Texas-based Tri-County Electric Cooperative says ARCOS platform for managing crews plays a critical role in maintaining reliability, member satisfaction.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- ARCOS® LLC has implemented its ARCOS software platform for Tri-County Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. The Aledo, Texas-based utility says the solution is playing a critical role in maintaining reliability and providing system operators with added time to focus on restoration. For TCEC executives, the platform delivers situational awareness, whether managers are planning for an overtime construction job or managing a large event.
For example, the ARCOS platform allows TCEC to automatically reallocate resources from within its districts to the areas most affected by a storm. TCEC's service territory includes 126,800 meters covering 16 counties across North Texas in and around Fort Worth.
"When storms strike, the ARCOS platform automates locating and sending resources where needed across our four districts, so our system operators can focus on diagnosing outages," says David Hollingsworth, manager for System Operations at TCEC. "That extra time means our system operators can spend more time analyzing our SCADA system, using fault-finding tools, and looking ahead to see if an outage requires even more crews.
"ARCOS runs callouts for one district and pinpoints the status of crews with a click, which also frees our line superintendents from making calls to identify available crews and equipment," adds Hollingworth.
Before ARCOS, calls to fill a crew, especially in storm season, took TCEC system operators up to an hour to fill. Managers also tracked overtime from crew callouts via pen and paper, and payroll data didn't distinguish between callout hours and other overtime. With ARCOS, TCEC system operators make and fill after-hours callouts in less than five minutes and, if needed, send outage details to lineworkers. The platform's reporting also gives TCEC managers greater visibility into their resources and ensures equitable overtime for crews, since managers instantly see who's responding to callouts. TCEC, which employs a non-union workforce, promotes its linemen, in part, based on how many callouts workers accept through ARCOS. So, tracking response rates is critical. The ARCOS platform also helps line superintendents balance lineworkers' work and home life because they can note in the system when not to call a lineman who's vacationing or juggling family obligations.
Decreasing SAIDI and CAIDI
"Looking year over year, our reliability numbers have improved," says Hollingsworth about the ARCOS platform's impact on reducing outage durations in terms of SAIDI and CAIDI.
"ARCOS gets crews to where they're needed quicker as well as reports on and visualizes the deployment of lineworkers," said Wes Scheets, chief operating officer for TCEC. "The technology helps us maintain excellent reliability, a high level of member satisfaction, and keeps our crews safe in the field."
"Overall, implementing ARCOS for our linemen, superintendents, and system operators was easy," adds Hannah Turner, a TCEC system operator. "We see expanding ARCOS for relay technicians and substation staff."
About ARCOS LLC
ARCOS is a leader in delivering SaaS solutions for managing resources, ensuring accurate, compliant shift scheduling and automatic planning for all types of events. The ARCOS solution reports on the up-to-the-minute location and status of equipment and crews via mobile technology for utilities and other critical infrastructure like airlines, manufacturers and industrial facilities. The ARCOS resource management platform helps organizations save time and money, while improving customer satisfaction and the efficiency, safety and accuracy of operations. Learn more at http://www.arcos-inc.com.
# # #
Media Contact
Bill Perry, ARCOS LLC, 6149757538, [email protected]
SOURCE ARCOS LLC
Share this article