Last month, Ryan Potts first wrote about how Cityworks can be used for electric and gas utilities. This month we want to take this a step further to show a well-known electric inspection workflow created within Cityworks. We’ve got a video demonstration below if you’d like to jump ahead!

As Ryan explained, Cityworks is an ideal Asset Management System (AMS) for any utility that is GIS-centric. This implies that the utility’s GIS acts as the system of record for assets with support for integration to the rest of the organization. Cityworks extends the GIS by providing asset management functionality surrounding the GIS assets including service requests, work orders, and inspections. Today we’ll focus on creating a work order tied to the inspection of multiple transformer assets.

Cityworks uses a built-in web map to allow users to select assets from the map. Here I am selecting 4 transformer banks to be inspected:

I am then able to create a new Work Order using an inspection template. This allows me to create the new Work Order record along with four individual Inspection records within Cityworks tied directly to the four transformer Assets within GIS.

The individual inspection records are important because they allow us to track inspection results for each transformer. I configured the exact fields that I wanted to collect for each transformer inspection within Cityworks including user-input values, pick lists, attachments, etc. This enables Cityworks to manage the entire process.

Based on assigning these inspections to my account, sperry, the inspections were immediately available to me via Cityworks mobile which I am running on my iPad. Cityworks mobile includes a map view that shows my assigned inspections:

I am then able to effectively walk the line to complete each inspection. The inspections use the templates I configured in the back office:

As I complete each inspection, the map is automatically updated to remove the inspection icon which allows me to easily track my progress. Cityworks mobile then provides synchronization technology that allows me to push my completed inspections to the back office where the inspection records are immediately updated showing the completion results.

All in all, Cityworks AMS combined with Cityworks mobile provide utilities with a completely configurable process for capturing inspections of any type. To get a full feel for the ease of use, check out the video:

If you have questions about Cityworks for Electric and Gas Utilities or how you might be able to extend your existing GIS with an asset management system, give us a shout!