Key Technology to Streamline Utility Pole Inspections & Field Audits
For electric power, communications, and broadband providers, ensuring customers have the uninterrupted service and coverage they need is paramount. Time is of the essence in getting services deployed, especially as broadband demand increases across the nation. This means that equipment must be monitored, and efficient processes put in place to routinely gather and assess information on field assets and their attachments.
Maintaining maximum productivity requires technology capable of reducing time spent on manual tasks through automation, and better connecting team members responsible for completing joint use audits, whether they’re in an office or in the field.
Many utility asset owners and pole attaching companies already are experiencing the benefits of Alden ONE, the premiere business process automation software for joint use asset management offered by Alden Systems, but they may not be familiar with the company’s Task Agent mobile app. At the 2024 Alden Conference, Project Manager Chris Burton presented a closer look at Task Agent, which complements and expands on Alden ONE’s benefits, and shared the reasons why inspections and audits are critical work. Together, Alden’s solutions are a powerful force for not only completing field work in a timely fashion, but also capturing more accurate data.
How Task Agent & Alden ONE Deliver What Customers Need
The average consumer likely does not think about the importance of well-maintained utility poles until they lose power or connectivity during a storm, or a car accident or other incident leads to a downed power line. Ensuring the viability of field assets and the operational success of the stakeholders who either own the assets, or attach equipment to them, demands intelligently run utility pole inspections and joint use audits. Here are three essential factors driving the need for this work and how Task Agent, in tandem with Alden ONE, makes the lives of the people doing that work easier.
1. Keeping Accurate Utility Pole & Joint Use Financial Records
Utility asset owners must be able to document how many poles they have and their locations for a variety of reasons, from asset management to regulatory compliance and financial considerations. Without up-to-date data, asset attachers can’t be invoiced properly for rent owed. Conversely, attaching companies need current records to make sure they’re not being overbilled.
Gathering pole information in the field is easy with Task Agent: Personnel can record and update asset attribute information, utilize the barcode reader to ensure error-free data entry, and immediately sync that data with Alden ONE. To further save time and ensure accuracy, data fields can be customized per business requirements, input formats are restricted, and role-based access and permissions are in place.
2. Handling NESC Violations Before They Become Problematic
In the states and organizations governed by National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) regulations, utility pole inspections are required. Using a dynamic map view in Alden ONE that syncs with Task Agent in near-real time, Alden ONE Pro users can assign inspection tasks that get pushed to Task Agent, allowing technicians to perform a variety of tasks such as identifying potential violations, and instantly send documentation back to Alden ONE. Managers can also track task locations, see whether tasks have been started, assigned, or completed, and identify service area boundaries. The copy feature in Task Agent also reduces repetitive manual entries by allowing workers to copy frequently used data entries from one asset to another.
3. Securing Safety of the Public, Workers, & Plant
Without regular utility pole inspections for scrutinizing assets, physical hazards develop and worsen over time, endangering the structural integrity of assets. Threats range from pole overloading to broken poles, rotted poles, “double wood, double poles, or buddy poles” (where two poles remain but the first may be unsafe), and more. Field techs and the public may also be placed at risk without regular inspections, so if your company is using Alden ONE and needs a field tool to complement current efforts, Task Agent may be the right solution for you.
Task Agent is available for iOS and Android and utilizes the user’s mobile device camera to take photos and create a record representing the field conditions at the time of inspection, ensuring accountability during QA or dispute resolution and expedited reporting and resolution of hazards that endanger worker and public safety.
Communication Advantages for Smooth Joint Use Audits & Inspections
Another major area in which Alden’s technology supports utility pole owners and asset attachers is communication and visibility. Stakeholders involved in joint use stay informed through Alden ONE “Conversations," defined as “all communications relevant and necessary for a task or project workflow to be completed, such as documents, notes, photos, invoices, and contracts.”
Even when field personnel are working in areas lacking cell service, the Task Agent app still allows for the continual flow of information with its ability to function both online and offline. Data still gets captured in offline mode and can later be uploaded and shared with any other user, in raw form or as part of an analysis or report generated in Alden ONE.
A Better Path to Attaining Optimal Audit Outcomes
Ideally, joint use audits and utility pole inspections lead to a well-maintained plant and accurate asset records for GIS, joint use, and finance. By using Task Agent and Alden ONE in tandem to carry out this work, stakeholders gain efficiency, speed, improved data capture, and visibility into workflows and progress. To learn more about adding on Task Agent functionality to your Alden ONE Pro subscription, schedule a 1:1.
