DataSplice LLC

DataSplice LLC

Client

  • Connexus

    For Connexus Energy inspectors, dealing with extremities in the extremes is a daily occurrence some four months of every year. Winterwind chill temperatures for these Minnesota workers often drop to well below zero. DataSplice teamed up with Intermec to help Connexus energy save time, money, and keep employees safe and warm(er).

    Case Study

    In Its Element: Connexus Energy has cost savings down cold

    • The Challenge

      Connexus inspectors have traded the pens and clipboards for Intermec 740 mobile computers and mobile CMMS software from DataSplice. The change has increased inspector task time by 43 percent. It has reduced Connexus substation maintenance management costs by the same percentage and, most importantly for customers, has made inspection data available for analysis the day it is gathered.

    • The Solution

      The next logical step Connexus management began looking for ways to improve efficiency several years ago. Once the company had implemented a computerized maintenance management system, mobile computing was the logical next step. Mobile computing seemed like one of the simpler projects where the return on investment was really big, said Craig Johnson, IS business systems analyst at Connexus. With it, substation inspectors could enter the 3,000 measurement points into portable computers instead of writing everything down and then keying the information into a computer back at the office.

    • The Results

      “With the old method, by the time the readings
      were typed into the office computer and
      analyzed, it might be a week or more after
      the measurements were taken,” Sullivan said.
      Equipment operating out of tolerance range
      would be flagged for repair. “But by then, that
      piece of equipment could have failed. You might
      have customers without power, and obviously
      that’s not good.”
      Now when an inspector arrives at a substation,
      he enters the location into the Intermec
      mobile computer. The unit runs Microsoft
      Windows CE software for Pocket PC configured
      by Intermec partner DataSplice and Connexus
      developers.
      “We have standard bolt-on solutions for
      computerized maintenance management
      systems, but what Connexus wanted to do was
      really outside of that,” said Jeff Gibson, senior
      solution specialist at DataSplice. “They decided
      to have one of our consultants go up to Ramsey
      and work on development and train their developers
      at the same time. They built the solution
      together during a training session.”
      That training session, with DataSplice
      consultant Mike Johnson, lasted about eight
      hours. By session’s end, Connexus had implemented
      the DataSplice product with full connectivity
      to the production database. Within the first
      two hours, Connexus designers built a complex
      Oracle database view that can be easily accessed
      on the mobile computer’s screen. It shows every
      inspection point in the physical order it appears
      during the inspector’s substation tour.

      The company’s computerized maintenance
      management system now has same-day inspection
      data to analyze. Sifting through thousands
      of measurement points, it can compile a report
      on those measurements outside the normal
      range. A maintenance manager can dispatch
      repair crews within hours instead of days or
      weeks.