U-Solar Operations & Maintenance now @ 100 Sites| Case Study

U-Solar is one of the fastest-growing solar engineering and construction companies in India. In order to scale efficiently, U-Solar has started to digitize its operations with Grid. The Inventory, Operations, and Maintenance of thousands of solar energy units across 150+ sites are now run seamlessly on Grid.U-Solar has also sped up its billing cycle data management, with an automated Joint Meter Reading (JMR) reporting system.

U-Solar At A Glance

30 Users

150+ Sites

10,000+ Assets

8,600 Kwh+ Energy Generated

Timeline

How did Grid & Longford Exploration collaboration come about?

Grid & U-Solar first partnered in 2020, to:

1. Create a foolproof Operations & Maintenance Reporting System for proactive maintenance.

2.Set up an automated Materials and Inventory Management System.

3.Digitize billing channels with accurate data from a Joint Meter Reading system.

Snapshot

Who's using Grid @ Longford Exploration?

Before Grid

Longford Exploration Services used to rely on a number of independent software solutions that had to be patched together to achieve a somewhat workable solution. Grid combines and makes available all those separate functionalities in a single powerful and flexible tool:

MS Excel / Google Sheets

Usage: Used for a variety of data collection efforts, especially timesheets and the digitization of paper logs created during sampling exercises.
Issues: Version control is difficult (with multiple versions of a spreadsheet file available, determining a single source of truth is difficult), spreadsheets are time consuming to create and update, needs Internet to work (in the case of Google Sheets).

Since MS Excel is not a collaborative tool, version control and synchronization of data was also a concern.

WhatsApp

Usage: Longford Exploration Services used to conduct their Daily Progress Reports (DPRs) and Timesheet management using WhatsApp to receive individual employee reports which would then be collated by hand into spreadsheets.
Issues: WhatsApp chats need to be manually processed into a DPR format, are prone to errors, and don’t preserve a permanent record of all chats.

Using Grid’s companion mobile app, this process is now complete in a fraction of the time, and there’s no need for any manual collation!

Paper Logs

Usage: Longford Exploration Services used paper logs to record the results of their sampling surveys, prior to Grid.
Issues: Paper logs take time to digitize into spreadsheets, handwriting and other factors can cause further delays. Paper is an impermanent record and usually the original submitted sample report is not filed, which means there is the possibility of loss of data if it was improperly / incorrectly transcribed.

Grid’s mobile app and its linked worksheets do away with the need for any paper logging, allowing users to enter data directly into the database via Grid’s mobile app, which works even in areas with low / no internet access.

Operations @ Longford Exploration Services Powered By Grid

Daily Project Reports & Time Tracking

Managing timesheets and Daily Project Reports (DPRs) is a key need for Longford Exploration Services, since they provide turnkey services to their clients for everything from surveying to drilling and tenement + mine management. This is the initial use case upon which Longford and Grid started their partnership.

Key Benefits

Real time view into what areas and processes are occupying the most staff time, allowing process changes to be more efficient.

Building Geological Libraries

Technical Libraries based on various international standards are maintained and referenced from Grid for all programs. This ensures that any fields or values used are standard across the company, completely eliminating the need to sanitize the data that’s uploaded into the Grid application.

Key Benefits

The ability to create, upload and edit a master sheet of reference terms and terminology which can be imported into any end user application created for Longford Explorations, thus saving time and effort,

Surveying and Mapping

Geologists use the Grid mobile application to collect and manage data on rocks, vegetation, outcrops, archeology etc. as a part of field work.

Key Benefits

The Grid mobile application works completely offline, on any mobile device, enabling geologists to quickly add data en masse from the field, without expensive hardware, thus saving costs.

How Longford Exploration Services uses Grid

Operations and Maintenance Digitization

Standardized Operations and Maintenance workflow for Site Engineers• Completely personalized checklist creation for different types of assets• Visual verification mechanism to support on-site data collection• Offline mode for seamless inspections in sites with poor to no connectivity• Proactive maintenance of interconnected assets/modules

Step 011Grid allows specialized forms with image verification support for every type of asset/module in the network. This completely eliminates the room for pilfering or misreporting.Step 022With every bit of information instantly uploaded with visual proof, O&M admins and decision-makers gather accurate knowledge remotely. This aids in the best decision-making capabilities for scaling an organization and setting up efficient cost structures.

Joint Meter Readings

• Efficiency tracking and anomaly detection using customer consumption data.• Zero misreporting due to digitized JMRs with image support for verification.• Accelerated billing cycles and increased process transparency

tep 011Automated creation of digital JMR reports for more accurate and faster billing cycles.Step 022Customers also avail proof of energy consumption negating any room for conflict.

Procurement Management• Request of Materials reaised by Site Managers (BOM)• Purchase team Generates PO and share that with Vendor (PO)• GRN being done by the site engineers and Quality check (GRN)• Interwarehouse stock transfer

The Grid Effect

How has Grid changed work @ Longford Explorations?

Using Grid, U-Solar has achieved:

Digitization of all operations and management processes in <1 month• Automated and transparent billing process with visual proof to eliminate conflict• ~15% reduction in operational costs plus an increase in decision-making efficiency

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