Mobility combines many facets

Powertech IST Data's mobility project pilot with Eskom combines many technologies and will deliver a solution that is aimed at addressing the current mobile meter management requirements, while still providing flexibility to accommodate further and future requirements.

The solution is a combination of three main components, namely a flexible mobile workforce management (WFM) component (Ventyx Service Suite), a mobile GIS solution (Tensing Mobile GIS - TMG) and a device management solution (Afaria). These solutions are tightly integrated to the Eskom back-end systems and have been designed to support the existing approach to work management by extending the functionality provided by Maximo, as well as the Smallworld GIS functionality, to the mobile environment.

Mobile computing is a concept that encompasses many functions. In the Eskom Distribution context, it refers to communication to and from the field technician, as well as navigation and tracking. Add to this the capability to view Physical Network Inventory (PNI) data and to update said data and the problem becomes a complex one indeed. This set of requirements calls for integration of different components to produce a solution that satisfies all of the requirements.

The solution consists of a workforce management application that extends work orders to the mobile technician, who uses a ruggedised PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or even a rugged tablet PC or netbook. The mobile user will also have access to a navigation and mobile mapping system.

Providing an integrated solution is key to the success of this project. When the solution is delivered in its final incarnation, the workforce management system will be integrated with the rest of the enterprise. Work orders will be created and managed on the enterprise asset management (EAM)) system, in this case, Maximo, and sent to the workforce management system via an integration bus. The workforce management WFM system is used to manage the work orders from the point that they enter the WFM system, through status updates and eventual completion of the work order. The running updates are sent to the EAM system in real-time.

The system is ultimately integrated on the mobile device to provide an integrated user solution. The WFM system's Mobile Application is being integrated with a mobile mapping application (in the case of the Eskom Mobility project, GE's MapFrame system is used) to allow the mobile user to receive and interact with work orders and to navigate to work orders using a map and voice-prompted navigation. PNI data is made available to the mobile user with MapFrame in order for the user to have information about the physical network and the capability to perform redlining, and thus correlate as-planned network data with as-built network data. The mobile mapping system is integrated with the enterprise's GIS system, thereby closing the loop with redline changes and feeding these back into the master PNI repository, GE Smallworld in this case.

A key enabler to the solution is mobile communications, effected by using a PDA that has GPRS/EDGE or even 3G capabilities, or a netbook/tablet with the same connectivity. Offline capabilities built into Ventyx Service Suite allow the mobile technician to perform all tasks related to the work orders while offline.

The mobile devices are specced to be equipped with GPS receivers. These allow the WFM system to track the mobile users in real-time, potentially improving the scheduling and dispatching of work orders. Device management is the last facet of the project. In this case, the solution makes use of Sybase's Afaria product, which allows for remote management, remote assistance, software upgrades and device security.

All of these functions are available to the system administrator while the mobile devices are in use, provided they have connectivity. These features reduce support costs and improve productivity.