INSIGHT
Meaningful Change Requires a long-Term strategy

Craig Yokopenic Executive Vice President

EMA recently conducted a series of one-on-one interviews and discussions with municipal and water sector utility leaders across the country. The talks covered a broad range of topics that included conversation about industry trends and challenges.

The discussions identified numerous issues that are on the minds of utilities and municipalities. In addition to topics such as asset management, infrastructure, customer service, the economy, energy, regulation, and technology, there were pressing concerns surrounding workforce, communications, rates, security, and, of course, politics.

Adopting the Larger View

In part, these interviews revealed what many of us already knew. Municipalities and water sector utilities face serious challenges. But it was one utility manager, speaking about his own utility, who drove home the larger point of how to move forward in light of these challenges when he said:

“We want to assess business needs to figure out what we need to do.”

Assessing business needs. This is key to the future of our industry. It is a larger enterprise view that moves beyond simply fixing the immediate, more short-term issue to determining the best solution that will fit within your broader enterprise strategy.

Building Strategies; Critical Analysis

As we face tighter budgets, greater regulation, failing infrastructure, and other challenges, both regional and industry-wide, every one of our actions matters. Quick or partial fixes to work practices, organization changes, or technology, which are not part of a larger enterprise strategy, are often a waste of time and money. These projects may resolve an immediate issue, but often must be revisited down the road and reworked to integrate with the other larger enterprise plans.

Meaningful change must consider the long-term view from the outset, drawing on critical, constructive analysis of your utility or municipality to help build the strategies and establish the plans that support meaningful change not only in practices, processes, and technology, but in organizational culture as well.

An overall strategy provides a roadmap that ensures that the solutions you implement for today’s problems fit into the larger enterprise needs now and in the future. It also equips your organization with the ability to identify challenges on the horizon.

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FORESIGHT
Performance Management and Tools
for Continuous Improvement

Linda Blankenship Principal Consultant

In today’s tough economy, with numerous challenges facing the water industry, utilities are being asked to “do even more with less.” Utilities can view this challenge as an opportunity to look within their organizations to find ways to also “do more with what they have.” One area that holds a wealth of potential for improvement is how you establish, collect, and manage performance data.

Measuring Performance: Why It Matters

Your utility’s performance data holds tremendous value. When managed strategically, the information serves as valuable feedback upon which you can gauge your performance enterprise-wide. The data can also establish greater accountability and transparency throughout your organization and provide information to identify ways to cut costs, increase efficiency, and make more informed business decisions.

To improve performance, measures must truly be in line with the established strategic direction of the organization. And while what gets measured does not automatically get managed, it should get attention and therefore can lead to the next steps toward improvement. In short, performance measures can be a way to continuously improve, in good times and in bad.

True Performance Management

There is an important link between performance reporting and actual performance management. Performance management takes reporting to the next, more strategic level. It is a process that moves a utility to action based on what the data indicates. It is data-driven decision making at its best, which requires utilities to look closely at what is being measured and make sure this data captures meaningful measurements that will help identify what a utility is doing right and where the organization needs to improve.

Tools and Resources for Utilities

There are several industry resources that provide valuable tools to help utilities implement or further develop performance measurement practices.

Effective Utility Management. Several performance management tools have evolved out of the collaborative efforts between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and six water sector associations to help utilities with more effective utility management.
In their report Findings and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector Management Strategy, the collaborating organizations identified “Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities,” which serve as reference points for utility leaders to focus upon to improve overall utility management. The “Five Keys to Management Success” identified in this report – leadership, strategic business planning, organizational approaches, measurement, and continual improvement management framework – are all critical components of performance management.

Additionally, a supplemental primer to the report emphasizes the importance of meaningful performance measurement and management. Available to all utilities, the primer includes numerous sample measures to help improve performance measurement practices.

Finally, a website created by the collaborating organizations (www.watereum.org) contains a variety of resources, including a web-based, interactive version of the primer for utilities that supports their continuous improvement efforts.

QualServe Continuous Improvement Program. The QualServe program (sponsored by the American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation) has served as a voluntary continuous improvement program for water and wastewater utilities for more than 10 years. Designed to help utilities improve overall operations and enhance customer satisfaction, QualServe offers tools to help utilities with continuous improvement.

Enhancements to QualServe’s performance measurement framework give utilities greater flexibility within the program. Existing key performance indicators have been improved and new benchmarks have been added. Just as important, the Ten Attributes now have direct measures within the QualServe program.

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Q & A INTERVIEW
Energy Management at Water Sector Utilities

The water-energy connection plays a significant role in overall operations at water sector utilities. Energy is, essentially, the lifeblood of these organizations. Great opportunity remains for utilities to reduce energy consumption, conserve and recycle water, and develop renewable energy sources.

Nowhere is this more evident than in California where water shortages plague the state’s southern region. The California Energy Commission (CEC) continues to seek ways to reduce consumption, cultivate local water sources, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG), and further develop conservation and recycling practices and desalination technologies. EMA recently spoke with Shahid Chaudhry, the CEC’s Program Manager of Water-Energy Efficiency about energy management.

How does energy management fit within the concept of optimization?

In simple terms, “optimization” is getting the most bang for your buck without compromising the quality of your product. Process optimization means you look at every component of your operation, system, or process and see where you can make changes – whether that’s in behavior, pumping operations, process, or water consumption patterns.

Here’s a simple example. At a wastewater treatment plant, the most energy intensive segment of many treatment systems is the aeration basin where microorganisms break down the organic compounds present in the wastewater. A lot of air, or oxygen, must be pumped through the basins to keep the bugs happy so they can work on the organics. Bugs need a certain minimum level of oxygen to work effectively. If you supply too much oxygen beyond the requirement, you’re just wasting your energy and money. By supplying more oxygen than needed, you may saturate the solution resulting in less oxygen transfer to the solution. Basically, you’re wasting money from two ends.

Many [smaller] facilities don’t have controls in place, which results in supplying air 24/7 whether needed or not. A simple dissolved oxygen measuring probe or device would not only help save energy, but also save money and reduce GHG emissions.

What are some first steps for water utilities to manage energy usage better?

The easiest thing is a walk-through audit. Utilities should look at their energy use pattern and what rate structure they’re on. There are many different rate structures. Utilities should meet with their electricity representatives who know their consumption background and can tell them which rates are best for them.

Conventionally and historically, water/wastewater utilities are not in the business of energy conservation. Their basic objective is to provide a reliable service to their customers. In addition, many smaller facilities don’t have enough technical or financial resources to do this work.

We work with utilities and look at their energy expenses and bills to see the consumption patterns of their facilities, which gives a good indication of which way operational efficiency is going. We look into the plant operations and collect information like how much water or wastewater they are treating, energy use, the size of their pumps and motors, if they are taking any measures to run their processes more efficiently, and determine what more can be done. We evaluate their operations, discuss different options, and provide recommendations and cost benefit analysis.

We also provide low-interest loan funding to water and wastewater facilities to implement energy efficiency projects. The idea is that once these projects are implemented, utilities should be able to pay back the loan through energy savings.

Are the changes that are being made at utilities more about practice, technology, or infrastructure?

It’s everything, and the reason is that the paradigm is shifting. In the past it was about energy efficiency and cost savings. Now we also have to look at carbon footprint and GHG reduction, not to mention that with time, the cost of energy is going up, and energy security is becoming a bigger issue. [In California] we import a good chunk of electricity from out of state. Our country imports a significant percentage of oil from politically sensitive areas. To be self-sustainable, we must look into this nexus and see what we can do to make our facilities more energy independent and sustainable.

Another factor is the renewable portfolio standards that require electric utilities to develop renewable energy supplies. That’s a huge undertaking. Electric utilities are encouraging customers to develop renewable energy projects at their facilities to lessen the demand on the grid. These are all driving factors for utilities to implement such projects.

Are there certain processes at water/wastewater facilities that should be scrutinized more closely?

It is best to take a system-wide approach and look at every segment of your system to see what measures can be taken. On the water side, up to 90% of the electricity could be attributed to pumping operations. Ironically, most of the pumps and motor systems are very inefficient. The general tendency is that if they are running, why mess with them? But the fact of the matter is that regular maintenance pays back in a big way.

Also, mechanical equipment purchases need to be looked at on a performance or qualifications basis rather than on cost. When equipment is procured, the general practice is to buy on a low-cost basis. Actually, the initial investment is only 10 to 15% of the total lifetime cost of these pumps or motor systems. That means 85 to 90% of costs is energy expenses. If a few more dollars are spent upfront to buy premium efficiency motors and pump systems, that will save a lot of money.

In general, plant design capacities and associated equipment are much larger than what facilities use. If the average daily flow to the plant is 2 MGD, the plant has been designed for 4 or 5 MGD to take into account the variation during the day. Peak variation generally happens twice a day. At that time, it makes sense to run at full capacity. But how about the rest of the time? Even when flow is low, most of the mechanical equipment is still running at full capacity, doing significantly less work for 100% of the money or energy. For optimal process efficiency, it is recommended to make the work of these systems fall in line with the need and the load. Replace one big system with two smaller systems, and use the second one only when needed at peak hours. Another way is through a variable frequency drive that adjusts the operation of the system according to need.

Can you speak about untapped opportunity for energy savings?

In my opinion, energy savings starts with water conservation, which is low hanging fruit. A lot of energy is needed to move, treat, and distribute water and also collect and treat wastewater. If we use less water, we are saving energy. On the wastewater side, more emphasis should be placed on water recycling, as it is relatively less energy intensive.

Also, in my opinion, we are not fully utilizing a potentially huge source of energy at the wastewater treatment facilities, and that is sludge. Some reports suggest that sludge at a wastewater treatment facility has the potential to generate 10 times more energy than what is needed at a facility. This is a potentially huge energy source, which is not only being wasted in terms of dollars and cents, but is also contributing toward GHG emissions in the form of methane. Wastewater facilities should look seriously at digesting sludge, if economically feasible, to generate anaerobic digester gas, which is about 60% methane, and use it for heating, generating electricity, or both.There may be some challenges in using digester gas due to contaminants in the gas, but technology is available to use this gas for useful purposes. It helps in another way, too. When solids are digested to produce methane gas, their volume is reduced, and the facility has to haul less solids. So the utility has the potential to save money by generating on-site energy and paying less for hauling and in tipping fees.

I’ve seen facilities that are not only meeting their own energy requirements, but are selling back to the grid. US EPA published a report a couple years ago and concluded that a wastewater treatment facility with an average daily flow of about 4.5 MGD can produce and use methane gas economically. That does not mean that methane cannot be generated at a smaller facility. A detailed cost benefit analysis, however, is always needed before embarking on such projects.

The development of other forms of renewable energy at water and wastewater treatment facilities are becoming attractive. Many facilities are taking this route to reduce their energy expenses by selling power to the electric utilities at higher rates during peak hours. During off-peak hours, when the energy cost is low, they buy back from the electric grid at a much lower rate.

What is the best way for us to view the
water-energy connection?

We should take a holistic and integrated resource planning approach that takes more into consideration. If we reduce the amount of water used on the consumption side, we save on associated energy and also generate less wastewater and consume less energy at the wastewater treatment plant.

Shahid Chaudhry As the Program Manager of Water-Energy Efficiency at the California Energy Commission (CEC), Shahid Chaudhry is committed to the issues of energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, and greenhouse gas reduction as they pertain to water. Mr. Chaudhry’s work encompasses both the supply and demand side of the water-energy spectrum, taking him from mile-high elevations, where he considers the larger view of the state’s water-energy relationship, to ground level where he works with water/wastewater facilities on issues including: energy efficiency, energy conservation, distributed generation, renewable energy generation, water conservation, water use efficiency, water recycling, and desalination. Mr. Chaudhry is a member of numerous water and energy associations and has presented extensively on issues concerning water, energy, and the environment.

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CUSTOMER STORY
Asset Management
Enterprising Solutions for Four Utilities

A strong asset management plan can have a far-reaching, profoundly positive effect on how your utility does business.

In truth, all utilities practice some form of asset management. However, it’s the clearly defined, well-executed asset management strategy that is the true differentiator between organizations and the key to sustaining the life of your assets as well as your utility. A clear understanding of the condition, reliability, and life cycle of your current assets gives you the insight that enables you to make informed business decisions and plan for the future.

Asset Management: What is it?

A strong asset management program integrates with enterprise systems throughout your organization.

Asset management is not a specific product. It isn’t even a specific technology, but it relies on technology to get the job done. In its simplest form, asset management is an initiative that is supported by a set of practices that helps your utility know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it best. Asset management focuses on optimizing – getting the most out of each asset throughout its life cycle – all the while meeting your performance standards.

The goal of any strong asset management strategy is a cost-effective, results-oriented program that considers all facets of an organization. Utilities invest regularly in systems such as CIS, GIS, CMMS, and FIS, all of which are populated with data related to their assets. These systems need to serve collectively as the support structure for functions such as asset registry, condition assessment, customer service tracking, maintenance planning, work order management, and financial planning.

Different Needs, Different Solutions, Big Benefits

Implementing an asset management program is not a “one-solution-fits-all” proposition. It varies from utility to utility. Organizations have different needs, drivers, technical requirements, and circumstances, which require different solutions. The right plan is the strategy that is tailored to meet your specific needs and leverages your utility’s existing strengths. And the right plan can deliver significant benefits, namely, a better understanding of existing assets and the ability to use and manage these assets to:

• Increase capability and transparency throughout your organization
• Improve process efficiency, workflows, practices, and services
• Better understand the condition of your assets and improve the integrity of your asset data
• Develop performance measures and practices that promote continuous improvement
• Make sound, data-driven business decisions
• Develop growth, forecasting, and CIP strategies based on reliable work, asset, and performance data
• Build stronger maintenance strategies and practices

Stories from the Field

The following stories feature four utilities that recognize the importance of establishing an asset management program not only to meet their short-term needs, but to provide their utilities with the tools to do business well into the future.

Partnering with EMA, these organizations brought a variety of needs and requirements to the table. Each instance called for a different solution that is not only meeting the need, but making each utility a stronger, more sustainable organization.

Providence Water Supply Board, Providence, RI

Integrating GIS with Established Enterprise Systems

The introduction of integrated GIS technology at the Providence Water Supply Board (Providence) was a significant step forward in the continued development of the organization’s asset management program.

Chris Labossiere Project Manager

The goal at Providence was to integrate GIS technology with its existing Hansen work and asset management program and Customer Star customer information and billing system to build a single asset and customer information repository that would help better manage the organization’s water distribution system assets by geographic location.

“The idea was to bring our information from the paper world into the digital world,” said Chris Labossiere, Project Manager at Providence. “Our existing asset management system and customer database partially got us there, but we didn’t have a link between them. We wanted to take all of these separate data sources and bring them into one hybrid system that we’d maintain, which would give us access to our data and GIS. Doing it on a server allows us to distribute that data to the entire organization.”

Determining the Need

An initial needs assessment revealed that Providence staff had three basic needs when it came to asset data: more timely access to a greater amount of data with more accurate documentation. The assessment led Providence to partner with EMA to begin the design and development of an enterprise GIS to improve the access to and management of its assets.

Establishing the Design

Providence’s enterprise GIS was designed to support key business processes. Workshops conducted by EMA helped Providence staff determine which processes would link directly to the GIS using ESRI and other technologies. Workshops also identified other business processes that GIS could support to better meet the business needs of the organization, and applications were created to enable this extended functionality.

Building the Database; Maintaining the Data

Providence created a water geodatabase to integrate with their existing work and asset management system. The data that would populate the geodatabase came from numerous sources, including AutoCAD files, paper maps, and Providence’s existing work and asset management system. Providence selected off-the-shelf products GeoResults® Sync™ and GeoResults® Toolbox™, which work with their existing Hansen system and ESRI ArcGIS software.

Now Providence users can access the data they need through a web-based viewer called “eMap” – an electronic map that pulls infrastructure records from the organization’s GIS, Hansen, and Customer Star programs. A redlining tool, available with eMap, enables users to identify errors or changes in data, mark the changes, and then send the edited information to Providence GIS data editors. The new redlining process helps Providence maintain their asset data more effectively.

Immediate Benefits

The newly integrated GIS technology has brought significant
improvements to Providence. Users have increased capability, more efficient work processes, and greater access to essential asset data. The quality of the asset data has improved as well.

eMap allows users to retrieve asset data from a variety of enterprise systems.

Flexibility for the Future

As training and roll-out continue at Providence, the organization considers its next steps. The enterprise GIS was designed to be flexible to accommodate future expansion and enhancements. Among these: mobile GIS functionality that will provide field crews with system access while in the field.

“It would be nice to get this out to people in the field and get even further away from a paper environment,” Labossiere said. “But first things first. We needed to develop a stable, solid system and get it up and running. We’re doing that.”

Orange County Utilities, Orange County, FL

Improving Underground Infrastructure Line Location

Orange County Utilities (OCU) of Florida has long ascribed to strong asset management practices for its water, wastewater, and reclaimed water services, enhancing its overall program with expanded capability as opportunities arise. Such is the case with its new infrastructure line location functionality.

When excavating for construction, repair, or other projects, excavators must know of any underground infrastructure that exists at or near their dig sites. OCU ensures that utilities’ underground assets have been located and marked or deemed not to exist and that excavators receive timely notification of this information.

The GIS mapping application finds the proper location using data derived from the locate ticket generated in Maximo. The location can be marked as a point or a larger area using a draw tool.

Line Location at OCU

OCU wanted to better manage customer excavation requests inside the utility’s service areas. Partnering with EMA, OCU is in the final stages of configuring its IBM Maximo® work and asset management system to support its line locate business processes and comply with Florida’s regulatory “Call 811 Before You Dig” statutes.

At the center of this functionality is an interface between Maximo and the state-wide computer application used by Sunshine State One Call of Florida (One Call) to manage excavation requests from contractors and homeowners. The project also includes the installation of an interface between Maximo and OCU’s GIS, which will provide OCU’s locate staff and locate contractors with the most recent spatial data edits of underground infrastructure.

OCU will receive line locate requests from One Call and use Maximo, Mobile Maximo Work Manager, and ESRI/GIS mapping technology to effectively perform requested line location services, enabling the organization to:

• Easily screen tickets using up-to-date asset maps and display locate history
• Link locate tickets with corresponding work orders in Maximo
• Assign mass tickets to line locate personnel using the result set or the GIS as its selection criteria
• Create customized responses for excavators doing the work
• Electronically route/transmit Locate Work Orders to field staff
• Provide timely notifications to One Call, contractors, and homeowners

“When we started to design this application, we met with team members and found they were using three or four different sources to get the information they needed,” said Gary Nassoiy, Utilities Information Systems Administrator at OCU. “We’re trying to consolidate this process, strictly using Maximo and pulling all information into one or two informational resources. We’re also automating it so that it has mobile capability, where field workers can pick up their work orders, take care of the job remotely, and actually complete the locate ticket while out in the field.”

Benefits

The new functionality promises to improve OCU’s line location process dramatically, giving the locate staff the ability to use Maximo to screen tickets easily through a one-stop repository within their work and asset management system. The functionality also will allow OCU to capture and retain all information associated with each locate request within their system, which will increase work efficiency.

Other benefits that OCU’s locate work groups will realize with this integrated functionality include:

• Improved visibility of excavation requests from One Call
• Increased productivity of staff who screen excavation requests
• Better identification/marking of underground infrastructure
• Improved customer service to contractors and homeowners
• Better work routing and progress reporting
• Reduction in main breaks caused by excavation

The line locate functionality has the flexibility to accommodate Maximo versions 5.x and 6.x and is easily ported to version 7.x, which will meet OCU’s needs when the organization decides to upgrade.

Bloomington Public Works, Bloomington, MN

Leveraging Existing Data to Start an Asset Management Program

Several factors led the City of Bloomington Public Works Department (Bloomington) to begin Phase 1 of its asset management program. In addition to issues such as rising construction costs and aging infrastructure, the move would enable the utility to improve processes and overall efficiency and take a more strategic approach toward forecasting future business needs.

Glen Gerads Assistant Utility Superintendent

“For us to continue to grow as a utility, the next step was to take a real hard look at a formalized asset management program,” said Glen Gerads, Assistant Utility Superintendent at Bloomington.

Developing a Strategy; Assessing Assets

Bloomington’s asset management program would be a collaboration between its Water, Wastewater, Storm, and Transportation business units, which share common geography throughout the city.

Partnering with EMA, Bloomington developed an asset management plan. A “top down” assessment of all assets helped set the program’s foundation. With input from key support areas such as IT and Finance, the project team developed an effective initial asset valuation and life cycle forecast by creatively mining data in the existing GIS, maintenance and work management systems, and Financial Information System. Data gathering included:

Identifying Assets and Defining Value. By identifying its existing asset inventory, Bloomington gained a better understanding of the assets it owns. “It also helped us figure out what data we were missing and how everything should link together to give us a big picture view,” Gerads said.

Bloomington’s GIS contained a wealth of underground asset data, and its Datastream work management system provided nearly all of the City’s above-ground asset data.

Using an organizational framework called CRAV (Critically Related Asset Views) enabled Bloomington to group assets into categories, such as size, age and material, assets serving critical customers, and even known performance problem areas. “This helped us group assets together in such as way that we could make sense out of them,” Gerads explained.

The CRAV framework also helped Bloomington determine the theoretical life and value of each asset.

Collecting Data - Condition, Performance, and Reliability. The collection of asset condition, performance, and reliability data was critical to the project. The majority of the condition and reliability data was obtained through Bloomington’s maintenance and work management system and GIS. Performance data was acquired by leveraging existing water and wastewater modeling information, staff knowledge, and existing documentation. For each category (condition, performance, and reliability) an assessment protocol was developed to align the collected data.

Establishing Risk Values. Beyond just using remaining life, Bloomington assigned risk values to each asset group to help support their repair, rehabilitation, and replacement decisions. The risk factors consider the impact of safety, environment, operational integrity, as well as cost. The risk assessment also considers redundancy and how it impacts risk.

Next Steps at Bloomington

A Wastewater Collection CRAV (Critically Related Asset View) at Bloomington.

Bloomington completed Phase 1 of its program without committing upfront to extensive technology enhancements. With staff participation from all levels of the organization, the process helped Bloomington get an initial valuation of existing assets, identify any technology gaps, and begin developing best practices and a culture that supports asset management.

Phase 2 of the project will include analysis of how to integrate technology improvements, according to Gerads. “We have a team looking over all the information created in Phase 1 to figure out how we can best use all this data,” he said. “Next we will develop more of the day-to-day types of tools that we need to use and begin institutionalizing the whole asset management concept into our day-to-day activities.”

Cleveland Public Power, Cleveland, OH

Implementing a New CMMS

It was the formation of a special Work Order Improvement team at Cleveland Public Power (CPP) that led the organization to consider a new Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). For years, the utility had relied upon an in-house work order management system created in Microsoft Access.

Marcia Hines Manager of Process Engineering Management

“We looked at our work order process and realized that the vehicle we were using was not supporting our business,” said Marcia Hines, Manager of Engineering Process Management at CPP. “It had served its purpose for a long time, but we had incomplete information and no transparency across our organization. We knew we needed to improve.”

Selection and Implementation

Hines, who was captain of the Work Order Improvement team, proceeded to find a solution that would meet the utility’s work order processing needs. In addition to researching the different available software packages, Hines attended conferences and spoke with others in the industry about the systems they were using. Ultimately, her search led to Infor.

“Out of the box, it was the better product for us because it seemed to be user friendly and easily customized to our needs,” she said.

Partnering with EMA, CPP moved forward with the implementation of Infor 7i™, which would interface with CPP’s Banner Customer Information System. As a web-based system, the new functionality would provide the access and transparency across the organization that CPP required.

Throughout the implementation, CPP and EMA have taken a proactive approach toward the transfer of knowledge on the CMMS. A cross-functional implementation team continues to work with EMA on system configuration and implementation.

The Data Challenge

A major component of the CMMS implementation at CPP has been data collection. “Unfortunately, CPP’s data was not just sitting here ready for us to load in,” Hines said. “We’ve had to compile it.”

With much of the data archived and in hard copy form, subcommittees were formed throughout the organization to obtain the data, much of which had to be scanned into electronic format. Collecting the information has been no easy feat, but it does have its payoff, according to Hines, as the data that is populating the CMMS is not only proofed, but verified and extremely accurate.

Benefits of Transparency

The transition from a standalone, paper-driven work order process to an integrated CMMS has introduced immediate benefits at CPP. Among these: greater transparency, improved processes and practices, and work and asset data that is not only more accurate, but also highly accessible across the organization.

“The 100 percent transparency of our work order process will hold people and departments accountable to upholding their workload,” Hines said. “And it will help us make better estimates. Before, we weren’t even capturing all the true costs of an actual job. Being able to post labor, account for materials, and hours worked, and having all that data in one system will assist in identifying trends and ordering for the future.”

The implementation process has been a collaborative effort between departments such as Operations, Marketing, Engineering and Billing, which has helped CPP realize significantly improved work practices throughout the organization. “We are moving together as a team with one focus,” Hines explained. “This has forced us to look at how we do our work and tweak our practices to make them better.”

Next Steps at CPP

As CPP continues with its CMMS implementation, Hines indicated that already there is discussion about integrating the new functionality with other enterprise systems, including the City’s new Financial Information System.

“We’re also going to add bar-coding in our inventory component,” Hines said. “And we’re thinking about integrating Outage [emergency] Management with the system. We’re even going to embrace mobile units.”

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e-FLUENT
Remote Site Networking Options
Using WiMax radio technologies for high-speed wide-area wireless connectivity

Bob George Senior Network Security Consultant

Mitch Dobson Network Systems Architect

Wireless has long been a staple of the SCADA networking world. For access to remote, poorly-served facilities, the technology has several compelling advantages. Wireless products are low cost, and off-the-shelf offerings require no specialized knowledge and minimal training to install and operate. Wireless also provides freedom from right-of-way restrictions, trenching, and extensive build-out costs. Links can be established quickly with minimal engineering effort.

Unfortunately, there are limitations with the most common wireless alternatives. In addition to slower speeds and limited long-range configurations, increasing congestion of unlicensed frequency bands makes for an uncertain future for wireless reliability in heavily-populated metropolitan areas.

Further complicating matters, we now need to accommodate security video, physical access control, remote backup, and other high-load traffic to the farthest fringes of our networks.

Fortunately, emerging technologies have matured, providing a viable solution for all but the remotest of locations.

Enter WiMax

WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) provides standards for wide-area, broadband, wireless connectivity that can serve a role in fixed wireless deployments and solve numerous networking dilemmas for network designers:

• Products are available in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations, allowing a single radio to service multiple subscriber sites
• High network speeds can be obtained at long distances
• Options for both licensed and unlicensed frequencies provide solutions even in heavily populated areas
• Product designs emphasize security, addressing vulnerabilities that plagued earlier wireless efforts
• Advanced network capabilities allow for separation of traffic based on security requirements, giving priority to essential traffic

In short, WiMax products enable us to extend our networks to remote locations without compromise.

Wireless Networking Tips

EMA has worked with clients to design and deploy WiMax-based wireless networks in urban, rural, and remote scenarios. Consider these tips when faced with a potential wireless networking challenge:

1. Balance short-term capital expenditures with long-term recurring costs for subscriber services. Leased lines or carrier services may provide a lower initial cost of entry but cost far more in the long run. WiMax savings over subscriber services is typically realized within two to three years with continued savings thereafter.

2. Consider both immediate and long-term network growth. Design your network for your long-term needs, but deploy only what you need for the short term. Using common off-the-shelf (COTS) components, WiMax networks can be deployed incrementally, avoiding extensive initial build-outs and supporting growth as needed.

3. Include wireless in your network management and security plan. Considering current product capabilities, there is no need to compromise with wireless. Extend your security and management policies throughout your network to provide a robust, end-to-end security implementation.

4. Use WiMax for redundant connections between facilities that would otherwise be cost prohibitive. Even where WiMax does not provide the bandwidth to carry all traffic, it can be used to ensure essential traffic gets through.

5. Don’t skimp on towers or antenna build-outs. Line-of-sight and signal quality will have more impact on overall network performance than any other factors.

6. Place equipment in cabinets that can be readily accessed for maintenance. Ease of access will pay significant dividends with time.

7. Combine multiple links to reach outlying locations. Long-distance, point-to-point links to hub sites can be combined with point-to-multipoint radios to service multiple outlying subscriber sites.

Consider your options. WiMax may be the final link you need to extend your network infrastructure to those hard-to-service remote sites without making compromises.

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