Gronau municipal utilities
The new digital solution for recording, processing and evaluating faults in the supply network of the Gronau municipal utility.
Together with Stadtwerke Gronau, we developed the FaultManager to save time and costs in the company. The solution could be seamlessly integrated into the infrastructure and has since ensured secure documentation and clear workflows.
The challenge
Until now, the fault reports of Stadtwerke Gronau were filled in by hand on a pad provided for this purpose. In order to simplify and accelerate the processes, we have developed the FaultManager.
A fault occurring in the network should be processed as quickly as possible not only at the customer's, but also internally. The previous processing in paper form was very time-consuming and limited the possibility of later data evaluation. With the digital implementation, the forwarding to the right employee, the feedback and follow-up of the fault as well as the time recording of the fault should be optimised.
The objective
The solution needed was customised software that works both on a desktop and on a smartphone/tablet and forwards faults and failures directly to the responsible persons. Defined workflows were to ensure a standardised sequence of processing steps.
The result
We have developed the FaultManager as a solution for the requirements described above. This is a responsive web application.
Integration
We have integrated the FaultManager as a virtual machine in the internal network of the municipal utility on a Linux system. The system provides the FaultManager as a responsive WebApp and can be accessed via any current browser. Provision for remote users takes place via a proxy in the DMZ. The connections are secured via SSL. The intranet and the DMZ are secured via a firewall, using the existing infrastructure of the public utility company. The same applies to the virtual machine, which was easily integrated into the existing VMWare landscape.
The FaultManager has been given an intuitive interface and is therefore easy to use. In addition, the application has been developed to be completely responsive. This means that it can now be used on desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
Target group
For the user target group, we have considered the following people and contact points in the development:
Internal and external fault reception, technicians on standby and the technical management. External login is only possible with 2-factor authentication.
Detection of the malfunction
The fault is recorded via a digital form. Initially, only the necessary information such as the location of the fault, the detector and a short description are required.
When entering addresses, the address completion of the Google API is used to avoid errors and to simplify data maintenance.
Mandatory legal information, e.g. on what to do in the event of a gas odour, can be called up at any time by clicking on it.
Processing the fault message
A clear workflow is predefined for processing the malfunction. A user can have one or more faults being processed at the same time within the workflow.
The acceptance and forwarding of the malfunction is done simply with a click, as is the on-site reporting, which is required for occupational health and safety, among other things. By default, only relevant and not yet completed faults are displayed in the fault overview.
Faults that are assigned to other people are also not displayed in your own default view. In the settings, however, you can adjust this personal default filter and set other filters. In this way, faults that have already been resolved and faults that are currently being processed by other colleagues can also be viewed.
Post-processing of the fault
In the post-processing stage, all further data on the incident can be recorded at leisure. The post-processing can be done by mobile phone, PC or tablet.
The user can, for example, specify the division (area) in which the malfunction occurred. Depending on this selection, further information is then required. If the voltage level was selected in the "Electricity" division, further queries such as the fault component are intelligently pre-filtered on the basis of this selection.
Afterwards, the technical components that were involved in the malfunction are queried (e.g. GIS ID). After the post-processing is completed, the incident report is forwarded to the technical manager or the person responsible. The report can then still be changed and confirmed for completion.
After the report has been "virtually ticked off", editing is no longer possible.
Stadtwerke Gronau (SWG) has been an independent limited company since 1988. Above all, however, with the opening of the electricity and gas markets in 1998 and 2005, Stadtwerke has accepted competition in the energy industry as a challenge and developed into a modern energy service provider.
"In interaction with the individual requirements of our customers, we develop smart solutions for intelligent and optimal utilisation of the grids and supply systems. For today and for tomorrow.
Stadtwerke Gronau is first and foremost an electricity, gas, heat and water supplier for the citizens and companies of the region, but also sees itself as an economic driver, innovation driver, responsible employer, cultural sponsor, promoter of social cohesion and above all: shaper of the local energy transition.
