Greenville SC, January 21, 2011-Sustainable Management Systems announced today the successful completion of its PIMS beta test. Working in tandem with the Orangeburg, SC Department of Public Utilities, SMS deployed the PIMS system across a network of transmission and distribution poles utlizing their patent-pending RFID-based system.
PIMS is a workflow process application that allows utilities to more efficiently inspect, maintain and dispose of utility poles within their transmission and distribution networks. Using PIMS, pole inspection teams can capture pole-specific information on a simple point-and-shoot basis.
Multiple Benefits
Among the many benefits that PIMS provides are the following:
A complete inspection record of poles and their related assets.
Full integration between inspection and field maintenance including the use of real-time maintenance alerts to expedite response times and ensure the right materials are delivered to the right job.
Faster reporting and recovery of revenues related to third party or joint use agreements.
Ability to quickly and accurately capture and disseminate pole "event" data related to storms and other natural disasters.
Improved management oversight of inspectors stated vs. actual productivity
Cradle-to-cradle recording of vendor-provided poles for purposes of meeting existing and/or pending regulatory requirements related to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Test Focuses On Workflow Process Improvements
"After several months of working withOrangeburg DPU and our global software development team on the PIMS application, we couldn't be more excited to see the benefits of PIMS in a real-world environment," said SMS President & CEO Barry Breede. "Through our beta test we were able to assess all key aspects of PIMS including tag commissioning, scheduling and pole inspection and maintenance. All of our software modules are designed to enhance workflow process by working together seamlessly." said Breede.
"Importantly, we clearly demonstrated to our test partner, DPU, the significant impact that PIMS can have on improving workflow processes. PIMS reduced overall inspection and maintenance time by at least 45%." We are grateful to our test partner who also allowed us to better understand how to incorporate some key changes in our software templates to futher expedite the inspection process as we now proceed towards widespread commercial release of PIMS."
About Sustainable Management Systems
SMS is the industry leader in providing RFID-based technology solutions for the on-going tracking, inspection and maintenance of utility assets. Based in Greenville, SC, SMS offers customers two primary product suites, Pole Information Management System (PIMS) and YardTrack. The company consists of professionals in RFID and utility asset management and is privately held.
About Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities
Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is a mid-sized municipal utility located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. We have operated as a not-for-profit public service for more than 100 years, providing electricity, water, natural gas, and wastewater services to approximately 25,000 residential commercial and industrial customers. Orangeburg DPU electric system consists of 22 electric substations, 65 circuits cumulating in 800 miles of distribution line (700 miles is overhead).
