SA Power Networks (SAPN) is responsible for building, maintaining and upgrading the poles, wires, and substations that deliver power to over 900,000 homes and businesses.

In 2017, SAPN sought a new drawing management solution to address safety risks and improve operations, while supporting strict security requirements.

Read more about how SAPN’s move to RedEye helped to achieve this, and substantial productivity gains.

“We’ve been able to implement the RedEye system, which will be a major step forward to the communication between the engineering and the field teams”

Peter Barnard - Head of Engineering
SA Power Networks

• Early staff buy-in to systems is critical and drives sustainable change.

• Allowing field access to engineering data significantly improves productivity.

• Mobility and user-friendliness are key considerations in adopting technology.

SA Power Networks (SAPN) is the sole electricity distributor for the state of South Australia. SAPN is responsible for building, maintaining and upgrading the poles, wires, and substations that stretch across the state, delivering power to over 900,000 homes and businesses.

They also operate a 24-hour faults and emergencies hotline, maintain street lighting for local councils and government, and take readings of traditional SA Power Networks’ electricity meters.

In 2017, SAPN trialled multiple drawing management systems in the field to address safety risks and improve operations. An internal survey revealed 90% of SAPN staff could not easily find the latest drawing revisions. Additionally, 33% of staff reported that it was taking over 10 minutes to find the right drawing.

“Access to current data for field operations is vital to reducing the risk of safety incidents and unplanned outages.”

SA Power Networks

When it came to trialling RedEye DMS, SAPN worked with RedEye to engage field and engineering teams early.

After the trials, the SAPN field team unanimously recommended the RedEye system due to its reliability and ease of use.

The field use capabilities substantially improved access to the latest information. This was an important factor for teams working remotely. RedEye also satisfied SAPN’s extensive security requirements. Given that both internal and external stakeholders needed access to the platform which provided visibility of the entire organisation as it was deployed to its services providers, security management was critical.

“One of the great advantages of RedEye is it also allows the field to do the markups in the way they want to. If they want to use paper, they can use paper. If they want to use an iPad or a laptop, they can use an iPad or laptop. It's really up to them how they work.”

Peter Barnard - Head of Engineering

SA Power Networks

Field teams now use RedEye to markup drawings in real-time, uploading changes to the cloud. This workflow automatically sends a notification to the team for approval.

Additionally, with a focus on change management for teams that were used to working with paper, RedEye’s QR code functionality now enables field workers to easily update their changes on paper, scan and automatically send into RedEye DMS. This maintains version control and creates more effective communications across the business.

By implementing RedEye DMS, SAPN estimates a saving of 1,044 hours in productivity every year from drawing management alone. After implementation, 91% of users reported they could easily find the latest changes. This is a dramatic increase from 10% prior to implementation.

With the latest data and drawings available to all, workplace safety has increased. The state’s power supply is more consistent as a result of more efficient maintenance and reduced power outages.

“SAPN’s implementation team reported that Redeye provided the best value for money implementation. They also indicated a return on investment in two to four years, and would only grow with time.”

Energy generators, transmission services, distribution networks and retailers play an important role in supporting economic growth and enriching lifestyles across the country with power. RedEye supports power utilities to easily manage assets, delivering projects and maintaining network efficiency and safety.

“Markups have traditionally been a very unwieldy process for the amount of work that we do and the markups that are required in the field. The thing about the RedEye partnership that I absolutely love, is the fact that it automates that whole markup process from beginning to end.

And it makes it so easy for field workers, substation, and eventually line, to create the markups and get them into the system. Ultimately, that means a safer, more productive workforce.”

Peter Barnard - Head of Engineering
SA Power Networks

SA Power Networks recent awards:

• Digital Utility of the Year - Digital Utilities 2019
• Innovation in Change Award - Change Connect Awards 2017
• Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award - Australian Training Awards 2017