Success Story:
East Central Energy
Gains fleet visibility to make faster and smarter decisions
Company:
East Central Energy
Industry:
Utilities
Location:
Braham, MN
Website:
www.eastcentralenergy.com
“There are five shops housing equipment and vehicles. The GPS Insight system plans our days more efficiently because we know if technicians are close to a job site or at one of the shops. There is now a proactive approach in preparation and execution rather than reactive.“
Phil B
System Control Manager East Central Energy
Highlights
GPS tracking decreased monthly miles driven by 14,000, resulting in $40,000 in annual savings
GPS Insight tracking integrated with key software platforms including utility mapping tools and GIS applications
Service areas and dispatching became much easier to manage
Company
East Central Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative that provides electric service to more than 58,000 customers.
Challenge
Increase Efficiency with Fleet Visibility
East Central Energy was looking to implement a GPS tracking solution to increase efficiency with their resources. During outages, they had no way to locate their technicians, which slowed their response times in emergencies. Overall, they needed a better way to dispatch technicians to job sites. With 58,000 customers and the 8,000 miles of power line to maintain, Phil B., System Control Manager at East Central Energy, knew a GPS tracking system would show the utilization of their resources and ensure they optimize their time better.
Improve Safety Standards for Drivers
East Central Energy heavily emphasizes safety protocols. However, they experienced an incident in which a distress call came into an unseasoned dispatcher. This person had a difficult time in an emergency dispatch situation because they could not locate the technician in trouble. East Central Energy identified another need for a GPS tracking solution to enhance their safety standards and prevent this situation in the future.
Improve Outage Response Time
Outage response times are top of mind and priority lists for electric co-ops. East Central Energy uses MapWise by NISC—a system that visualizes their outage data. East Central Energy required that a GPS tracking solution integrates with this mapping software. It would improve their response times to see their outage locations in tandem with technician locations.
Solutions
Fleet Visibility = Massive Savings
Dispatchers now have a full view of all vehicles and technicians, effectively shrinking their 5,000 square mile service area. This location intelligence brings an average monthly decrease of miles driven by 14,000 miles translating into $40,000 in annual savings!
Enhanced Safety Protocols
East Central Energy can now respond to emergency scenarios with urgency to better serve their customers during their time of need. Distress calls are processed more effectively and addressed with precision rather than guesswork. They also have taken their safety practices to the next level by proactively monitoring and coaching technicians on unsafe driving behavior.
Faster Response Times
NISC and GPS Insight worked together to integrate their mapping and tracking solutions using the open application interface
(API) system from GPS Insight. East Central Energy makes faster and better decisions with this new integration. They can quickly dispatch a technician who is the closest to a job rather than someone far away at one of the stops.
