The right data, where and when you need it

Westnetz turned to IBM Consulting^® to create its new Grid Care mobile app—a consolidated maintenance platform that can be readily accessed using Apple devices. Now, the business supplies its field technicians with both an iPhone and an iPad, allowing them to quickly access all relevant details—work orders, maps, circuit diagrams, maintenance manuals, system data—from either device through a single interface.

The solution also enables more dynamic dispatching efforts. Now, in the event of an outage or other emergency, nearby technicians can immediately receive notification of the problem and react quickly to resolve it before returning to their planned maintenance efforts.

Grid Care was initially developed by the IBM Garage^™ team at an IBM^® Experience Lab as part of the IBM Apple Partnership. And after launch, the solution received ongoing support and enhancement from IBM under a digital product engineering plan. As part of the design, the IBM team also built Grid Care to streamline the transfer of the various files accessed using the mobile devices and to support the download of large data files for offline use.

With Grid Care in place, each Westnetz field technician can now, on average, complete one more job per day, netting a 10% increase in productivity. In particular, the centralized document access offered by Grid Care helps users find all the information they need quickly and easily. And this efficiency empowered Westnetz to boost the first-time fix rate for its repair efforts, improving the overall availability of its critical utility services.

At the same time, since the solution proactively maintains offline copies of relevant work orders and comprehensive grid map data on each mobile device, the company’s repair and maintenance efforts can keep running smoothly—even during a network outage or when working in remote areas. Further, the intuitive interface and functionality of the IBM-developed platform allows the client to easily supplement its current pool of technicians with either temporary staff or third-party contractors when demand or support requests spike.

Westnetz GmbH (link resides outside of ibm.com) is the largest energy distribution network operator in western Germany, that plans, builds and operates electricity, natural gas, water and broadband networks in the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony. Headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, Westnetz is a subsidiary of infrastructure and energy service provider Westenergie AG and part of the E.ON Group.