Emergence of Apps for Emergency Restoration
Utilities leveraging apps for emergency restoration? You better believe it!
The rapid pace of technological innovation across all sectors of our society is incredible when you stop and think about it. The internet barely existed 25 years ago, and now it’s essentially ingrained into the fabric of our very being. In the utility industry, drones, biobots, IoT sensors, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies are coming to the forefront to improve efficiency both during blue sky days as well as during emergency restoration situations. And yes, apps are one such technology that can be incredibly helpful to field crews.
Examples of Apps for Emergency Restoration
I am happy to say that some progressive utilities are already utilizing apps to improve coordination of utility crews, mutual assistance resources, and office personnel to boost restoration efficiently. There is an excellent article from Energy Central about this topic; here are a few examples from the article:
- First responder reporting – as these are generally the first people to arrive on the scene, they are in a unique position to capture first reads on damage. All they need is an app on their phone to transmit the data & photos to the utility.
- Damage assessment – apps are already being used by utility damage assessors to quickly transmit data to central command to assist with the strategic deployment of restoration crews.
- Repair assistance – apps can assist crews in the field with repair guides, how to videos, and similar information to help plug skill gaps on the fly.
- Crew management – apps can help crew managers track and verify the locations of their crew members, resulting in more efficient management and dispatching.
In the final analysis, the possibilities when it comes to apps for emergency restoration are limited only by your imagination. Of course, deployment of app technology is easier said than done, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?
