A key focus in the utility industry today is switching to sustainable practices while staying efficient. Companies have been moving in this direction for years. Efforts are more important than ever as the planet hits record temperatures. The effects of climate change are already being felt. This makes it harder to keep energy flowing as incidents increase in frequency and strength.
But customers expect utilities to continue to provide uninterrupted service. Businesses must find ways to deliver while keeping operations within a budget and planning for the future. They need to enact processes and methods that will continue to drive profit while making their systems less susceptible to these pressures and challenges.
Utilities are already adjusting to this new reality in many ways. They’re replacing fleets of vehicles with ones that use less energy. They’re generating power from renewable sources. They’re building grids that lose less energy during transmission. And they’re leveraging work and crew management software to improve operational efficiency, save money, and increase customer satisfaction.
Much of the energy used by utility providers is expended to manage resources. Moving people and equipment to and from where the work needs to be done is a large part of this. ARCOS’s suite of solutions can help you be more efficient in deployment and operations. Efficient assignments mean fewer hours spent in vehicles and less fuel used. Replacing paper with crew management software saves trees and lessens material waste. Not to mention, more work can be done with fewer people. This consumes less resources for the company.
Manage Internal Crews AND Contractors in One Place
Crew management is an important aspect of operations. The right teams with the right skills need to get to the incident or maintenance spot as quick as possible. ARCOS can help you do exactly that, routing the closest qualified teams to where they’re needed.
That may be easy enough with your own internal crews. But these days, much of the work is done by third-party vendors, so contractors management is vital. ARCOS also has a solution for this: Resource Assist.
Resource Assist is contractor management software. It allows third-party vendors to electronically fill your resource requests. Contractors can pre-build crews and rosters. They send them to you through ARCOS when you need them. This allows you to deploy these additional resources right away, getting the work done faster.
Real-Time Visibility Helps Crews Work Better and Reduces Grievances
Once contractor resources are sent to you via Resource Assist, you’ll be able to manage them right in ARCOS’s Crew Manager. They’re right alongside your own teams. It’s a comprehensive workforce management solution to handle all your needs. It can be used in grey skies or blue.
As Crew Manager users know, you’ll have dashboards you can set up any way you like. This lets you see everyone in the field, what equipment they’re using, and what they’re working on at any given time. The information is accessible in a historical format. You can look back at any point in the past, or see forward based on your already-completed crew planning.
Because you’re managing contractors in ARCOS, all activities are automatically tracked. Reporting is available instantly and in a variety of configurable formats. This ensures you have all the information you need right at your fingertips. It makes reimbursement claims simple. It virtually eliminates grievances and disagreements.
One System Keeps Everyone on the Same Page
ARCOS provides a single source of truth for your operations. The benefits of having all crews, including contractor resources, in the same utility work order management system are many. It helps keep everyone on the same page. It avoids duplicating work, as well as unnecessary travel time. Teams don’t need to cross train on different crew management systems because everyone is using the same interface. When an employee leaves or transfers, there is less disruption to the staff.
From a sustainability perspective, time and money that was previously spent on those tasks is saved. It leaves room to focus on more complex and higher-level operations. It allows leadership to focus on the big picture. In short, it lets you direct your energies towards the more important parts of your business.
Add to that the sustainability of the utility work order management software itself. ARCOS is constantly updated. This means you won’t have to switch to a newer system in a few years. You’ll already have access to those future features. Staff won’t have to learn all new processes. Instead, you can make slow, gradual enhancements to your existing ones. ARCOS gives you the tools to manage those changes how and when you need them.
We can help
ARCOS has the right work order management solution for any utility. We can say this because our crewing software is flexible for your needs. It can be configured to work like your existing manual processes, making the transition easy. The benefits begin as soon as you start using it.
Contact us for a demo of Resource Assist and Crew Manager today.
