Welsh Water Develops Digital Processes for Field Engineers

Changing a meter is a complex process that requires specific steps to be carried out in a certain order. Their software solution, WorkfloPlus, can quickly and easily transform any paper processes to a digital format meaning Engineers can follow the same process where ever they are and in any work environment or operating condition they can find themselves in.

There is a constant need to provide evidence to both internal and external regulators regarding quality, health and safety and environmental controls. Having the ability to track and report on the development of a process was not possible with our old paper processes.

Welsh Water is owned by Glas Cymru a not-for-profit company which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to most of Wales, Herefordshire and parts of Deeside and Cheshire. Welsh Water provides an essential public service to the households, businesses and the environment in Wales. It is a highly capital intensive business, with assets that will serve many future generations

With over a million domestic boundary boxes across Wales that require locating and changing, Welsh Water has been researching a more efficient way to record and manage the process of changing a meter as well as ensuring consistent health and safety checks across the team.

Working on this new digital technology program, Welsh Water can now create custom workflows to better manage the consistency of work completed by field engineers. Whether following complex instructions to remove an old water meter, capture relevant data or record any unusual aspects and ensure the water is back on without affecting any customers and their usage and removing any room for human error.

As well as these benefits, Welsh Water also needed to record the state of any given boundary box and its surroundings. For example, a lot of meters are hidden from sight causing a potential hazard to the general public. With the added benefit of being able to take a photograph of the outside of the cover, an operator can quickly generate another process which would trigger the team to come out to the job and make the necessary replacements. Therefore, avoiding unnecessary claims and job allocations and with the added feature of being able to capture the exact time and attendance, Welsh Water can now build up a better picture of exactly how long it took to complete a repair or installation.