Increase Mobile Tech Productivity

With a rugged laptop, a field service automation solution, and process changes and improvements, this utility reduced service order turnaround time from seven days to less than 24 hours.

The utility industry isn't one known for its innovation in mobile technology. Sure, utilities adopt mobile technology for their field workers, but they typically only adopt what is necessary. Of course, there are those that break this norm occasionally, as Austin Energy indicates. A division of this utility has implemented a mobile technology solution for its field workers that any company would do well to emulate – especially when considering the productivity increases the division experienced.

Austin Energy is a municipal-owned electric utility composed of several internal groups overseeing various aspects of utility operations, with a total of 1,500 employees and revenues of $800 million. The Revenue Measurement and Control (RMC) Division represents the utility at customer sites from the electric pole to the house/building, so to speak. The RMC group has about 40 techs in the field who work directly with the customer in a variety of functions, such as solving problems with meter reads as well as turning off power and investigating when people might be stealing it.