Instandhaltungssoftware für Industrie, Versorger und Windkraft
Reference Customer | Case Study
Technical utility operations with an integrated software solution for asset management, maintenance planning, and execution.
Reference customer | NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG
NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG, based in Friedrichshafen, is a joint venture of Stadtwerk am See GmbH & Co. KG, Stadtwerke Bad Saulgau, Stadtwerke Mengen, and Regionalwerk Bodensee GmbH & Co. KG.
In this customer story:
Key facts of the case study: GS-Service in use at NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG (Friedrichshafen):
Industry: Energy, Electricity, Heat, Gas
Software used:
GS-Service – GS-ManagerSupported processes:
- Asset management, maintenance planning, and execution of technical utility operations
- On-site maintenance/materials management using mobile devices
- Consistent, person-independent management and documentation of objects, assets, and equipment
- Management, documentation, and tracking of occupational safety briefings
- Efficient information, coordination, and guidance for all service teams
Challenge:
- Creation of an interactive knowledge platform for technical operations management in the municipal utilities and utility provider sector
- Digital management of asset infrastructure, equipment, and maintenance processes
- Legally compliant documentation for personnel/occupational safety
- Reliable on-site support through guidance and information for maintenance activities
Procedure:
Digital inventory of asset infrastructure, equipment, and personnel in GS-Service; assessment and analysis of operational processes; data hosting and software operation by NWSResult:
NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG is transforming the entire operational process of technical operations management (asset management, maintenance planning, execution) for municipal utilities and suppliers into a digital future, based on GS-Service; the integrated software solution GS-Service provides essential support for: planning, work preparation, resource management, execution and follow-up of maintenance activities, documentationTogether We Are Strong
Digital transformation is, and remains, the number one trend topic among municipal utilities from Flensburg to Friedrichshafen. The greatest challenge, particularly in the early days of the digitalization drive 15 years ago, was implementing processes for operations management and maintenance. This was due partly to the fact that processes describe changing states and are therefore complex, and partly because they are inseparably linked to the human factor.
NetzWerkStadt, a service provider and IT partner to several municipal utilities in the region, knows the pitfalls at the interface between the employee as the bearer of the work process and the IT solution very well. That is why, in implementing, developing, training, and hosting the operations management and maintenance software GS-Service (GreenGate AG), the experts in asset management, energy management, and management consulting rely on the greatest possible participation, from service staff through operations management to executive leadership.
„Die strategische Linie der Digitalisierung ist bei den von uns betreuten Stadtwerken vergleichbar: Es geht darum, dass die Monteure keine Zettel mehr in die Hand nehmen müssen.“
-Dario Spampinato, NWS Projektmanager
Strategy is not built on paper
Dario Spampinato (34), NWS project manager in the Asset and Workforce Management segment, first breaks the bigger picture down to the fundamental challenge on the ground: “The strategic direction of digitalization is comparable across the municipal utilities we support: the goal is for field technicians to no longer have to work with paper forms.” The reason is quickly explained: it comes down to the well-known media discontinuities when transferring data from the clipboard to the IT system, data inconsistencies caused by manual tasks, insufficient instruction, briefing, and documentation of work carried out by external service providers, and a lack of insight into the history of assets and processes—for example, when employee B is supposed to continue an open project started by employee A, but only a paper file folder is available.
Little remains besides nostalgia: “Digitalization is of course the main topic at the municipal utility company; the colleagues were so fixated on paper that documentation alone seemed to require ten people to complete.” Yet a single person with the right IT application would have sufficed. “Take the example of ladder inspections, which the utility company documented in a hybrid way until 2019. First, there were the forms for the technician, who filled out various details by hand, then passed the sheets on to a capable clerk, who typed or scanned the information into the system as best as possible for invoicing purposes.”
Mobile order processing
Since NWS implemented the mobile solutions of the maintenance and operations management software GS-Service at the municipal utility, this procedure has changed fundamentally: several work steps have become a single one, as employees document all processing steps and results directly on a tablet or smartphone while in the field. Depending on preference, the data is synchronized with the server immediately, or, in the case of offline work, later at the workplace or at configurable intervals. “Mobile task processing is now a major topic and represents an enormous time saving,” says Dario Spampinato.
This new efficiency begins with map integration for easy orientation and the display of tasks in the surrounding area along with their status. Asset information, task processing with structured checklists, time tracking, and report generation – all of this is possible in GS-Service. But is it also practical?
Headquartered in Friedrichshafen: NetzWerkStadt GmbH & Co. KG (NWS) is a joint venture of Stadtwerk am See, Stadtwerke Bad Saulgau, Stadtwerke Mengen, and Regionalwerk Bodensee.
NWS recommends GS-Service for asset management, maintenance planning, and the execution of technical utility operations for its shareholders and other utility providers.
Facing the realities
Yes, that is achievable. We explain it so that everyone understands it, and set up the solution to match real-world conditions. To this end, we have gone out into the field ourselves, for example to a transformer inspection, in order to optimize the digital back-up for service technicians in GS-Service. The key question was: How does the colleague actually work? Such an approach is referred to in work process research as UTC analysis (User-Task-Context analysis) and is intended to optimize the user orientation of a product, in short, its usability.
This concerns the extent to which the product or IT solution supports the user in their tasks within the specific context. The more it does so, and the more easily it does so, the greater the acceptance among users. Dario Spampinato knows this because he is familiar with the opposite: “In the past, it was usually the case that software usage was mandated top down, but the technicians didn’t see the point. When we hand colleagues a tablet today and show them how easily they can access targeted information, manage assets, and document tasks, the reaction is: Oh, maybe I do need this after all.”
Turning point in 2014
In 2014, GS-Service was introduced with a focus on the assets and processes in the water, electricity, heat, and gas segments. Since 2019, GS-Service has also been used to manage the maintenance and inspections of parking garages, along with the planning, execution, and management of maintenance and operations for indoor swimming pools, combined heat and power plants (CHPs), and municipal playgrounds. Interfaces exist to, among others, SAP-ERP and GIS.
Since 2019, NWS has also offered its customers an all-inclusive service, including IT hosting for operations and maintenance. Fundamentally, as a system operating downstream of the ERP, GS-Service integrates planning, documentation, and monitoring functions together with business applications into a single information and management system. The object-oriented software – designed as a scalable client/server solution – is built on standard technology and runs on current Microsoft operating systems. An added benefit: thanks to its open system architecture, GS-Service can be linked to other systems (GIS, ERP).
Practical everyday use
Every working day, team leaders/supervisors and technicians at the utility company gather in the workshop or office in the morning for the team briefing. Then, as a matter of course, they take their tablets/notebooks with their work orders, and GS-Service-supported maintenance gets underway.
Dario Spampinato explains the underlying principle: “GS-Service manages the master data of assets, measuring devices, vehicles, and equipment. We assign maintenance requirements to these objects and automate the cycles. The tasks generated in this way can be scheduled via the integrated module and transferred to mobile devices. Resources and materials can also be assigned for work preparation. The feedback, in turn, is stored in the system through data synchronization, and any identified damage can be documented and further processed.” He also identified the management, documentation, and tracking of occupational safety briefings as another helpful function: “This makes it possible to meet all legal requirements, such as the handling of hazardous substances, ensures that nothing gets overlooked, and allows work to be carried out as efficiently as possible.”
Everything flows
This investment definitely pays off: “Take the water segment, for example,” Spampinato continues, “they are absolutely delighted with this solution.
Following the merger of two municipal utilities on Lake Constance, one of the challenges was gaining an overview of which water facilities each utility had under its operational management. With the digital inventory in GS-Service, all water facilities were recorded in the system.”
The same applies to the roughly 1,000-page company handbook, which has been mapped 1:1 in GS-Service and is used mainly by operations and team managers. “Colleagues can draw on and update all information in one central place.” The single source of truth not only safeguards corporate knowledge from an IT perspective but also reduces the risk of conflicts: “No one is afraid that someone else knows more.” Spampinato has noticed that acceptance of GS-Service has risen markedly: “GreenGate has become a byword at the utility company. People at NetzWerkStadt now approach us directly and ask: What else can the system do? That’s a great indicator that we’re in a very good position with the system. We are thrilled with the collaboration with GreenGate.” Why is that? “Nothing is glossed over here, things are discussed openly – including at regular status meetings. We are very satisfied; a fast response is guaranteed with GreenGate.”
A new project is the implementation of automated email notifications from GS-Service, so that the responsible team leaders/employees are informed about, for example, completed orders from external service providers and can review them accordingly based on the completed order form. “That is also our objective: to digitalize as much as possible in order to automate as much as possible.”
Deloitte Study on Municipal Utility IT
At the latest since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that IT is not an alternative, but simply “the” solution – the consulting firm Deloitte states in its article “Utilization of IT Services by Municipal Utilities – Approaches for Greater Resilience in (Post-)Crisis Times”: “The crisis situation caused by COVID-19 shows that, for example, the availability of IT services and the corresponding resilience of the organization become a critical success factor for ongoing operations.”
For this reason, building resilience across all IT services—whether used internally or provided to third parties—is a key element of the digitalization strategy for municipal utilities.” With this statement, the globally active consulting giant sums up precisely why NetzWerkStadt (NWS) is a sought-after partner for municipal utilities in the simple and secure provisioning and use of complex, interconnected IT services. Above all, however, NWS advises municipal utilities and energy providers on the strategic question of which IT-related capabilities need to be further developed within their organization. All of this takes place against the backdrop of a highly regulated industry bound by laws, regulations, and directives.
Customer Success Story as PDF
Download the customer success story from NetzWerkStadt here as a PDF. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best practices and blueprints
Whether you have to master similar tasks in your company or face other challenges: check whether GreenGate software can help you. Here you will find related Blueprints that can handle maintenance tasks and solve problems.
That’s why so many companies trust us.
Is this use case interesting for you? Contact us.
If you have further questions about this case, please call us or fill out the form here. We will get back to you promptly.
