More than a decade ago, Kansas City Power & Light(KCP&L) began a major initiative to improve customer service and enhance operational efficiency by automating business processes and integrating customer data with distribution network information. In November 2006, after five months of pilot testing, KCP&L (Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) deployed a mobile workforce management system (MWFMS) for use by its Meter Reading & Field Services department. KCP&L will expand access to the new system, which features automated crew dispatching and optimized vehicle routing, to the Operations & Restoration group in early 2007 and to Construction & Maintenance personnel in 2008.

Once completely deployed, the MWFMS will optimize the efficiency of KCP&L field crews and provide them with remote access to data and functionality residing in four critical business systems: asset management/facilities management (AM/FM), customer information system (CIS), outage management system (OMS) and work management system (WMS).

AUTOMATION VISION

KCP&L serves nearly 500,000 customers in and around the Kansas City metropolitan area. Most of KCP&L's customers reside in four counties that contain the urban portion of the service territory. More than 5% of customers live in the 20 county rural areas outside the city. Since the early 1990s, KCP&L has maintained distribution network facilities and land-base information in an AM/FM system built with Intergraph's rule-based FRAMME package, which was upgraded to the newer G/Technology product in 2001.

With deregulation fast approaching in the mid-'90s, the utility embarked on a program to develop an integrated distribution automation system. The goal was to upgrade and integrate the primary operating systems so that all applications could access important information relating to customer and network operations. With a nod to Y2K fears, KCP&L replaced a legacy CIS with SPL WorldGroup's CIS PLUS product and integrated it with a Cellnet automated meter reading (AMR) package. KCP&L created links between the CIS and the SPL OMS, AM/FM, WMS (Logica's STORMS) and Advantica's SynerGEE distribution engineering analysis tool (DEAT).

This project was the first large step toward establishing an integrated environment in which the causes and effects of outages could be traced to customer locations and individual pieces of equipment. In addition, distribution assets could be designed, built and managed with precise knowledge of their impact on the network as a whole and the bottom line of the utility. Most importantly, details of these operations could be viewed and analyzed by personnel across the enterprise — provided they had access to the utility network.

TAKING AUTOMATION TO THE FIELD

Extending automation and mobile data to field crews was always part of KCP&L's vision, but this endeavor was put on hold in the '90s because existing wireless communications technology was inadequate for cost-effective implementation. By 2004, however, wireless technology had progressed both in terms of bandwidth and economics, and KCP&L once again pursued its desire to go mobile with the integrated systems, and automate the assignment and routing of field crews in the form of a MWFMS.

KCP&L Customer Operations maintains three types of field crews and vehicles, all of which will eventually access the new system:

• Field Services handles service connects/disconnects, service reconnections and overdue invoice collections, and has a fleet of 20 vehicles

• Operations & Restoration manages outages and other requests for repair, and operates about 40 trucks

• Construction & Maintenance performs the replacement and installation of electric distribution infrastructure, and has more than 100 vehicles.

Going into the mobile implementation, KCP&L management placed emphasis on applications that would boost the bottom line directly in terms of cost cutting and indirectly in terms of higher customer satisfaction. With this in mind, the utility focused heavily on batch-order processing, crew assignment and vehicle-routing capabilities in selecting a suitable MWFMS product. KCP&L chose the Intergraph InService package, which integrates the mobile work management functionality and the company's existing AM/FM facility maps into a single system. This product appealed to the utility for its advanced utility-based functionality and limited customization required to meet KCP&L's requirements.

FIELD FORCES BUY-IN

For KCP&L, the advantages of system configuration versus customization cannot be overstated. The ability to quickly configure the MWFMS to meet specific needs within the utility dramatically improved buy-in for the entire project. At the union level, there is always concern over the impact automation will have on jobs. However, the union representing KCP&L field workers was extremely impressed to learn the new system could be programmed to take geographic and seniority preferences into account when assigning work orders to specific crews.

The highly configurable user interface was another plus for both dispatch and field personnel. The utility spent months seeking input from these individuals as to what they wanted the MWFMS to do to make their jobs easier. These end users repeatedly demonstrated preferences for the type of information they needed presented to them via mobile terminals and the design of on-screen data-entry fields that would simplify their work. This feedback directly influenced the design of end-user interfaces, which gave personnel a tremendous sense of ownership as the system was developed.

IMPLEMENTING A MOBILE SOLUTION

The overall system configuration called for linking the AM/FM, CIS, OMS and WMS to InService so that information would flow back and forth between the field and the enterprise. To manage this transfer of data, KCP&L opted to install IBM's Websphere MQ message bus, an interface that offers real-time data updating between multiple systems, rather than the periodic batch file or database table transfers historically used.

As software development was occurring inside, numerous network changes were being made as well. The most notable was the implementation of wireless technology. KCP&L built its own Wi-Fi local area network (WLAN) in the vehicle yards and its Kansas City headquarters building. Operating on the 802.11 broadband protocols, this large bandwidth WLAN enables dispatchers to digitally transmit hundreds of job orders at speeds up to 50 megabits/sec directly to the service vehicles each morning before they leave the yard.

These digital work-order packets, along with any customer information the technician may need to complete the job, can be quite large, but they can be downloaded quickly over the WLAN. The files are downloaded to Panasonic Toughbook notebook computers mounted in the vehicle cab. These mobile computers were selected in part because they allow for wireless transmission over three different wireless networks (802.11, EDGE and Bluetooth). Software called NetMotion tracks multiple wireless networks and switches the notebook to the appropriate one as needed.

As the vehicles depart the utility parking lot and WLAN coverage area, NetMotion switches the mobile devices away from the WLAN and over to the Cingular EDGE wireless service. This lower-bandwidth wireless wide-area network (WWAN) allows the vehicles to maintain two-way communication with KCP&L dispatchers and transmit/receive job status updates throughout the day in most parts of the service territory.

The notebooks were also equipped with Intergraph's I/Mobile TC, which is the InService client software, and I/Tracker, a vehicle-tracking application. The utility outfitted each truck with an integrated Garmin GPS receiver/antenna. This unit continuously tracks the vehicle's location and passes this information to I/Tracker, which then forwards the GPS data via the Cingular network to the MWFMS at headquarters for viewing by the dispatchers.

Each mobile notebook also has been loaded with the same distribution network and land base layers from the AM/FM. These layers are too large for constant uploading and downloading on the wireless network, so the basic vectors reside on the computers. But field crews can query them using I/Mobile TC just as they would in the office to view schematics and maps of electric infrastructure locations. The mobile computers also contain detailed street centerline layers with address ranges for the entire service territory.

REAPING THE BENEFITS

KCP&L opted to roll out the MWFMS first to the Field Services group because this department would realize the most significant bottom-line benefits from automated dispatch and optimized vehicle routing. Field Services personnel handle a large number of priority orders, often relating to the collection of overdue accounts or reconnection of service. Adding a sense of urgency to this group's work is the fact that the utility is under Kansas Corporation Commission and Missouri Public Service Commission mandate to reconnect paid accounts within 24 hours.

In a typical day, the CIS analyzes the status of customer accounts and processes approximately 800 work orders relating to collections, disconnections and reconnections. Before implementing the MWFMS, Field Services foremen arrived about 2.5 hours before the morning shift to manually sort through these job orders. They grouped the orders geographically and assigned them to particular crews, creating a suggested route based on proximity and priority.

The MWFMS auto dispatch function now handles this process and creates the batch work orders in about 8 minutes. Most importantly for KCP&L, the assignment of jobs is governed by rules and exceptions customized according to the utility's needs and objectives. For instance, the system knows to assign high-priority reconnect orders early in the shift, making them less likely to be bumped to the next day. In addition, crews with seniority are usually assigned jobs in their preferred parts of the service territory or geographic regions they know the best.

The auto dispatch application operates in coordination with a routing function to balance the value of jobs with the cost of completing them as a way of reducing vehicle operating costs and maximizing crew efficiency. The MWFMS takes the following into account when assigning jobs and determining the best routes:

• Travel time between jobs (distance, convenience)

• Crew eligibility (status, skills, equipment, preferred assignment area)

• Job priority (dollar value, possible penalty)

• Customer-scheduled appointment times (commitment to customer)

• Travel penalties (avoiding congested areas).

The combination of automated dispatch and optimized routing ensures the right personnel are assigned the closest jobs. To make navigation easier for the crews, they can query I/Tracker on their notebooks to view the real-time GPS location of their vehicle on the road network layer and ask for a suggested best route to the next job. This navigation assistance previously had to be handled by voice over the radio and cuts down on time lost searching for the right street or house.

Assignments, especially for Field Services, change throughout the day as new orders come in and customers pay late bills. Through its live link to the CIS, the MWFMS constantly tracks these changes, assigning new jobs, canceling others as needed and delivering the updated orders directly to the vehicles. As crew assignments are modified during the day, the system continues to process and route them for maximum efficiency. The MWFMS will even notify the dispatcher if a particularly high-priority job is in danger of being missed.

It is important to note that a dispatcher or crewmember can override the mobile solution at any time. And to ensure that utility personnel can exercise their own judgment, the MWFMS allows a Field Services professional to directly query the CIS to make sure a payment has not been posted immediately prior to disconnecting a customer's service.

As crews close out an order, they input this information into the mobile terminal. The MWFMS updates the CIS, giving customer service representatives access to the latest status on jobs and client accounts. If payments are made in the field, this fact is immediately relayed to the CIS and other relevant business systems. A Bluetooth wireless connection between the mobile notebook and the O'Neil portable personal printer enables the Field Services professional to issue receipts on-site to paying customers.

TAKING THE NEXT STEPS

KCP&L is already experiencing the benefits of automated dispatching and routing. Field Services vehicles travel fewer miles to complete a larger number of orders in a day, which saves fuel and maintenance costs. The utility believes its customers are being served more quickly, which yields indirect advantages as well. As the MWFMS is expanded to include Operations & Restoration trouble crews next year, KCP&L anticipates seeing similar improvements in operating efficiencies there.

Operations & Restoration crews, however, are expected to dig more deeply into the AM/FM functionality available to them through the I/Mobile TC application. Dispatchers will continue to use the CIS and OMS to identify outages based on customer trouble calls. Trouble crews will gain a better understanding of the outage and its impact on a given area with the facility data provided by the mobile terminal. As they fix equipment, they will use their mobile terminal to query on a pole or transformer shown on the distribution network and retrieve data relating to it that can help them finish the repair.

Perhaps most importantly, the mobile application will allow troublemen to view the real-time locations of other crews. The layers will display the crew positions relative to addresses, streets and network infrastructure, providing a vital safety function as one crew traces a line they are repairing to make sure that no other personnel are working on the same one. In addition, the crews can provide periodic time estimates of power restoration that can be relayed through their mobile terminal back to the OMS and CIS, allowing customer service representatives to offer accurate outage details to concerned customers.

In the future, as the troublemen close trouble orders, they will use I/Mobile TC forms to record any follow-up repairs that are required at the site. This information will be routed from the MWFMS to the WMS, where the project will be estimated and designed. The WMS will generate a work order that will go back to the MWFMS for assignment to the Construction & Maintenance crew with the right combination of skills and equipment to complete the job quickly and accurately.

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Ed Hedges is a project manager in the Engineering & Asset Management department of KCP&L. He is responsible for the implementation of the MWFMS system and other key distribution automation and support systems. Hedges joined the KCP&L in 1994 as the AM/FM project administrator. He was responsible for the implementation of KCP&L's AM/FM system. As an IT principal analyst, Hedges supervised a team supporting the AM/FM, WMS, FLEET and other distribution operations support systems.
Ed.Hedges@kcpl.com

Victoria Barszczak is the manager of Field Service and Accounts Receivable Management for KCP&L. Her area of responsibility covers meter reading, field service, and credit and collections areas. Barszczak has worked on numerous projects during her 20 years at KCP&L including the Cellnet AMR, the Itron MRVS upgrade, the SPL CIS PLUS implementation and business lead on the Intergraph Mobile Data project. She attended Central Missouri State University. Vicki.Barszczak@kcpl.com