Powel, Inc. has introduced StormWorks powered by QuantaStorms, a mobile storm assessment application that coordinates informed, targeted responses between the field and office to speed recovery from storm-related outages.
Developed with PAR Electrical Contractors, Inc., a Quanta Services company, StormWorks allows field personnel equipped with mobile PCs to generate comprehensive damage reports for swift dispatch of appropriate crews and materials. The client/server-based system helps restore power more quickly and cost-effectively by letting utilities assign restoration work to crews faster to minimize non-productive waiting time.
The mobile client uses simple pen-based inputs so office staff, line crews and outside emergency crews can learn to use StormWorks quickly. With the option to perform both Initial Assessments to estimate total damage quickly or Detailed Assessments to generate printed work packets for repair crews showing exactly where to go and with what materials, StormWorks lets utilities understand and respond effectively to storm-related outages. All assessments are GPS-enabled but street addresses can be entered manually to define the damage location.
Office personnel using the StormWorks "Executive Dashboard" can call up assessors and crews, make assignments and pull together all assessment data to extrapolate total damage. The system's customizable algorithms estimate cost and man-hours for repairs. Once the total damage is known, users can run "what-if" scenarios based on select factors (personnel numbers, skill levels, current weather) to get a more accurate estimate of crews and days needed to restore, improving the utility's ability to communicate correct restoration timelines to customers and the media.
StormWorks is just one application within the Powel WorkStudio suite. Powel WorkStudio is a mobile work management platform with office-based analysis that helps utilities work smarter through the entire asset lifecycle. Powel WorkStudio contains other complementary applications for field design (StakeOut) vegetation management, maintenance management and timesheets. By implementing applications based on a common platform, utilities can reduce the total deployment cost and risk
