GE Energy has recently implemented MapFrame* Mobile Solutions at SaskPower as part of their Service Delivery Renewal Program. Since 1929, SaskPower has delivered electricity throughout the vast province of Saskatchewan, and currently has over 467,000 customers. As one of the first pieces of the $107 million program to renew SaskPower�s service business, GE Energy�s MapFrame solutions will serve as the foundation for automating the Canadian utility�s entire field workforce.

�We believe MapFrame Mobile Solutions will play a key role in our Service Delivery Renewal Program,� said Jason Doell, Business Project Lead at SaskPower. �We�re focused on improving customer service and becoming more productive by integrating a host of new technologies in our service business. After a very thorough evaluation process, we chose MapFrame solutions for their ease of use, reliability and open-architecture ability to integrate with multiple systems.�

Leveraging GE Energy�s Smallworld GIS and related data throughout the enterprise, GE Energy�s MapFrame Mobile Solutions have successfully provided SaskPower field crews with up-to-date GIS data, a routing tool, and a powerful data collection application, all within an easy-to-use map-based interface. The FieldSmart* implementation at SaskPower was one of the most successful and quickest of MapFrame�s 19 year history. Over the four month project, GE Energy was able to extract Smallworld GIS data using new extraction tools. Additionally, SaskPower encouraged GE Energy to develop a standard viewer, allowing them to reduce the customization efforts. This aided in the development and testing cycle and helped with ease of training and customer acceptance at SaskPower. Through this implementation, the MapFrame solution has received overwhelming acceptance amongst the field users in a short 6 months following its installation.

SaskPower�s field workers now have fast access to essential decision-making information, a powerful tool to efficiently route them through the day�s work, and an automated data collection process to ensure timely, accurate updates are made to the GIS. With GE Energy�s MapFrame solutions, SaskPower field crews have been able to perform work faster and more intelligently - positively impacting customer service. SaskPower has also leveraged the FieldSmart Collect module to implement ad-hoc inspections, giving their technicians an electronic method of inspecting their substations and voltage regulators.

�As we continue to deliver field worker automation projects, such as work force management and outage management, we are confident that the foundation that was established with GE Energy will greatly benefit SaskPower crews.� says Jason. �Success of this type will allow SaskPower to continue to focus on the customer.�