Fayette county utilizes a new asset management program

The Fayette County Water System is an expansive one, providing service to Tyrone, Pcachtree City, Woolsey, Brooks, part of Fayetteville, and part of the unincorporated County, with its two plants, which have a total production capacity of 20.525 million gallons per day (MGD). So when Lee Pope, Water System Director, discovered that several of the System`s eight pumps were not operating as efficiently as needed, he decided the time was right to institute an asset management program that could help comply with new state-mandated maintenance rules.

Pope says he called in four or five different asset management companies to demonstrate their software before finally settling on SEMS Technologies, from Suwancc. "The SEMS product is very flexible and helped us to fit our needs," he said. "It has the components that we need to track our assets and expenditures and the software helps us keep an eye on the expected longevity and life of the equipment."

Though the new software wasn`t officially implemented until January, Pope says that the System has already saved thousands of dollars in repairs by utilizing several key components of the program. Kurtis Warnc, senior account manager with SEMS, worked closely with Fayette County to create a maintenance plan to fit their needs. "We used their site drawing to build their inventory, having four to six meetings with them to fill in the blanks," Warne said. "Then we built the entire software and schedule of assets for them."

This new software enables the System to create a database of its inventor^`, automatically generate work orders for routine maintenance according to preset intervals, customize work order management details, and institute a capital improvement plan, which will help to properly plan and save funds to an escrow account for future capital expenses. The software has a mobile application component that allows employees in the field immediate access to pertinent information, directly integrating into the Asset Management -Work Order System. This feature totally eliminates the need for any paper exchange by electronically dispatching the work order to the field technician (on cither a smartphone or tablet) where they can review, complete, and then send back to the office all via an internet connection (either Wi-Fi or Cellular). The work orders information is then automatically updated back into the System`s database. "We have created a maintenance team and the mobile app gives us the flexibility to take information right out into the field," Pope said. "We use Apple products for our field reps, and our management mostly uses Android devices, but the app works with both."

With more than 606 miles of water lines, and multiple reservoirs and distribution plants, asset management software and mobile applications such as this arc excellent tools that allow the Fayette County Water System to keep equipment in excellent working condition, which in turn helps to stabilize rates for its customers. Having already seen notable results in such a short time. Pope says that the end result of the painstaking selection process has been well worth it.