergoing multiple levels of review before being finalized. Grid also helps utilities maintain a complete audit trail of all data updates and approvals, enabling utilities maintain greater transparency and accountability throughout. 

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Before We Wrap Up…

Over the last few years, the utility sector has witnessed many large scale projects being bogged down by archaic workforce management practices. Frankly, the industry is littered with ‘digital transformation’ initiatives where slapping a fancy IoT label on old processes simply doesn’t cut it anymore. To bring real change, industry leaders need to fundamentally rethink how their workforce operates. And this isn’t just about automating a few tasks, but building an agile, data-driven workforce that can adapt to evolving demands of the modern grid infrastructure. 

It is time to move beyond curiosity and realize the tangible results that Grid can deliver to your organization. Reach out to our team today and explore how Grid enables the transformation of your utility projects from complex undertaking to streamlined, data-empowered business processes. 

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