In conversation

FSB editor Dannielle Furness spoke with Steffi Harbert, Field Force Automation Manager from Ergon Energy.

Field Service Business: What are the primary responsibilities of your role at Ergon Energy?

Steffi Harbert: Field Force Automation (FFA) is a cornerstone project within the Ergon Energy strategic enablement program. FFA is considered to be the single most important initiative to improve field performance and reduce cost. My role is Quality Manager for FFA in Ergon Energy. A key responsibility is to plan the mobility roadmap to optimise the investment and support achievement of the strategic objectives. This involves framing up deployment phases to enable the business with systems and technologies that enhance performance through centralising dispatch and automating field force operations by using smart devices.

FSB: How many field staff does Ergon employ and what geographical region do they cover?

SH: With over 2000 field staff, Ergon Energy services regional Queensland from coastal and rural areas to the remote communities of outback Queensland and the Torres Strait, which extends across 97% of Queensland. We operate across a diverse, inspiring landscape, from the harshest, most demanding terrains to the most sensitive.

FSB: What challenges does the spread of the region present?

SH: Ergon Energy supplies electricity to over 720,000 customers across a vast operating area of around 1.7 million square kilometres - 1 million poles. We are all about providing safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable energy solutions to support our customers and the Queensland economy. Around 70% of our electricity network runs through rural Queensland with large distances between communities. Customer density on the network is the second lowest in the national electricity market; the Eastern Network is 12 customers/km of line and the Western Network is 1 customer/km of line.

We have 33 stand-alone power stations supplying communities isolated from the main grid, in western Queensland, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York, various Torres Strait islands and Palm Island. Our retailer has a gas-fired power station at Barcaldine, which supplies the main grid. From a field services perspective, there are three dimensions to consider - urban, rural and remote. There are diverse and unique geographic, cultural and environmental factors to be considered - as well as connectivity challenges.

FSB: What extra considerations and resources are required (from a field service perspective) when preparing for a weather event such as a cyclone?

SH: The primary consideration when preparing for a large-scale event is safety - both community and staff safety. Understanding the potential impact of the event helps to identify the field service and mobile generation requirements. Dispatching crews to conduct a diagnosis of the network and make it safe is critical - as is fatigue management of the field force and the support staff.

FSB: Did Cyclone Marcia present additional challenges not previously experienced in your career?

SH: Cyclone Marcia was Category 5 when it crossed the Central Queensland coast (Rockhampton, Yeppoon and Byfield) on Friday, 20 February 2015 - causing massive destruction and disrupting the community. The majority of the 65,000 affected customers were progressively reinstated over a seven-day period - a credit to the contingent of almost 900 field staff on the ground and a small army of support staff.

Cyclone Yasi, the most powerful cyclone to hit Australia in a century, packed winds of 290 km/h across a front that was hundreds of kilometres wide, with a seething eye measuring about 35 km in width. Yasi crossed the Cassowary Coast in February 2011 - more than 220,000 customers lost power. In the biggest deployment of electrical workers in Australia’s history, my responsibility was to manage the provision of travel and accommodation services for the recovery effort - given that many of the accommodation providers were out of action this was a significant challenge!

FSB: What field service innovation do you predict will bring the greatest value to Ergon Energy’s operation within the next 12 months and why?

SH: Providing a geospatial view of the network with current asset data will deliver significant benefits to Ergon Energy. From a productivity perspective it will provide field crews with the ability to raise defects and relay geotagged photos to evaluators - improving the speed and accuracy of evaluation and response. From an asset management perspective, the flow of data to and from the field will assist the investment decision-making process.

FSB: What do you see as the biggest challenge being faced by field service managers, now and in the short- to medium-term future?

SH: The rapid pace of technology and the changing nature of the marketplace and the business environment requires field service managers to be agile and progressive towards emerging trends and to develop a positive and dynamic team culture. Key to success is a strong network of benefit owners focused on a shared vision.