WEB SITE SMART PHONE APP A CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY Public Works and Engineering Department Resource Management Division Utility Customer Service Branch PRESS RELEASE Mayor Annise Parker Announces New Water Conservation Task Force Protecting Houston s Water Supply for Decades to Come July 13, 2012 Houston Mayor Annise Parker today announced the formation of a Water Conservation Task Force. Following last year s drought, and the mandatory water conservation measures imposed last summer, the Mayor is actively looking at long term water supply and water conservation solutions. This week we ve been enjoying more than our fair share of rainfall, but last summer was a reminder that drought is also possible, said Mayor Parker. This Task Force will be forward thinking in its approaches to addressing water conservation and water supply diversification, taking into consideration Houston s climate, existing water supply and alternative approaches to ensuring a robust water supply for decades to come. All innovative ideas are on the table. The Task Force will review water supply options and conservation measures for Houston, and may also look at other ideas to diversify the City s water supply, including recycled water for irrigation, greywater use, rainwater harvesting and desalination among other ideas. Though rains and cooler temperatures have marked much of Houston s summer this year, long term predictions demonstrate it is clearly possible that Houston may experience more challenging summers in the future. While surface water storage has recently recovered from last year s record setting drought, the City must plan for the future and continue to encourage water customers to practice and further develop water conservation efforts. The Task Force will develop a report which will include recommendations for best management practices and conservation goals for the City. To learn about Houston s current work on water conservation, the Public Works and Engineering Department website offers valuable information to encourage residents to use water wisely, which will reduce the large demand on our water system. Using water wisely not only saves water, but also reduces water bills. 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 2 1
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT & SELF SERVICE STRATEGY UCS Call Center Receives 3000 Customer Contacts Per Day 20% of calls are for start and stop service 40% of calls are for high bills Challenge to effectively staff peak call periods Strategy for Reducing Call Volume Online (Web and Mobile) Self Service for start and stop service requests and more Live Chat CSR s can concurrently support 4 customers Strategy for Reducing High Bill Calls, Field Inspections and Leak Adjustments Daily consumption budget monitor Monthly consumption budget monitor Leak notification Notifications: mobile app, SMA, email, or phone 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 3 DEMAND MANAGEMENT Consumption Alert Program Benefits 1. Reduced Calls (High Bills) 2. Reduced Field Work 3. Reduced Leak Adjustments 4. Reduced Water Loss Registration Alerts 1. Standard Mobile Web 2. Mobile App 3. Contact Center 1. Daily Monitor 2. Monthly Budget 3. Leak Alert (Constant Flow) Notification 1. Mobile App Notification 2. Mobile SMS 3. Email 4. Automatic Call (Phone) 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 4 2
ADOPTION UTILIZATION Most customers will access UCS online services through their smart phone Nielsen predicts that smart phones will account for nearly half of worldwide sales by 2013 Usability is a major factor in adoption Studies show that many mobile users will not use or limit their use of non-optimized mobile web sites Ease of use and navigation is a major factor of customer adoption rates - utility customers want a global menu that let s them intuitively and quickly access utility services 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 5 INTEGRATED ARCHITECTURE web, mobile web, and mobile app platforms Mobile optimized web screen for mobile customers that cannot or do not want to download mobile app Mobile optimized web screen for seamless integration with IOS and Android mobile apps. Most users will access UCS web services from their mobile device. Mobile app users enable higher UCS benefits through oneto one relationship services notification services, location services, video and photos, interactive map, etc. User friendly service for mobile users that do not want to zoom and pan standard view on small screen. Enable phone features i.e., notification manager, location services, camera, etc. 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 6 3
FEATURE CHART Feature Mobile Optimized Web Seamless integration With Mobile App Global Navigation (Usability) My Account Services Self Service Consumption Alert Program Video Education Interactive Store Bill Payment Map Mobile App Notification Services Mobile App Location Based Services Proposed Website 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 7 WEB SITE MOBILE APP Anytime. Anywhere. Even on the go! Receive service alerts & bill reminders. View & pay your bill. Calculate l your water budget. And more, all from the convenience of your mobile device. Proactive Alerts & Notifications Our mobile app provides you with mobile access to all of our online services in addition to our unique notification system. Our mobile notification inbox feature provides you with the ability to receive account and community notifications such as: Consumption alerts Trash pickup reminders Bill payment reminders Emergency alerts (e.g., water main breaks) Community event notifications 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 8 4
WEB SITE MOBILE APP Available for Apple IOS & Google Android The mobile app is available to customers with an Apple IOS (iphone or ipad) or Google Android id(ll (all compatible phones and tablets) device. Our current app features include: Register the phone to one or all of your accounts Notification preferences Location settings Access all online services from your mobile device Live chat My Account services Notification inbox Water budget calculator Video help 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 9 PHONE APPLICATION 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 10 5
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WEB SITE 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 13 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 14 7
WiMax 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 15 WIRELESS NETWORK 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 16 8
Fixed Network Timeline 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 17 CUSTOMER HISTOGRAM 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 18 9
OTHER USES SSOs Main line leak detection Pressure sensing Demand Projections Supply management Revenue optimizing efficiency 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 19 Conservation Use Analysis of water loss using GIS Variables evaluated Exposure indicator Compared to consumption AMR/AMI/GIS possibilities Loss Exposure 10
Main Line Leak Detection Pilot PWE pilot water and wastewater main leak detection project uses acoustic leak detection to: Predict and locate leaks in the water system before and after the meter Correct and repair system leaks before they reach catastrophic levels Inform customers on water use and conservation methods An international study found that it can take an average of 182 days to learn of a leak find the leak and then repair the leak. This leads to losses of roughly 1.2 million gallons of water per year. That is 6500 gallons of water per day. Modernization 1Q13 Drainage Utility Adjustments Y2B Enhancements Customer Engagement (R1) Mobile App, Consuption Notification, Self Service, New Customer Portal Business Intellgence (R1) Drainge And Water Collections, Ami Meter Management AMI and Meter Management ( R1) 2Q13 Customer Engagement (R2) Additional Self Service Features And Customer Engagement Features AMI and Meter Management (R2) Business Intellgence (R2) Drainge And Water Collections, Ami Meter Management 3Q13 New Field Service Management System (R1) Mobile Tablets Customer Engagement R3 Additional Self Service Features And Customer Engagement Features AMI and Meter Management (R3) Business Intellgence (R3) Drainge And Water Collections, Ami Meter Management 4Q13 Customer Engagement R3 Additional Self Service Features And Customer Engagement Features AMI and Meter Management (R3) Business Intellgence (R3) Drainge And Water Collections, Ami Meter Management 1Q14 2Q14 Parallel Billing and Customer Service QA Testing Business Intellgence (R4) DraingeAnd Water Collections, Ami Meter Management 3Q14 New Billing and CIS Turn On 8/2/2012 PWE Utility Customer Service Branch 22 11