Case Studies With RouteSmart, Colorado Springs Utilities saved time and money while improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

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	With RouteSmart, Colorado Springs Utilities saved time and money while improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

With RouteSmart, Colorado Springs Utilities saved time and money while improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAM) Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software
Applicable Industries	Utilities
Applicable Functions	Field Services Maintenance
Use Cases	Fleet Management Predictive Maintenance Remote Asset Management
Services	System Integration Training
Challenge	Colorado Springs Utilities, a locally owned non-profit utility, provides gas, electric, water, and wastewater services to approximately 193,000 customers in Colorado Springs, CO. The utility faced challenges in maintaining its hydrant preventative maintenance (PM) program, which tests 17,000 hydrants to ensure they are operational in emergencies. The program was suspended during drought years (2002-2006) and reinstated after a fire emergency in 2006. The utility needed to prioritize hydrants as critical or noncritical and rethink routing methods. Additionally, the Department of Transportation requires annual gas leak checks in service lines, and the utility's IT team replaced inefficient hand-drawn schedules with the Pipeline Compliance System (PCS). However, PCS often sent employees on inefficient routes, leading them to rely on clipboards and maps in the field. Read More
About Customer	Colorado Springs Utilities is a locally owned non-profit utility that provides gas, electric, water, and wastewater services to approximately 193,000 customers in Colorado Springs, CO. The utility is committed to ensuring the safety and efficiency of its services, particularly in maintaining water hydrants and detecting gas leaks. The utility's Asset Management Crew, led by Matthew Wagers, leverages GIS data and technology to improve operations. The utility faced challenges in maintaining its hydrant preventative maintenance (PM) program and ensuring efficient gas leak detection. By integrating RouteSmart with other specialized software, the utility aimed to increase efficiency, save costs, and improve safety. Read More
Solution	Colorado Springs Utilities chose RouteSmart to address their challenges. The utility analyzed their system to determine which of the 17,000 hydrants were critical versus noncritical and used RouteSmart to generate PDF routes for the PM crews. This streamlined the process, allowing crews to pick a route and go without planning. For gas line safety, the utility integrated RouteSmart with the Pipeline Compliance System (PCS) to overcome inefficiencies. Data was imported into RouteSmart to generate routes loaded into handheld devices, improving the speed and accuracy of scheduling and routing. The integration of RouteSmart and PCS provided a comprehensive solution for both hydrant maintenance and gas leak detection, enhancing overall efficiency and safety. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAM)

Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems

Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software

Applicable Industries

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Field Services

Maintenance

Use Cases

Fleet Management

Predictive Maintenance

Remote Asset Management

Services

System Integration

Training

Challenge

Colorado Springs Utilities, a locally owned non-profit utility, provides gas, electric, water, and wastewater services to approximately 193,000 customers in Colorado Springs, CO. The utility faced challenges in maintaining its hydrant preventative maintenance (PM) program, which tests 17,000 hydrants to ensure they are operational in emergencies. The program was suspended during drought years (2002-2006) and reinstated after a fire emergency in 2006. The utility needed to prioritize hydrants as critical or noncritical and rethink routing methods. Additionally, the Department of Transportation requires annual gas leak checks in service lines, and the utility's IT team replaced inefficient hand-drawn schedules with the Pipeline Compliance System (PCS). However, PCS often sent employees on inefficient routes, leading them to rely on clipboards and maps in the field.

About Customer

Colorado Springs Utilities is a locally owned non-profit utility that provides gas, electric, water, and wastewater services to approximately 193,000 customers in Colorado Springs, CO. The utility is committed to ensuring the safety and efficiency of its services, particularly in maintaining water hydrants and detecting gas leaks. The utility's Asset Management Crew, led by Matthew Wagers, leverages GIS data and technology to improve operations. The utility faced challenges in maintaining its hydrant preventative maintenance (PM) program and ensuring efficient gas leak detection. By integrating RouteSmart with other specialized software, the utility aimed to increase efficiency, save costs, and improve safety.

Solution

Colorado Springs Utilities chose RouteSmart to address their challenges. The utility analyzed their system to determine which of the 17,000 hydrants were critical versus noncritical and used RouteSmart to generate PDF routes for the PM crews. This streamlined the process, allowing crews to pick a route and go without planning. For gas line safety, the utility integrated RouteSmart with the Pipeline Compliance System (PCS) to overcome inefficiencies. Data was imported into RouteSmart to generate routes loaded into handheld devices, improving the speed and accuracy of scheduling and routing. The integration of RouteSmart and PCS provided a comprehensive solution for both hydrant maintenance and gas leak detection, enhancing overall efficiency and safety.

Impact #1	RouteSmart helped Colorado Springs Utilities realize significant cost savings, with an estimated $30,000 saved annually in routing time with PCS and around $160,000 saved with the combined implementation of PCS and RouteSmart.
Impact #2	The integration of RouteSmart significantly improved the efficiency of gas leak surveys, reducing time and errors associated with manual data entry.
Impact #3	The hydrant routing process saw remarkable improvements, with the time to 'PM' a hydrant reduced from 14 minutes to a more efficient process, allowing crews to accomplish 45-52 hydrants a day, a 100% improvement.

Impact #1

RouteSmart helped Colorado Springs Utilities realize significant cost savings, with an estimated $30,000 saved annually in routing time with PCS and around $160,000 saved with the combined implementation of PCS and RouteSmart.

Impact #2

The integration of RouteSmart significantly improved the efficiency of gas leak surveys, reducing time and errors associated with manual data entry.

Impact #3

The hydrant routing process saw remarkable improvements, with the time to 'PM' a hydrant reduced from 14 minutes to a more efficient process, allowing crews to accomplish 45-52 hydrants a day, a 100% improvement.

Benefit #1	The utility saved around $160,000 with the combined implementation of PCS and RouteSmart.
Benefit #2	The hydrant routing process improved by 100%, allowing crews to accomplish 45-52 hydrants a day compared to the previous 22-26 hydrants per day.

Benefit #1

The utility saved around $160,000 with the combined implementation of PCS and RouteSmart.

Benefit #2

The hydrant routing process improved by 100%, allowing crews to accomplish 45-52 hydrants a day compared to the previous 22-26 hydrants per day.

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Overview

With RouteSmart, Colorado Springs Utilities saved time and money while improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit