Dominion Virginia Power uses TRIMS software to track all aspects of equipment handling, from initial receipt, through refurbishment and ultimate disposal.

It is critical that utilities know what equipment they have on hand and what condition it is in to meet their immediate and long-term service needs. The ability to decide future equipment requirements is greatly enhanced with an accurate system that details the history of the equipment. Dominion Virginia Power understood this and decided it needed to automate the manual tracking repair process at its transformer repair facility at Castlewood Road in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

The utility was unsure whether it was repairing the right size transformers to put back in inventory. Its main focus was to accumulate data that would assist engineers with transformer buying decisions. For example, would upgrading transformers lead to fewer instances of repair, thus offsetting the price increase of the transformers? The existing system did not provide this type of information. The utility also was concerned that it could not capture trends that would be beneficial in evaluating a manufacturer's overall performance. For instance, by tracking whether less expensive transformers purchased from Vendor A needed more repairs than the pricier ones offered by Vendor B, Dominion Virginia Power could better evaluate the life-cycle costs. In addition, this information would provide leverage concerning warranty issues with equipment suppliers.

Filling a Need What Dominion Virginia Power needed was a comprehensive software product to provide data collection and inventory control for transformers returned from the field. Furthermore, the software needed to support supply reporting and work management tasks to improve productivity. The management wanted to integrate the recycle/repair transformer shop operations into the supply chain process to better manage inventory and control costs. The existing card-based record-keeping system was cumbersome and time consuming.

In 1997, Dominion Virginia Power issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a comprehensive transformer tracking system. Washington, D.C.-based Symbiont Inc. responded to the RFP with its Transformer Related Information Management System (TRIMS), an application software package. TRIMS has the capacity to track information concerning each operating aspect of a transformer's life cycle, from initial receipt from the manufacturer through its service life. The software also monitors the status of individual transformers by serial number throughout these various phases - from the recycle/repair shop to the final destination, as it is returned to stock or condemned to investment recovery for sale.

More Efficient Operations Currently, Dominion Virginia Power only uses TRIMS to track transformers through its repair facility. When Dominion Virginia Power receives a transformer from one of the field locations, the transformer gets receipted into the system. Depending on the year the transformer was manufactured, TRIMS could require an oil test and create a bar code label that would direct activities for this testing. A transformer goes through different "gates" or processes in the repair shop. If the transformer needs to be junked after it is receipted, the fate would be set to "C" or condemned. Then, the system would create a bar code label to affix to the transformer. If the transformer requires repair, TRIMS would produce a bar code label to indicate fate "R." Upon receipt, if the transformer was deemed to be in perfect condition, it could go back into stock. Dominion Virginia Power became a beta test site for TRIMS in September 1998 and began using it as an integrated system in July 1999.

Cleaning Up the Environment After working with the utility on the system, which had been in the testing mode for a period of time, the programmer was able to easily modify the product to accommodate changes the Environmental Protection Agency had made to its MEGA rule requirements for the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). The programmer actually modified TRIMS during installation to accommodate this rule change. Because of the MEGA rule, Dominion Virginia Power requires all oil-filled transformers manufactured before July 2, 1979, to be tested for PCBs. Transformers that require PCB testing have special markings applied to the bar code when the recycle/repair shop receives them. This coding prevents transformers from being processed back into stock or disposed until the PCB test results are received and recorded.

Dominion Virginia Power engineers send hundreds of transformer oil samples to the lab each month for testing. TRIMS has reduced the risk and time associated with PCB processing by providing a bar code label for the oil sample, documentation for transfer of the sample to the lab and electronic posting of the lab test results. Employees can now readily scan the bar code label to find the PCB status of transformers.

In addition, TRIMS has eliminated the high potential for error. The old process required manually reviewing a printed lab report, locating each transformer by serial number and then posting the lab report and test results on the transformer. This automated enhancement has reduced time spent on these activities by 40%. Moreover, the automated PCB status has assured the utility that pumped oil will be handled in accordance with established guidelines (for example, PCB oil is placed in a PCB-contaminated tank and non-PCB oil is deposited into a non-PCB tank). Several different procedures are used for recycling various types of oil.

Where It's At Dominion Virginia Power continually strives to add value and reduce costs with its supply-chain focus. Applying this philosophy to used transformers has reduced handling time by approximately 25%. The shop might process more than 200 transformers in a week. TRIMS has eliminated manual record keeping and reduced the manpower previously assigned to these functions from five to three, according to Supervisor Robert Barnes. The utility now is able to retrieve a daily log and keep daily totals of shop activities. It now has a history for each transformer that is easily accessible. In addition, a unit with a history of repair problems can be condemned immediately, eliminating the expense of going through numerous steps of repairs.

Training for TRIMS was straightforward, and employees were able to use the system productively after a relatively short time, says Shop Electrician Donnie Robertson. The development of TRIMS had to incorporate the following major supply-chain-related concepts:

- Improve the operations of the department and reduce the cost of repairs. TRIMS incorporates the advantages of bar code labeling, scanning, radio frequency (RF) and local area network (LAN) technology. The RF network allows users freedom from a personal computer to collect or input data about a transformer. Whether the user is out in the yard identifying a load for scrap vendors or on the shop floor making and recording a repair on a transformer, the RF network is an integral part of TRIMS. The LAN contributes to the architecture in a client-server environment where all users interact with one database.

- Provide inventory analysis. The host environment (SAP) does not interface with TRIMS. The utility can extract reports that show how many transformers need repair and where they are at in the repair cycle. The inventory analyst in charge of transformers and the supervisor of the transformer repair section meet on a regular basis to discuss and determine transformer requirements.

- Provide acceleration in the availability and sales of scrapped units to investment recovery. If the unit is deemed condemned as material is received into TRIMS, it is labeled as such upon receipt. If the unit is non-PCB, it can be pumped and immediately made available for sale to a vendor. This process has reduced the handling of these transformers by about 25%.

- Reduce the risk associated with PCBs. PCB-contaminated oil was commonly used in transformers before 1980. The industry stopped using this oil after the substance was found to be a carcinogen. Dominion Virginia Power pumps oil out of the transformers if it repairs or sells them. The utility recycles and reuses oil from transformers that are non-PCB in other processes. If PCB oil is mistakenly placed in a non-PCB tank, then the tank is labeled PCB, and actions associated with handling PCB oil are put in place. Because this type of error adds cost to the bottom line, Dominion Virginia Power is careful in handling oil properly.

Summing it Up The main advantage of TRIMS is that it makes information readily available regarding the status of transformer inventory (quantity, availability and repair requirement). This gives Dominion Virginia Power a competitive edge, because the ability to manage inventory is one way to manage cost and control expenses. As the utility puts transformers back into inventory and eventually back into service, it has an established tracking system that identifies when transformers are repaired and by who. This is critical in case there is a need to recoup this information for any reason. TRIMS provides accountability for the repair process.

Dominion Virginia Power's focus remains on customer satisfaction, reliable service and process improvements. Having a system that assists in these areas helps to make the utility more cost efficient, which makes it a low-cost provider to customers.

Dominion Virginia Power plans to continue to monitor and enhance its use of TRIMS. The utility is enhancing the software by enabling additional reporting capabilities and editing functionality. In addition, query capabilities have been added with the Access database from Microsoft. This has been a major improvement to the utility's reporting capabilities.

What's Next? Although most of the lengthy record-keeping tasks have been replaced with the implementation of this software, Dominion Virginia Power will continue to review and incorporate other advantages of the system. Once a transformer is inputted, the labeling capabilities offer an efficient bar code scan that all but eliminates mistakes in future recycling activities. Also, once the transformer has been through the repair cycle, a history for that unit is created, which can provide benefits in determining future work for that transformer. Another potential benefit is the capability to import manufacturer test data for all new transformers. This will enable TRIMS to recognize the serial number and establish a stock number for staging and other pertinent data about a transformer, thus accelerating the receipting process.

Furthermore, Dominion Virginia Power's procurement department now incorporates recycling/repair shop projections into its purchasing forecast. By incorporating TRIMS into its transformer shop, the utility is in a better position to establish and identify supply chain initiatives. The utility now has a powerful tool to support its management cost containment objectives for oil-filled distribution equipment.