ENERGY & UTILITY

Comprehensive end-to-end FSM solution to manage the whole metering process for Utilities

Overview

Energy suppliers have been increasing the number of smart meters they install and subsequently service. This program is an essential infrastructure upgrade digitalizing the energy system, providing greater understanding of how much energy is being used, where and when, improving the efficiency of forecasting demand. This will help the consumer lower their energy bills and carbon emissions. Improved forecasting will help reduce waste in the energy system and in the future enable greater provision to be from local and renewable resources.

The deployment of smart meters must be carried out safely, keeping the consumer and supplier technician safe but at a reasonable cost. Scheduling appointments is an important part of the process reducing interruptions in service during the installation process with power only switched off at the point the meter is changed. Consumers know when technicians need to have access and clear the space around their meter.

From manual measurements to smart metering

For many years, utilities companies have been carrying out manual readings, relying on estimates or customer provided readings and then using the resulting data to make decisions. Inherently leading to a reduction in the ability to provide accurate billing and forecasting with higher meter reading logistic costs.

Manual meter measurements first, meter readings was a cumbersome process and required the physical presence of technicians who had to be able to access the consumers premises. This method involved the need to maintain a large number of field employees. It also generated high costs and cause2d huge logistics problems for distributors and volatility of customer’ appointments.

Meter measurements using wireless technologies: in the second stage, remote data collection was made possible by wireless technologies (e.g. radio and GSM) or solutions with converters in meters, which enabled remote data reading using the “drive-by” method. These remote monitoring tools only allowed meters to be read from a few meters away. Readers physically still had to visit a given area and suppliers didn’t have permanent access to up-to-date information.

Remote data measurement – smart metering: now a new era of readings has begun. Companies from the utilities sector are now able to access user data remotely, 24/7, with no necessity for physical staff to take readings. With the latest smart meter protocols, this means that information can be transmitted automatically, directly from meters to information systems. Information can be sent over very long distances, allowing suppliers (operators) to efficiently manage resources and detect leaks, anomalies and security breaches early. Typically usage data being collected monthly, daily and every half hour.

The future of smart metering systems

It will be based on technology that lets consumers control their energy usage and pay for it digitally. Through an IoT platform, consumers can better manage their energy consumption and receive notifications. This approach will create a more efficient system that serves the interests of all involved, including energy suppliers, governments, and consumers alike. Moreover, the use of this technology can help to create more efficient and sustainable cities.

What are smart meters?

Smart meters are a state-of-the-art technology that makes it possible to remotely read utility meters. It also enables communication among smart meters, utilities, and suppliers.
Originally it concerned only electricity meters, now it also includes meters for water, gas, heating and other utilities, and is closely related to the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Advanced communications infrastructure (or AMI) is a sophisticated system of smart meters, data networks and other technologies that provide utilities with the ability to measure, manage and report on electricity consumption. It includes systems for two-way communications between the utility and user, as well as an extensive computerized data management system, such as:

Automatically and remotely measure energy use
Connect and disconnect service
Detect tampering
Identify and isolate outages
Monitor voltage

Advantages of AMI

At a large scale, communication technology will become an integral part of managing the grid. When energy is sent through power lines, it will be received by smart meters that will send data back to network providers. This new technological solution will help manage energy needs and supply in a faster, more efficient manner. In the event of an outage, energy could be re-routed via a different path to the customer. It also allows for renewable energy to be better integrated in the system.

At a personal level, having more information about energy consumption will help consumers understand how they are consuming and how to make more efficient choices.

OverIT NextGen FSM

Comprehensive end-to-end FSM solution to manage the whole metering process for Utilities

MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT

FIELD
ORGANIZATION

CUSTOMER
BOOKING

SCHEDULING &
DISPATCHING

MOBILE
EXECUTION

REPORTING AND
MONITORING

B2C REMOTE
ASSISTANCE

Master data management

OverIT NextGen FSM provides the capability to acquire, manage and represent the entire set of data and mandatory information to optimize the meter replacement process:

Data acquisition from third party systems such as Billing (e.g. SAP ISU, NET@Suite, Oracle CC&B).
Master data from both customer and property information.
Existing meter master data (capacity, year of fabrication, manufacturer, model, etc.).
New meter master data (capacity, year of fabrication, manufacturer, model, etc.).

Leveraging advanced GIS cartographic features, the NextGen FSM enables master data to be represented on visual maps (Google, Here, BING, ESRI, … ). Thanks to its Integration Layer Multichannel, the Platform facilitates a real-time bidirectional communication with third party systems to push data back.

Field organization

Based upon the cartographic and area/street or part of street, the system allows you to select a cluster of meters (e.g. divided according to geographic areas and technical features), in order to generate a replacement activity schedule.
Having created the replacement plan, the OverIT NextGen FSM provides an overview of the activities to be performed directly and an exported list for each individual subcontractor responsible for delegated meters.

Customer Booking

With inbuilt methods to integrate with your CRM and Contact Center, the NextGen FSM provides you with a tool to optimally book appointments with customers whilst taking into account the geolocation, technicians’ availability, assignment area, cost, at risk customer needs, and customer specific premise siting of the meters, for example notice and access requirements such as indoor, outdoor, in public areas, security etc.
the NextGen FSM allows you to book, rebook, and cancel service appointments, optimize technicians schedules by reducing travel time, increasing utilization, maximizing jobs per day, grouping nearby appointments and thus improve customer experience and communication.

How AI Optimizes the Workload of Your Adjusters to Handle the Most Complex Claims

Scheduling & dispatching

OverIT NextGen FSM offers a schedule optimization engine to maximize the assignment of Work Orders to both internal field teams and third-party contractors. Schedule optimization helps Utilities comply with Service Level Agreements, hardware to be installed, priorities, and minimize travel time, overtime, costs, late arrivals, and no-shows.

Mobile Execution

OverIT NextGen FSM is the platform independent App (iOS, Android, Windows) providing both full online and offline mobility, for example:

Visualize the list of assigned work-order;
Collect technical data;
Confirm the replacement of the obsolete meter;
Take photos and capture signatures as proof of replacement performed;
Report the activity;
Rebook intervention or a follow-up visit;
Take photos of difficult siting (e.g., customer has new fitted kitchen so rejects replacement positioning).

In collaboration with some of our Customers responsible for smart meter replacement and reading we have incorporated specific functionality in the mobile to optimize the process (e.g., allow technicians to pick a meter from an alphanumeric list or from a map displaying the meters’ location).

Reporting and monitoring

the NextGen FSM provides dedicated monitoring tools to visualize, monitor and supervise both internal staff and contractors activity progress.
KPI and metrics are represented through reports, dashboards and features that can be visualized including on maps.

B2C remote assistance

More frequently, especially in the unfortunate current environment, customers are expecting Energy suppliers to be able to remotely provide support with any troubleshooting task related to the meter replacement and other associated services on home appliances e.g., water boiler, thermostat.
Thanks to the NextGen FSM’s Augmented Reality visual support agents can see the customer’s physical environment via their smartphone, providing simpler resolutions to the majority of technical support issues and provide high levels of customer service for all field interactions.
Similarly subject-matter experts and experienced personnel can provide direct and subcontract technicians collaborative support through the use of Knowledge Management, Augmented Collaboration and AI driven automatic capture and automatic workflow capture.