SafeMon Halves Costs Related to Error Correction
At Tensio, Measurement Manager Rune Morten Myrhaug and Operations Planner Erik Lund have adopted SafeMon for voltage monitoring, leading to more efficient operations and major cost savings. A huge plus for both the grid company and their customers.
Smart Meter Insight in SafeMon constitutes a considerable part of Tensio’s daily operations. Myrhaug is responsible for ensuring that the smart meters deliver correct values and function according to plan. Using SafeMon, he managed to discover several meters with voltage below the set requirements.
— That was when we started using SafeMon for voltage monitoring, says Myrhaug. As a result, Operations Planner Erik Lund got involved. Surely, they asked themselves, this insight can be used for better planning of maintenance and error correction.
Finally, this past summer they got a yes for an answer.
What Kind of Information Required is Immediately Clear
Lund deals with several platforms during an average workday — unfortunately, most are difficult to work with.
— Many of our systems contain so much information that it is difficult to see what is important and what is not. With SafeMon, on the other hand, it is immediately clear which information holds importance, he explains.
— SafeMon is significantly easier to use, both because of how the program presents the numbers in a graphic manner, but also because of how the software is displayed — with a comprehensible navigation and view of relevant errors.
With SafeMon, Lund and Myrhaug can, with a few simple clicks, identify any potential meters with voltage outside the limits described in the governmental regulation of grid power access. Extreme deviations from the limit values are signs that something has gone wrong — which is how they have uncovered many errors, usually long before the customers themselves report any power cuts.
Photo: Tensio.
Better Planning and Operation
The Trønder coast is covered with islands, where emergency calls require specific boating equipment and substantial resources. Since the property owners tend to live elsewhere, the holiday homes in these areas are particularly exposed to damage from power cuts.
— Before SafeMon, it was usually the customer themselves who contacted and notified us that they were without electricity. Now we can be at the forefront and correct the error before it is experienced. It saves our grid customers a great deal of frustration, and we can use our resources in a more constructive way to the customers’ benefit. We also improve the efficiency of our operations since we can gather maintenance work from several projects before heading out.
The grid components located along the coast are more exposed to impact and wear than the equipment placed further in on the mainland.
— Salt and wind drastically reduce the lifespan of the components along the coast. A general rule is that electricity and salt don’t go along.
Replacing Equipment on Time
During the summer, Myrhaug and Lund corrected several errors and replaced components just in time. Among numerous projects they point to a clamping error (along the coast) where they had the clamp replaced just before failure. It saved them from a full-blown power outage.
— One more storm and the whole arrangement would have been torn from the wall of the house, seeing how corroded the attachment was. When we detect such errors in SafeMon in time, we get a smarter operation of the grid. An even voltage quality, improved maintenance planning and fewer power outages benefit both us and our customers.