The utility industry is facing an unprecedented transformation in how assets are managed and maintained. At the heart of this evolution lies a fundamental challenge: capturing accurate, timely data from highly distributed field operations. While aging infrastructure, regulatory pressures, and grid modernization demands add additional complexity to this challenge, the most critical factor in addressing these issues is establishing a robust connection between field technicians and asset management systems.
The Reality of Modern Asset Management Challenges
Today’s utilities are managing an increasingly diverse portfolio of assets – from linear infrastructure spanning vast geographic areas, to vertical assets and customer-owned equipment. The distributed nature of utility operations makes real-time field data capture not just beneficial, but essential for effective asset management. During our recent Expert Insights web event, we explored these challenges with Doc Palmer, author of the “Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook,” and Kimberley Herrala, Director of Industry Solutions at KloudGin.
Their discussion revealed that while many asset management solutions promise optimization and improved efficiency, they often fall short in the most crucial aspect: enabling effective capture and utilization of accurate, timely data from the field and the assets themselves. Without a reliable stream of real-time information from technicians working directly with assets, even the most sophisticated asset management systems become outdated and ineffective. This disconnect between field operations and asset management systems creates operational inefficiencies, leads to missed opportunities for improvement, increases costs, and diminishes asset reliability.
The Critical Data Gap in Traditional Asset Management Systems
Many utilities face significant challenges in fully leveraging their asset management solution, with several fundamental limitations that prevent effective data capture:
Limited Mobile Functionality: Legacy systems often lack robust mobile capabilities, making it difficult for field teams to seamlessly record and synchronize asset information during work on the ground. As Kimberley Herrala noted, “Can crews work offline? If you don’t have offline enabled so crews can still look up things like work history, record their data, and close out work orders while offline, these are all things that need to be considered.”
Complex User Interfaces: Non-intuitive interfaces can slow down or discourage field workers from inputting data, leading to incomplete or inaccurate information. As Doc Palmer emphasized, “The little tips and tricks that electricians, instrument techs, and mechanics use as they work on stuff—we really want that data. We need to understand the criticality of capturing that value.” Effective change management and user-friendly tools are essential for supporting field data capture for asset management.
Data Accuracy and Timeliness: Asset management systems that weren’t built to support robust data flows often lead to inaccuracies, leaving asset managers to rely on incomplete or outdated information. This leads to the classic “garbage in, garbage out” scenario, where low quality data results in faulty insights and poor decision-making, which can undermine maintenance strategies and operational planning. This not only increases the risk of equipment failures and unplanned downtime, but also makes it difficult to identify patterns and predict asset maintenance needs.
Best Practices for Real-Time Field Data Capture and Utilization
Merging real-time data with asset management empowers organizations to move away from a reactive approach and towards predictive management, supporting informed and proactive decisions and enabling early intervention to prevent costly failures and unplanned downtime.
Developing a Field-Focused Data Flow Strategy
An effective data collection strategy involves creating processes that prioritize the needs and workflows of field workers. By implementing user-friendly interfaces that simplify data entry, workers are empowered to capture information effortlessly. Features like voice-to-text capabilities, automated and adaptive digital forms, and guided workflows help ensure that data collection becomes a natural part of their routine rather than a burden.
Empowering Workers with Mobile-First Solutions
To manage the complexities of today’s utility operations, it is more critical than ever to have tools built specifically for mobile field operations. Offline capabilities support continuous access to critical information, while AI-powered assistants support worker productivity with voice command features that enable instant access to historical asset data, including work orders, maintenance history, and asset condition information. These features help provider field workers the information they need to support better decision-making while they’re directly working on the asset in question.
Creating Effective Feedback Loops
“When the mechanic realizes, ‘The best way to work on this pump next time would be to…,’ we want to instantly capture that feedback so it doesn’t get lost in the ether,” explained Palmer. To achieve this, an effective asset management system should include clear channels for field workers to submit observations, with orchestration tools that enable the immediate routing of feedback to the appropriate stakeholders. For example, if an inspection identifies a recurring problem, the system can flag it for engineering review, helping to address underlying causes and reduce the likelihood of future failures. Establishing this kind of feedback loop not only accelerates issue resolution, but also supports a proactive strategy for long-term operational reliability.
Implementing a Successful Asset Management Strategy
Seamlessly Integrate with Core Systems
To support the successful implementation of an asset management system driven by real-time data and insights, integration with other core systems of record – including finance, supply chain, and HR software – is essential. This helps ensure that data flows seamlessly across departments, preventing data silos and streamlining updates, allowing asset operations and maintenance activities to align smoothly with other key departmental functions. Pre-built integration adapters are an important component of this process, as they facilitate the exchange of information across essential platforms without requiring additional resources, lengthy or complex integration processes, or extra costs.
Support the Change Management Process
Implementing a real-time, field-driven asset management system is not just a technological upgrade, but a cultural shift that requires careful change management across teams. By actively engaging field workers in the system’s design process and involving them in decision-making, organizations can ensure that the solution aligns with their real-world needs and workflows, supporting better user adoption.
Clear and consistent communication is an essential part of this process, as teams need to understand the tangible benefits of data capture and automation – including improved maintenance planning, reduced workload, and fewer inefficiencies. Equally important is providing comprehensive user training combined with practical, hands-on experience, to support confidence and familiarity with the new tools and facilitate a smoother transition.
Drive Continuous Improvement
Effective asset management relies on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, but this can only function with accurate, real-time data from the field. The immediate capture of field observations during each maintenance task can be quickly reviewed, refined, and fed back into planning processes, allowing for iterative improvements. This approach ensures that maintenance activities are proactive and aligned with the specific needs of each asset, and supports effective decision-making based on real-time insights. By quickly incorporating field inputs, organizations can continuously refine processes to improve the efficiency and accuracy of future operations.
The Path Forward
The future of utility asset management depends on closing the loop between field operations and asset management systems. To successfully utilize real-time field data, utilities and essential service organizations should recognize that asset management tools and processes work best when they are accessible, practical, and aligned with the needs of those in the field. Intuitive mobile tools, integrated data flows, and an emphasis on continuous improvement help organizations improve asset reliability through better maintenance planning; optimize workforce productivity with streamlined workflows; and enable proactive decision-making based on real-time insights. With a commitment to technological investment, workforce engagement, and strategic planning, utility and essential services organizations can unlock the full potential of real-time asset management and drive lasting improvements across their operations.
Our Experts
Doc Palmer: Doc Palmer is a renowned expert in maintenance planning and scheduling, with over four decades of industry experience. During his tenure, he successfully overhauled the maintenance planning organization, expanding it across all crafts and stations, which established him as a thought leader in the industry.
Palmer is the author of the highly regarded and best-selling Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook from McGraw Hill, now in its fourth edition, and has directed critical initiatives such as CMMS implementation and preventive maintenance programs. A registered professional engineer and Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP), Palmer currently provides consulting, training, and mentoring internationally, sharing his expertise to drive maintenance planning success globally.
Visit Doc Palmer’s website for more information and public workshops at palmerplanning.com or contact him directly at docpalmer@palmerplanning.com
Kimberley Herrala: Kimberley’s 20+ year background helping customers with digital transformation includes extensive time in product management and consulting services to public/private utilities as well as private industries to improve their overall asset and work management processes, field service and customer engagement. She is passionate about helping customers with their digital transformations and enjoys acting as a conduit between customers and product development. Prior to coming to KloudGin, Kimberly worked at Oracle in product management as well as Veolia North America where she worked closely with water/wastewater and energy projects deploying work and asset management solutions.
About KloudGin
KloudGin is the only cloud SaaS provider to combine work and asset management into a unified operating system that connects the back office, customers, mobile employees, and assets and asset reliability teams. With specialized features purpose-built for utilities—including embedded GIS, intelligent routing and scheduling software, and proactive outage communication—KloudGin enables clients to connect systems, resources, and processes in real-time, enhancing customer engagement and worker productivity.To learn more about KloudGin, our team would be glad to have exploratory conversation with you to understand your organization’s unique challenges and requirements. Please connect with us and a member of our team will be in touch.