Our customers are so happy with how fast we turnaround data to them now. And our field technicians really like how efficient the Flowfinity solution made them.
Dataco Utility Services Cuts Admin Costs by 50%
Region: Americas
Company Size: SMB
Industry: Utilities
Function: Work order management, dispatch, reporting
Challenge
Dataco Utility Services Ltd. is a contractor that provides metering and disconnection services for major utility companies. The primary work is to complete disconnection services for utility companies, which requires speed and accuracy to ensure service orders are received and submitted in a timely manner. Dataco also has to report about the status of work orders to its clients hourly as well as daily. The entire system relies on a high degree of coordination and reporting. The challenge was to:
- Dispatch fields technicians automatically
- Speed up the reporting cycle
- Reduce the workload on the administrative office
Solution
Flowfinity Actions dispatch console allows Dataco to distribute electronic work orders to the staff in the field. The solution is deployed to all technicians, who receive work order lists on their smartphones.
When an order is dispatched, the technician receives a notification on their smartphone. The technician uses dropdown menus to report the action completed in the field with accurate meter readings and exact service time. When the technician hits the ‘Submit' button, the data is sent to the server at head office where it is transformed into a spreadsheet. The administrator then can export completed work orders as Excel spreadsheets to share updates with the clients.
"Our customers are so happy with how fast we turnaround data to them now. And our field technicians really like how efficient the Flowfinity solution made them."
Results
Dataco continues to expand its client base and views Flowfinity as key to their competitive advantage:
- Achieved 50% savings in administrative office staff reductions by eliminating manual spreadsheet processes
- Reduced cell phone charges by 30%
- Greatly reduced wait time for field technicians to receive their work
- Improved customer service by delivering immediate updates to clients' systems
- Reduced reporting errors by 30% with a digital system for inputting data
Payback of the initial investment in Flowfinity software with these savings alone took less than 2 months.
