Success story: maintenance and incident apps for Iberdrola substations
Iberdrola mobilized its substation maintenance and incident processes with XOne: seven apps, more than 2,000 devices and 30% savings.
Technical support service for maintenance and incident management at electrical substations.
- Iberdrola operates in more than 70 countries.
- More than 2,000 operational devices mobilized with XOne.
- Integration with Oracle.
- Operating systems: Android, Windows and BlackBerry.
The challenge
Deploying operational processes on mobile devices to improve the efficiency and decentralization of the service.
The great complexity of the services of the multinational Iberdrola Distribución made it necessary to deploy operational processes on mobile devices as a key factor in improving the efficiency and decentralization of the organization, as well as in providing the crews working in the field with the best possible tools.
The mobilization began with the first applications on BlackBerry phones, which had their own app store, communications server and security and encryption system. Once that solution began to decline, Iberdrola’s Control Systems department chose to migrate its incident management application to Android for Work, an enterprise solution open to multiple device manufacturers and developers, backed by Google.
The XOne solution
Mobility tools equipped with maintenance and development resources.
XOne, the new enterprise work environment adopted by Iberdrola to mobilize its processes, consists of a catalog of apps based on the user or device profile.
A set of tools was implemented with XOne technology, equipped with AI-enabled mobile maintenance and development resources. A further step toward a complete mobility solution was the deployment of a dedicated communications infrastructure, which provides greater control over all devices and is integrated with Iberdrola’s JIRA tool.
The XOne apps enable first-line handling of device incidents, a secure work environment and efficient communication services. In addition, XOne makes it possible to work without coverage in open country, with the highest level of security and reliability, so that no data is lost.
The deployed apps provide support for all users of the applications developed with the platform and installed on the devices, for their maintenance and for any new features that may arise during development. XOne integrates with any tool the client needs for project management, which in this case is JIRA.
1. Replanteos (site surveys): renewal management
The site survey mobile application collects information for the Installation Renewal System (SRI), which manages device deployment work and renewal work at facilities in operation.
The SRI inherits the functionality of Iberdrola Distribución’s WebSTAR and WebOCR, enriched with many other types of work expected in the near future given Iberdrola Distribución’s Asset Renewal plan.
The application is developed with the XOne platform tools and SETOM’s mobility infrastructure (Windows/Linux servers and Oracle database).
Implementation time: 4 weeks.
2. Medistel: incident management for the Iberdrola Distribución network
This is the mobile application that, integrated with the REPOS system, is used to manage incidents and work orders from Iberdrola Distribución’s SPECTRUM control system. It is used in local operations both by Iberdrola’s UTD crew officers and by external contractor staff.
It allows:
- Reassigning incidents.
- Closing incidents.
- Attaching images.
- Declaring the actual scope.
It manages incidents relating to:
- Low voltage.
- Medium-voltage interventions.
- Other service calls.
- Module for closing the operation report (SAP).
Implementation time: 10 weeks.
3. Secure photo sending: sharing images
An application designed to complement other mobile applications, whether or not they are built with the XOne platform, that need to share photographs securely and confidentially with operational systems. For this reason, integration with other applications is planned.
Implementation time: 1 week.
4. Incident dashboard: app for directors
An application that displays summarized data on the status of the control centers and the regions into which Iberdrola Distribución is divided. It manages:
- Ongoing incidents.
- Total affected customers.
- Energy not supplied.
XOne is expected to review the current version and redesign it to adapt it to the latest device models, as well as to expand the available queries.
Implementation time: 3 weeks.
5. Damage Assessment Tool: reporting damage to facilities
The application, integrated with REPOS, allows authorized users to report faults and damage to high- and medium-voltage assets in the Iberdrola Distribución network. The app:
- Shortens response times.
- Makes incident management easier at the COD, especially when it is overloaded.
Its functionality is planned to be extended to link faults with urgent outages and with the areas affected by the incident, with the aim of providing an estimated resolution time that is as realistic as possible.
Implementation time: 3 weeks.
6. Llamadas Mobile: creating call records
The application, integrated with REPOS, complements the Llamadas al COD (calls to the COD) web tool and the interface with the Customer Information System (SIC). It allows authorized users in the field to create call records, which the system will convert into a new low-voltage incident or associate with an existing one. This shortens response times and makes incident management easier at the COD, especially when it is overloaded.
Implementation time: 3 weeks.
7. Map tile image download
This application runs on Windows systems and allows areas of Google Maps to be downloaded with the zoom level or map mode set in its configuration, so it can be customized to the client’s needs.
- The images can be used in web or desktop applications, converting GPS coordinates into X,Y positions on those images.
- The areas to be downloaded are defined by two GPS points, which are the opposite corners of the area’s rectangle.
- It allows several areas to be downloaded at once, with the same or different zoom levels, in street or satellite mode.
The application is currently used in Spain and the US.
Implementation time: 1 week.
Results
Apps that cut operating costs and streamline daily work. The company achieved 30% savings by integrating mobility into its daily processes, which made the work of field operators considerably easier.
Capabilities provided by the solution:
- Control center supervision: faults, fault assignment and intervention details.
- Site surveys.
- On-call crews.
- Entry of network elements.
- Access to technical documents.
- Push updates.
- Wearables, voice-guided operations, cartographic heat maps, infrared thermal analysis and vital signs monitoring.
- Photos and videos.
- Pre-outage site visits and outages with and without voltage.
- Electrical diagram viewer.
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