We know utilities face major challenges when it comes to the resource planning and acquisition process during major events. There are often not enough resources to go around, or logistics are managed manually without full visibility. And let’s face it – the extra time and inefficiency that come along with keeping track of your resource planning and logistics in a variety of places (which probably includes spreadsheets and handwritten notes) is just not worth it.
Along with the manual song and dance comes a significant risk of overlooking important details as you ramp-up for your event. Considering that 40% or more of the utility workforce is made up of contractors, we know how difficult it can be to respond to an event with crews. With all of this going on against a ticking clock, establishing one source of truth for your event needs becomes essential.
Take our current situation, for example. We are in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic, as storm season builds around us. Your operations may be functioning differently than normal as you work to promote social distancing and manage remote work. As you continue to get used to the “new normal”, an unexpected event may come along and turn your daily work on its head. Unfortunately, natural disasters and other major storms do not care about COVID-19, but we do.
Recently, ARCOS announced a new series of solutions for resource acquisition, planning, and sharing that integrate with the full ARCOS Resource Management platform, free to the utility industry. Now, you can manage resources and logistics surrounding events all in one place, giving visibility to supervisors, leadership, and stakeholders.
Automating your resource planning and acquisition means:
- Ditching the paper and time-consuming manual processes
- Giving your team, leadership, and third parties a bird’s eye view with one source of truth
- The ability to assemble and track crews, see gaps in scheduling, and manage lodging and other logistics all in one place
- Get a jump-start on planning before crew rosters arrive by utilizing “Stick Count” functionality, allowing users to create crews from Resource Planner into Crew Manager
Creating visibility into a real-time picture of the data saves a utility time and money when determining how many hotel rooms, meals and gallons of fuel are needed, compared to what the utility truly has on hand – ultimately impacting the estimated restoration time. Check out ARCOS Resource Planner to learn more and change how your utility handles resource planning, sharing, and acquisition.
