Revolutionizing Field Operations at EDP Distribuição

Person wearing a headset works on a computer in an office, facing the screen, which displays data.

The Challenge

To efficiently control maintenance in substation facilities and guarantee the grid’s security, the registration of staff entrances and exits is critical. The problem is that this was a manual and error-prone process.
Whenever maintenance was necessary, the communication and authorization to start working were requested by phone as the technician was arriving at the asset. In a typical week, DCD operators received about 500 calls (more than 40% related to facility access), and the information was manually entered into an Access database to track who was accessing which facilities.

All this resulted in inefficiency for multiple business areas.

The Solution

“To address these challenges, the solution was to develop a mobile app that could give autonomy to the field technicians (eliminating the need for calls), free operators to focus on their strategic tasks, and provide managers with reliable, real-time information for analysis and control.

The platform chosen was OutSystems due to its ease of use, fast implementation, existing internal knowledge, and good previous experience by the EDP team.

Called EDP Checkin, the solution was developed by valantic in just 5 weeks in a close partnership with EDP and consists of two modules that enabled automation of the end-to-end security and access control process:
Mobile application – Used by EDP’s maintenance technicians on their mobile phone to check in when they enter and check out when they leave installations to which they have authorized access.
Web application – Used in EDP’s command center to monitor operations through intuitive dashboards.

The Results

Among the main advantages of the implemented solution, there is a clear increase in productivity and efficiency of all EDP’s DCD work, with the team focused on value-added and strategic tasks and not wasting time with manual, time-consuming, error-prone activities.

The gains from process automation and optimization will be even greater when the app expands beyond the current 419 substations to include 67,000 transformer stations, giving EDP complete visibility of DCD’s operations.

Native Mobile App

Complex Integrations

Security Compliance

Fast Time To Market

Diogo Lopes
Low Voltage Grid Manager, EDP

”We are very happy with valantic’s work, as they are always striving to find the best solution to every new challenge. In adapting the app to our business rules, there were some issues that we didn’t expect and thanks to valantic’s creativity and proactivity they were easily solved. The focus was always on results and how the solution addresses our specific needs.“

About EDP Distribuição

EDP’s Dispatch and Conduction Department (DCD) is responsible for managing the Portuguese electricity grid, assuring excellent service, energy quality, and continuity for the country.