start portlet menu bar end portlet menu bar
  • Contact us

    • What we achieved

    • Mobile access for 1000+ field workers

    • Timely detection & remediation of faulty devices

    • Government Key Performance Indicators (KPI) compliance

    To who

    • Industry: Government Utilities - Water

    • Products: HCL Volt MX

    • Region: AP

    Overview

    • Part 1

      Challenge

      This government water utility firm needed to provide field workers with a mobile and reliable way to detect and quickly fix faulty work devices, 24x7.
    • Part 2

      Solution

      They built an app using Volt MX that runs on both iOS and Android — as well as on and offline, so it works even in remote areas.
    • Part 3

      Results

      This app meant major cost savings, helps 1,000+ workers, and the data accuracy and integrity to ensure government compliance.

    The Challenge

    How to Find and Fix Equipment — Fast!

    This Australian-based utility firm provides fresh water, wastewater, and drainage services throughout western Australia. For years they have relied on their legacy systems to manage and maintain functionality for more than 1,000 mobile devices in the field. Over time, these outdated systems stopped working on the newer mobile devices and operating systems that their field workers were using.

    This problem became increasingly difficult as more and more older devices began to fail and replacing them became harder and harder to do (they had even resorted to searching on eBay in attempts to find them!). Customers began to experience interruptions in service.

    They explored low-code application development solution options that would allow them to build a solution for the problem. Because of its ability to use a single code base and deploy on any device, HCL Volt MX beat out the competition. Because of Volt MX, the organization was also able to build an app for all their field workers — quickly.

    Our IT team is thrilled with the new Volt MX field workers app that runs on iOS and Android and allows for quick detection and correction of faulty mobile devices in the field. The app also works reliably in on and offline mode, so it’s functional in remote areas with poor connectivity. Volt MX helps bridge that gap and maintains data integrity for the field workers.

    —An observation from the water utility firm

    The Solution

    Access to Crucial Data for Field Workers

    Not only did Volt MX have the “build for any device” capability, it also was able integrate with their backend SAP system so the company could still access years of business data.

    Providing real-time and immediate access to the SAP data repository is crucial for field workers to conduct their day-to-day work. Because of this functionality, workers are able to identify and fix broken pipes, read water meters, perform asset inspections in various locations, capture photos of equipment and materials, and upload them for detailed analysis.

    The Volt MX app also gives them access to procedural documentation to help address how-to questions in the field. Simply put, the SAP integration offers superior connectivity to the data they need — a solution competitors simply couldn’t offer.

    Also, the app integrated with their geographical information system (GIS), giving them extremely granular information on device location and fault recording.

    The Results

    A Strategy for Continuous Improvement

    Accurate and timely asset fault information and remediation provided by the Volt MX app has increased overall productivity and efficiencies in the field workers’ daily work. And the accuracy and integrity fostered by secure and reliable data access and transfer capabilities built into the app is allowing them to achieve government regulated key performance indicators (KPI) compliance.

    The IT team is happy, thanks to Volt MX, because they can easily and affordably replace faulty devices, since the app works anywhere. This has resulted in massive cost savings!

    About the company

    The water utility firm in Australia employs over 2,746 people and manages an asset base of over $37 billion (AUD - Australian Dollar) in water supply, wastewater, drainage infrastructure and bulk water for irrigation. They are owned by the Western Australian Government and are accountable to its sole shareholder, the Minister for Water.

    Read full story