Wisconsin Energy picks M3i for Enterprise Workforce Management Solution

Canada's M3i Systems announced yesterday that its highly scalable PragmaCAD Workforce Management (WFM) system has been chosen by Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) to address the multifaceted workforce integration resulting from the upcoming merger of the holding company's utility subsidiaries, Wisconsin Gas and Wisconsin Electric. The new service provider will operate under the Wisconsin Energy banner. With PragmaCAD already managing all aspects of crew dispatch and field operations at Wisconsin Gas, the ‘Multi-agencies' software is the perfect fit and choice to help make certain the overall success of the new company.

M3i designs and develops mission critical Real-time Operation Management Systems (ROMS) for energy, telecommunications, and public safety organizations. The company has assisted several of the leading energy providers in the world improve customer satisfaction, enhance corporate image to shareholders and the media, control costs, and advance regulatory relationships. The flexibility unique to M3i's software also allows energy providers to add independent agencies to their corporate operations as outsourcing subsidiaries that can provide field services such as call center, order dispatch, metering, billing, and collections to other utilities and service organizations.

As utilities face tougher and tougher challenges to improve customer satisfaction, build shareholder value, stand up under government and media scrutiny, and capitalize on converging energy markets and growth opportunities, mergers and acquisitions are becoming key to their business strategy. Careful resource allocation and utilization are paramount to success and are a driving force behind the need for energy providers to incorporate proven CAD systems to ensure on-going success.

Even though the gas and electric subsidiaries are now under the same umbrella, huge volumes of different data are being generated by each of them, all of which has to be quickly and accurately validated before the transition is complete. "In a merger this complex, it was imperative we have a system that meets the current business practices of both utilities and provides flexibility for our changing operations. We chose PragmaCAD to ensure real value and ease of operation," states Jim Kuchler, Wisconsin Gas Manager – Field Operations, Metro Milwaukee.

Kuchler continues, "The size of our dispatch operations has more than doubled, yet our costs are far less than one might expect for this much expansion. This would have been impossible without the M3i expertise and products."

Wisconsin Electric and Wisconsin Gas serve more than one million electric and over 940,000 natural gas customers throughout Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Operating more than 16,500 miles of gas main and 30,000 miles of electrical transmission and distribution wire, the combined companies form the largest energy provider in Wisconsin.

In addition, WEC exhaustively evaluated the M3i software against the existing Wisconsin Electric CAD application and declared M3i the clear winner. The highly sophisticated, full function PragmaCAD will now be their single, pivotal system to ensure improved customer care and operational efficiency as the combined utilities look forward to the future.

"Being a well-known, well proven entity to Wisconsin Gas did not guarantee success over the competition," said Mario Poirier, President and Chief Technology Officer for M3i. "In the final analysis, it was our industry-wide reputation for hands-on expertise, the best technology and our ability to deliver solutions on time and on budget that lead to the award of this prestigious installation."

Edited by Stephen Heiser