DataSplice LLC

Case Study

• The Challenge

  How do you get a competitive edge in the power industry? Since electrical power is a commodity, one of the best ways to increase your profit margin is to lower the costs of ongoing operations and plant maintenance. Many of Calpine Corporation's 86 power plants were stocking and managing their own inventory of spare parts, to the tune of millions of dollars.
  
  When Calpine hired Scott Schilling as Warehouse Inventory Manager, he saw a prime opportunity to do just that. Across a fleet of 65 natural gas fired and 19 geothermal electricity-generating power plants, he found that each site was stocking and managing its own inventory of spare parts. For an electrical generator, this doesn't mean just nuts and bolts - some parts, such as pumps and motors, cost in excess of $50,000. Plants were carrying as much as $1 million in duplicate common parts.

• The Solution

  Solution: Mobilizing Inventory Management
  
  Schilling went looking for a system that would allow Calpine warehouse staff to digitally scan in data directly from a part, enter transactional information on the spot, and have that information flow automatically into a centralized data system. After looking at the available options, Schilling chose the mobile inventory management solution from DataSplice, a Microsoft Certified Partner. DataSplice provides an easy to configure solution that forms a bridge between enterprise data systems and mobile devices. "DataSplice had exactly what we were looking for, and offered the best value for the price," comments Schilling.
  
  "Our warehouse technicians have been very excited about the ease of functionality and time savings. They see the value immediately." said Scott Schilling
  
  Datasplice utilizes Pocket PC running the Windows operating system which provided a number of advantages. "Other handheld operating systems don't come close to the functionality," says DataSplice Lead Software Engineer Matt Kunze. "Pocket PC gives us higher performance and a familiar development environment. It allows our applications running on both Windows and handhelds to share a single source that compiles to separate targets. That saves us significantly in development effort."
  
  On the user side, Scott Schilling appreciated the convenience of using the Pocket PC platform. "I was able to load the DataSplice solution right onto my Compaq iPAQ. Those of us who don't need all the industrial-strength features can run the program on our regular PDAs. That saves us from having to invest in additional handheld devices."

• The Results

  In less than a year, Calpine is already seeing the payoff from its Warehouse Standardization Program and fleet-wide MAXIMO software implementation, in a number of ways:
  
  * Lowered Equipment Carrying Costs: By reducing the number of parts it is holding and enabling a fleet wide parts sharing program, Calpine is seeing savings of up to $100,000 for each existing plant. For each new plant that goes up, the cost of stocking parts has been reduced by $1,000,000, reflecting an immediate savings to Calpine.
  * Reduced Shrinkage: Real-time automated inventory control has enabled Calpine to cut in half the amount of equipment that goes unaccounted for. This is adding up to savings of up to $50,000 per year per plant.
  * Increased Productivity: By eliminating many manual processes, the solution is saving Calpine staff considerable time-on-task. Schilling has calculated that between the tasks of issuing parts-to-work orders, monthly cycle counts, inventory reconciliation, annual physical inventory, returning parts and locating parts, each plant will save 920 labor hours a year. At a conservative assumption of $25 per hour, that adds up to another $23,000 dollars in annual savings per site.
  * Cost Savings: With four new plants going up in 2004 and at least 15 existing plants adopting the system in that time, Calpine expects to save an estimated $10 million by the end of next year.
  
  Scott Schilling is proud of the outcome. "This project proved the financial benefits of mobile computing," he concludes. "It required solid products from Microsoft and Intermec, intelligent software and technical support from DataSplice, and clear vision from the Calpine management team. We now have an installed infrastructure that will support new operational applications to enhance Calpine's status as the most efficient and reliable energy generator in the industry." Full article located athttp://www.datasplice.com/SolutionsProducts/CaseStudies/CalpineCaseStudy