Automation's Forgotten Midwife

Deck: 

Assuring operational readiness for your ADMS implementation.

Fortnightly Magazine - September 2015
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The success of a major project implementation for Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) depends on more than just the deployment of technology. Operational readiness must be achieved prior to rollout - it's an essential part of every ADMS project to ensure that the utility prepares to effectively incorporate the new and upgraded systems efficiently in day-to-day operations.

As previous utility experience will attest, implementing an ADMS is not as simple as hiring a vendor to install the application, selecting the "on" button, and telling the operations staff to "plug and play." If the control room staff is not prepared, or if data sources are not up to date, the ADMS becomes an expensive tool that fails to achieve its goals. It will fail to meet the business needs or realize the expected return on investment.

Operational readiness assists utilities in realizing the full potential of ADMS, provided it begins during the preparation of technology requirements and stays on track through implementation. The benefits are many: It lowers the chances for project failure, increases staff and customer communications, optimizes end-to-end processes and system efficiency, reduces support calls/problems/errors, and improves regulatory compliance.

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