Automating Field Service Paperwork for Energy & Utilities

Transcription

1 Automating Field Service Paperwork for Energy & Utilities Field service teams in the energy sector are facing increasing pressure to maintain uptime, respond quickly to issues, and document work for customers and stakeholders while also seeking higher efficiency in their work forces and processes. Whether teams are servicing their own infrastructure or that of a customer, there is a strong focus on improving operational visibility to identify and address issues before they become service, safety, or compliance concerns. Many energy firms are also following best practices to leverage this improved operational visibility and implement preventive maintenance programs. Energy firms need to keep uptime high to get the most out of their investments. Energy service firms need to be responsive to customers, to keep their levels of quality service high while also documenting work in an accurate and timely manner so they can invoice and get paid faster. In many cases field service teams still document inspections, service requests, work orders, and time sheets by hand on printed forms and even maps and structural designs. These range from field service in oil and gas fields to pipelines and transmission firms close to markets. Many of these workflows have resisted data collection with laptops and PDAs, due to the highly mobile nature of the work, and challenge of complex equipment, training, and support. At a Glance... Field service teams in the energy and utilities sectors are using software solutions for digital pens to get immediate visibility to issues, while reducing the cost of data collection and data entry, and reducing risks from missing documents. New software for digital pens is enabling energy firms and energy services firms to get immediate visibility to issues, while reducing cost of data collection and data entry, and reducing risks from missing documentation. Firms ranging from large equipment and service providers in the Oil Sands to downstream power utilities such as American Transmission and Burbank Water and Power are using or evaluating software solutions for digital pens to automate data collection for inspections and servicing of energy field equipment, transmission infrastructure, and more. The Imperative: Efficiently Managing Field Data to Streamline Operations Energy Service in the Oil Sands - Energy firms and their service providers in the Oil Sands region of Western Canada face a great deal of pressure to streamline operations

2 while also meeting strict compliance requirements. The energy boom, combined with remote locations and harsh working conditions, has resulted in worker shortages. As a result, teams need to be as productive as possible. Many teams also outsource a range of services in order to better manage cash flow. The field service needs are around inspecting and servicing heavy equipment such as earth movers and power plants. In the case of service firms, quickly identifying issues, completing service, and documenting labor and materials are critical to both keeping customers happy and getting paid. In many cases, documentation happens on paper and signatures are collected as key authorization steps. Invoices can t be sent until service work has been approved. Many smaller firms will sell receivables to factors to improve cash flow, but factors can t release money until they see signatures approving invoices. Pipelines, Transmission, and Power Utilities - Operators of pipelines, transmission, and power utilities commonly have standing patrol, inspection, and field service teams to monitor key distributed assets and facilities including pipelines, transmission lines, and substations. Most substations, for example, undergo frequent and regular inspections to identify issues, maintenance needs, and ensure smooth operations. Many teams start with coordinated surveys, involving key stake holders to inspect facilities, document, and report issues. Teams need to efficiently manage field data to streamline operations, cut cost, improve operational visibility, and meet strict compliance requirements. TVA reported that timely preventive maintenance can save millions of dollars in repairs and replacement. As a result, in just 6 months they had $4.3 million in savings. Industry leaders report potential savings of millions of dollars in repairs and replacement based on timely preventive maintenance. TVA, for example, calculated savings of $4.3 million by performing preventive maintenance in a sample of 106 substations over a single 6-month time period. 1 APS in Arizona estimated avoiding potential repair costs of more than $7 million over a nine year period of predictive and preventive maintenance. 2 TVA summed up the success factors for preventive maintenance well -- after assembling the right team for field equipment inspections and surveys, thorough documentation is the next key ingredient. Field teams with pipeline operators and transmission networks also perform a range of surveys to inspect and service pipelines, lines, and facilities. Pipeline service teams work on the pipelines themselves as well as pigging facilities, meter stations, and compressor stations. In the case of electric power, timely inspections of substations and preventive maintenance for poles and circuits can help utilities avoid millions in repairs pg. 2

3 Among the more important inspection task for lines and poles is identifying and remediating vegetation hazards. Hazard trees near lines, vines encroaching on poles pose great risks including personal injuries, property damage and liabilities, and power outages. Vegetation abatement can be complicated, involving regulatory requirements, environmental impact, legal constraints, property owner and land manager concerns. In addition to avoiding operational issues, proper vegetation management can also help utilities meet FERC and NERC standards. The methods of patrolling and inspecting facilities vary based on the scope of the facilities and the environment. In many cases, field teams walk or drive the lines to inspect and document conditions. In other cases, teams use aircraft, such as helicopters, to cover facilities of vast areas of land or inaccessible terrain. In all cases, energy pipeline and transmission field crews need convenient,reliable, and timely ways to document their inspections and new service issues. The faster teams report on conditions and identify issues, the sooner and more efficiently those issues can be addressed. Reliable documentation is also important in many cases for policy and regulatory compliance and dispute management. Paper data collection survives, as data can be collected in any environment, is convenient for large format, and doesn t require special training. However, getting data off paper is not easy. Field teams are taken away from core tasks to spend hours processing paper, leaving room for error. The administrative burden slows down information sharing and situational visibility, allowing for project risk, rework, and inefficiencies. The Challenge: Getting Data Off Paper for Faster Servicing, Reporting, and Billing While these highly mobile field service teams may be dispatched using PCs or mobile phones, they often end up tracking equipment inspections and maintenance on paper forms and checklists. New service requests and authorizations for work and ordering parts, for example, often start with paper, require a signature, and languish in the field until the paper is returned to the office for processing. Time sheets whether purely for internal tracking or for association with billable events are often recorded on paper. Delayed access can create accounting issues for both payroll and billing. For substations and pipelines, inspection and service data can be collected directly on paper building and facilities plans. In other cases, data about pipelines and mobile field assets can be collected on maps. Pen and paper survives for a variety of familiar reasons: There is no training required anyone can fill out forms or markup plans and maps. Paper can be used in any environment outdoors, indoors, rain, or direct sunlight. Large format paper maps and CAD prints enable a wide field of view important for understanding and marking up extensive maps or complex plans. pg. 3

4 Writing notes on paper is easy, of course. The challenge is getting data off paper in a timely way, so that important information can be quickly tracked and shared. Data collected on paper often creates an administrative burden. Completed forms and marked-up maps and CAD designs usually need to be scanned or sent back to central operations. Depending on the workflow, there is often a manual data entry task back in the central office, where the data is entered back into the central IT systems for analysis and sharing. In the case of inspections, service forms, and time sheets, data is often tracked in custom systems or even simply Microsoft Office. In the case of maps, data on pipelines and power lines is often stored in GIS systems such as ArcGIS from ESRI. In the case of substations, marked-up data often needs to be entered in AutoCAD systems as the central master record of facilities and their as-built conditions. With software for digital pens, teams can collect data as they always had with pen and paper, but now they are getting an instant digital copy as they write. Field teams can print maps, CAD drawings, and forms, and use the digital pens to automatically integrate the data directly into Office, ArcGIS, and PDF files from CAD systems. The pen scans and stores all the data which can then be sent immediately through a cell phone connection or physically, when the pen is returned to the office. The data entry task occasionally falls on administrative staff, but it often falls on the shoulders of the highly trained engineers or service crews. In these cases, rather than doing service work (whether improving internal operations or generating billable hours), the professionals are taken away from their core tasks to spend hours doing paperwork. Paperwork has both real costs and opportunity costs for the field service teams. The paper management and data-entry delays also slow operations, as internally managed operations, poor visibility, and unrecognized issues lead to inefficient maintenance and servicing. For contracted service and maintenance teams, delayed paperwork leads to delays in follow-up service scheduling, parts ordering, service completion, and invoicing. Data collection on paper also involves risk from lost or misplaced documents. In addition to operational visibility issues described above, missing documents can also create payment and compliance risk in the case of disputes with customers or regulators. Mobile Computers: Often Too Cumbersome for Field Use To minimize data entry, scanning, and risks from missing documents, many teams have explored deploying mobile computers to field service and maintenance teams. While many field service teams use smart phones and laptops, they still usually also collect data on paper. For field service technicians who live in the field and climb over equipment, mobile computers can be cumbersome to carry around during all inspections tasks due to weight and limited battery life. Many crews have mobile computers which often stay in the truck, while they collect data on foot with pen and paper. The basic pg. 4

5 Energy and Utilities Teams look to Digital Pens and Software to... Eliminate Data Entry Reduce Risk Get Faster Data Access environment for many can also be challenging for work with fragile computers whether it s due to the industrial nature of the facilities or environmental factors such as sunlight and rain which make it difficult to see information on computer screens at certain times. Many teams also collect data on large CAD prints or maps. In these cases, the key-hole view provided by mobile computers for a single document at a time can make it difficult to see the big picture and navigate among maps and drawings. This assumes, of course, that the teams are trained not only on PC use, but also the CAD and GIS applications, which can be complex. In many cases, data collected on paper is ultimately entered into specialized systems with increasingly real-time network connectivity, however, connectivity is often unavailable in the field. Software for Digital Pens: New Field Service Documentation Options in the Energy Sector Many field service and maintenance teams are exploring the use of digital pens and software to help streamline data collection and reporting for service requests, work orders, inspections, and time sheets. Digital pens enable field teams to collect data on paper as they always have, while also instantly scanning and digitizing the data, which gets stored on the pen. Data can then be shared with central offices either immediately through a cell phone connection or physically, when the pen is returned to the office. Digital pen technology scanning data as it s written on paper has been around for years: the underlying technology is mature. Recently, however, there have been more software applications that enable utilities to print their own forms, maps, and CAD drawings and use digital pens to automatically collect data directly into Office, ArcGIS, and PDF files from CAD systems. Field Service Teams Look to Digital Pens and Software for the Following Benefits: 1. Eliminating Data Entry By having all the data digitized as it s written, teams no longer need to re-type data collected on paper into back-office computing systems for service scheduling, parts ordering, time sheet tracking, or invoicing. Many teams have administrative help, but typically the field engineers and technicians end up doing the data entry themselves, which takes time away from service work and simply collecting data. Software that enables data from digital pens to be automatically integrated into the native Office, ArcGIS, and PDF files can save a great deal of data entry time. Teams can focus on their core tasks identifying, documenting, and addressing issues. pg. 5

6 2. Faster Data Access Since data is instantly digitized and can be immediately sent to central offices from the field, teams can also speed up access to data collected in the field with digital pens. For many teams, this means identifying and addressing issues faster. The speed can improve dealing with simple one-off issues that are noted in the field for immediate attention. On a larger scale, it can also result in more efficient maintenance scheduling. For teams managing a range of service projects or facilities, immediate visibility to issues enables more efficient deployment of service personnel to address issues. Faster parts ordering and service completion also lead to faster billing and payments. 3. Reducing Risk As described above, faster data access and eliminating data entry can reduce a range of risks from delayed reporting on issues to data entry errors that lead to missed work or re-work. In many cases, field service teams today also face a great deal of risk simply from missing paper. Data on paper frequently never makes it back to central offices having been left in the field, the truck, or lost in transition from the truck to the scanner or data entry clerk. Missing paper can range from a simple inconvenience to a large liability in the case of billing disputes or regulatory inspections. A leading provider of heavy equipment and services to the energy sector in Alberta s Oil Sands, is using Capturx to automate time sheets. With faster access to field data, the service provider can keep their accounts up to date and send invoices at the right time, for the right amounts. This provides better cash flow for the service provider and avoids payment surprises for customers. Heavy Energy Equipment Scenario: Streamlined Servicing, Documentation, and Billing A leading provider of heavy equipment and services to the energy sector in Alberta s Oil Sands, for example, is using Capturx to automate time sheets. A big part of their productivity commitment to customers comes from equipment uptime. In addition to being responsive to customers, they also focus proactively on Preventive Maintenance. By tracking equipment effectively, Preventive Maintenance services and repairs can be done at the most cost effective intervals. Customers minimize downtime and the distraction of having to manage an internal team of mechanics, equipment, and overhead. Much of the data for tracking the equipment and employee service hours are tracked on paper. Faster access to this data on paper provides better operational visibility and enables the service team to better schedule maintenance, technicians, and parts ordering. The team offers a range of billing options for service contracts, including cost-perhour. Since the field techs can be dispatched across Alberta with routes optimized to serve multiple customers, they can be out of the office for extended periods of time. To accurately track hours for both payroll and timely billing, the team uses Capturx Forms for Excel. pg. 6

7 We estimate a significant reduction in back office processing time and an immediate benefit of providing detailed tracking information in support of our compliance requirements BRIAN MCGEE Asset Applications & GIS American Transmission Company American Transmission Company has deployed digital plans to minimize data entry costs, document inspections more accurately for compliance, and to achieve operational visibility. Since the form data is integrated back into Excel, ATC no longer spends extra time and money reentering data. No more risk for transcription errors due the automation, versus previous manual data entry. As the service tech completes jobs, they simply fill out the same paper time sheets that they ve used for years to track both their overall hours and hours spent on specific projects and tasks. Using the digital pen, all the data is instantly recorded. The data can be sent from the field back to central operations by using a PC or handheld device. Once back in the office, data from multiple field techs is automatically integrated into Excel where it s accessible in the original handwriting with signatures and as converted data for integration into billing and payroll systems. With faster access to field data, the service provider can keep their accounts up to date and send invoices at the right time, for the right amounts. This provides better cash flow for the service provider and avoids payment surprises for customers. Power Line Scenario: Streamlined Inspections, Service, and Compliance American Transmission Company provides the pathway for power into communities in portions of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois over a network of 9,000 miles of transmission lines. The transmission lines need to be inspected at least three times per year for general conditions, possible defects, and potential vegetation abatement needs. Given the scope and nature of the facilities and work, inspections are conducted by helicopter, resulting in 26,000 to 27,000 total miles flown and inspected per year. To maximize efficiency and minimize costs, veteran lineman patrollers fly with pilots up to hours per day for 3 to 4 weeks, 3 times a year. While in the air, the patrollers gather all the critical data to share with maintenance teams. Challenges: Expensive Data Entry When the helicopter lands, the patroller, typically a 30 year seasoned veteran, would head back to the office to begin manually re-entering the data. Since the patrols are extensive and time intensive, the overtime cost for patrollers both up in the air and back at the office doing administrative work became quite expensive. The team sought ways to minimize the expensive data entry process. Senior management also wanted to minimize risks from data entry especially around potential for transcription errors and misinterpretation. Since data would typically be re-entered after as many as two days of intensive data collection, the team wanted to minimize any reliance on memory to help interpret notations as data was collected. Challenges: Documenting Inspections and Compliance The team also faced an increasingly strict regulatory environment with FERC compliance, for example, which only increased after events such as the massive East Coast pg. 7

8 Justification for digital pen technology was very straightforward. Pen and paper have a consistent, proven value in the field. This is the introduction of a considerably more efficient way to process inspection data collected by our patrollers. BRIAN MCGEE Asset Applications & GIS American Transmission Company Save money by eliminating data entry and scanning Respond to issues faster by getting immediate data access and project visibility Reduce compliance and legal risk from missing documents blackout in 2003 and the massive blackouts in Florida in For ATC, a missed structure number on their inspections, for example, could result in a significant compliance violation. Penalties for compliance failures have escalated to millions of dollars in some cases. Challenges: Operational Visibility and Efficiency The time lags between data collection and processing resulted in the team not always having real-time visibility into inspection progress and the current record of past patrols. Since the stricter FERC compliance regulations could result in steep fines, for example, if a span or two were missed during inspections, the teams would overlap inspections and err on the side of redundancy versus gaps. As a result, ATC could pay double for the time/cost of pilot, patroller, helicopter fuel and rental for these spans which can add up quickly over the course of 27,000 miles of inspections in a year. The team had explored using laptop computers in helicopters to track inspections, but there were so many individual ways and methods that each patroller captured the information that simply continuing to work with pen and paper in the air was easiest to manage. Solution: Excel-Based Forms Solution for Digital Pens ATC implemented an Excel-based forms solution for digital pens to easily consolidate all patrol data assessments on a paper form and have it instantly digitized. The teams simply designed a form using Excel. They were able to print the forms from Excel in advance or on an ad hoc basis using their office printer and ordinary paper. As the veteran patroller is documenting the circuit or structure defects or noting areas where vegetation needs to be managed, he captures his location with the handheld GPS device. When the inspection for the day is complete, the timestamp of the GPS location is married to the inkstarttime that is provided from the handwritten data on the form. This gives a precise location of where the defect was documented and provides verification of all the circuits that have been inspected. When they return to the office, the data is automatically integrated into Excel. Benefits: Cut Back Office Data Re-Entry More Accurate Data Since the data is automatically integrated back into Excel, ATC no longer has to spend the extra time and money to have the professional patrollers re-enter all the data by hand in the office. The data is automatically converted from handwriting to digital text, where it can be quickly reviewed for errors. There is no more risk for transcription errors due the automation, versus previous manual entry. We estimate a significant reduction in back office processing time and an immediate benefit of providing detailed tracking information in support of our compliance requirements - ATC pg. 8

9 Benefits: Less Time and Money Spent on Redundant Inspections Since patrols are now tracked efficiently down to the coordinate, pre-flight teams can better plan their routes based on current data from recent patrols. They no longer have to spend unnecessary time and money re-flying areas that have already been patrolled. Data from Capturx Forms for Excel is immediately available to our GIS, and the inspection data is formatted for automated entry into our maintenance management system. - ATC Benefits: Reliable Documentation and Audit Trail for FERC Compliance All the data is recorded as it is written, reducing the risk of missing documents that create compliance issues. If the paper is lost all the information is recorded on the pen. If the pen is lost before data is uploaded, the team still has all the original paper forms and markups. Since the data tracked on routes using the digital pens contains date, time, and links to GPS coordinates, the team has a permanent record of the exact location for all inspections. This automatically creates an audit trail, without any extra rework. Justification for digital pen technology was very straightforward. Pen and paper have a consistent, proven value in the field. This is the introduction of a considerably more efficient way to process inspection data collected by our patrollers. - ATC Summary Many field service teams are working with new software for digital pens to help streamline a range of field processes which have resisted automation with PCs in the past. In addition to the examples above for equipment and work force tracking, many teams are also automating other paper form processes including service requests, work orders, and time sheets. The common thread is teams working with paper, but needing digital access to either scanned paper, structured data tables, or immediate access to sketches and signatures. Software for digital pens has emerged as a compelling option in helping many energy solution and utilities providers: Save money by eliminating data entry and scanning Respond to issues faster through immediate data access and better operational visibility Reduce compliance and legal risk from missing documents About Adapx Adapx is a software company with deep experience in natural user interfaces, field engineering, and mobile workflows dating back to 1990s. Adapx works closely with industry and energy solutions providers to create pragmatic and reliable solutions for field workers that work with market-leading applications, standard data formats, and standard digital pen technology from Anoto. Recognition for Adapx includes: Cool Vendors in Emerging Technologies 2008 by Gartner Group s Utilities team, New Partner of the Year by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), and Gold Partner status by Microsoft Corp. Capturx and Adapx are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adapx, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Adapx reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.