Gippsland Water in Victoria will apply real time technology and mobile tablets to manage its $1 billion network of assets more efficiently.
The new Mobile Solutions technology means that crews working in the field will be able to record and report their work without sending paper reports back to their home depot, saving on travel time and data entry.
The introduction of the tablet computer will mark a historic shift for the organisation and has been embraced by field services crews operating around the Gippsland Water region, explained Nic Moss, Manager of Field Operations.
“With the new Mobile Solutions technology, information is now electronically recorded in the field in real time and linked to our central database, eliminating the need for double handling of paperwork back in head office. The guys really love it as it allows them to not only report in when a job is complete it also allows them to check the position of our pipes as well as such things as electricity lines via the GPS function within the device.” he added.
The final product was extensively tested and modified by Gippsland Water’s field operations team to ensure the tablet was able to meet the specific needs of Gippsland Water.
“These things spend a lot of time in the truck and need to be pretty tough to stand up to field conditions. For the guys to be confident in it, it was very important that they influenced the way the tablet was developed.”
“Now that we have a usable system in place, the information we record is more accurate and robust, and that will ultimately benefit customers,” concluded Mr Moss.
The new tablet technology is also used in other areas of the business including trade waste and water quality monitoring, also increasing efficiencies of the business.
About Gippsland Water
Gippsland Water delivers reliable, high-quality water, wastewater and waste recovery services to ensure social, environmental and economic benefits to customers and communities across central Gippsland. The water corporation supports a population of approximately 150,000 people, along with a large number of local industries, including industries of state and national significance.
The organisation is responsible for building and maintaining its $1 billion infrastructure network, which includes more than 2000 kilometres of water mains, 16 water treatment plants, over 1500 kilometres of sewer mains and 14 wastewater treatment plants.
The new Mobile Solutions technology allows Gippsland Water field staff to access up to date data out in the field.
