Smarter Water: Customer Service Improvements

Transcription

1 Smarter Water: Customer Service Improvements

2 ADAM Smarter Water - Turning Vision Into Reality MDM AMI AMR

3 Stage One of Smarter Water Journey Define Problem Poor Service Delivery High Cost of Service Public Trust Issues Resource Constraints Regulatory Challenges Spiraling Bills Dear Occupant

4 Stage Two Choose a Solution Tangible Cost of capital Direct labor costs Indirect labor costs Benefits Technology costs Life cycle costs Revenue Impact Infrastructure condition Accounts receivable Intangible Customer satisfaction Customer service improvements Additional services (value added)

5 Decision Time Which technology is best? It depends on your business model. For DC Water, we chose a fixed network solution

6 Business Drivers Initially, DC Water s drivers targeted core utility applications: Customer contact Estimated readings Customer billings Meter inventory Preventative maintenance

7 Lessons Learned To ensure a successful deployment, we encourage Performing a preliminary condition assessment Choosing the right technology for your business Developing strong contract language Dedicating fulltime project management Continuous public communication Prioritizing installations Installing concurrently Taking a breather

8 Condition Assessment

9 Problem: Customer Interaction High call volume 1.5% to 2% of customer base/daily High abandoned call rate about 20% Long talk time Low occupancy rate Duplicate field orders 6 month backlog of open service orders 30% to 40 % call backs 9 month backlog in administrative hearings. Significant A/R Balances Solution: Identify cost drivers then provide training and tools to our customer service representative to resolve most customer issues at their desktop.

10 Typical use screen Customer Contact Evolution In the beginning Bill Date Service Meter # Read Date Rate Class Type Reading Usage 5/23/2011 W /19/2011 Residential A /21/2011 W /17/2011 Residential A /20/2011 W /16/2011 Residential A /22/2011 W /18/1011 Residential A /23/2011 W /19/2011 Residential A /21/2010 W /19/2010 Residential A /19/2010 W /16/2010 Residential A /21/2010 W /17/2010 Residential A /20/2010 W /17/2010 Residential A /23/2010 W /19/2010 Residential A /19/2010 W /16/2010 Residential A /21/2010 W /17/2010 Residential A /23/2010 W Residential A 127 2

11 Customer Contact Evolution Improving Same Account Comments Date Time Reading 5/18/2011 4:47:54 PM 20,411 5/18/2011 4:56:07 AM 20,377 5/17/2011 5:08:36 PM 20,377 5/17/2011 5:13:39 AM 20,376 5/16/2011 5:20:47 PM 20,376 5/16/2011 5:21:54 AM 20,278 5/15/2011 5:27:07 PM 20,046 5/15/2011 5:33:10 AM 19,813 5/14/2011 5:39:20 PM 19,580 5/14/2011 5:37:51 AM 19,344 5/13/2011 5:40:08 PM 19,109 5/12/2011 5:44:11 PM 18,639 5/12/2011 5:52:06 AM 18,551 5/11/2011 5:50:50 PM 18,551 5/11/2011 5:51:15 AM 18,522 Can you see the big jump?

12 Same Account Customer Contact Evolution Getting better

13 Same Account Customer Contact Evolution Almost there $41.36

14 Customer Contact Evolution Service Delivery

15 Call Trends Downward Benefits realized: < calls < talk time < truck rolls < less staff

16 Call Trends Moving Upwards 2008 change: same staff size, smarter utilization use staff to reduce arrears

17 Soft Shut-off Cost Savings

18 Arrears Management Goal change use usage data to reduce credit cost and risks. Leave on to reduce field shut-off orders. Have call center understand future usage in payment plans. High use notification to help reduce bills.

19 Stage Three Of Smarter Water Journey Redefine Business Model DC Water s technology vision is to be a leader among utilities in the creative use and application of information technology, and leverage our investments to enhance the customer experience while improving operational performance

20 Turning Vision Into Reality To attain this vision our technology investments focused on: Our human capital and sound business processes Realizing staff s full potential in providing superior customer service Supporting the Enterprise to ensure continuity of service Capturing synergies to improve operational performance Ease of integration

21 Key Drivers For Operational Changes Enhanced Nutrient Removal $1.0B Blue Plains Total Nitrogen Program Biosolids Program (Digestion) $0.5B Clean Rivers Project $2.6B Water and Sewer Infrastructure Upgrades $2.3B - Includes new water and sewer service line restoration program to ensure 1% replacement annually

22 FY 2011 FY 2020 Projected Average Residential Monthly Bill Units FY 2011 FY 2012 Proposed FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 DC Water Retail Rates (1) Ccf $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ DC Water Clean Rivers IAC ERU DC Water Customer Metering Fee Subtotal DC Water Rates & Charges $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Increase / Decrease $ 8.25 $ 5.27 $ 6.23 $ 7.33 $ 6.62 $ 6.43 $ 6.86 $ 5.25 $ 5.94 $ 6.30 District of Columbia PILOT (1) Ccf $ 3.28 $ 3.28 $ 3.48 $ 3.68 $ 3.95 $ 4.21 $ 4.48 $ 4.68 $ 4.88 $ 5.15 District of Columbia Right of Way Fee (1) Ccf District of Columbia PILOT/ROW Fee District of Columbia Stormwater Fee (2) ERU Subtotal District of Columbia Charges $ 6.89 $ 6.95 $ 7.22 $ 7.49 $ 7.82 $ 8.15 $ 8.49 $ 8.75 $ 9.02 $ 9.36 Total Amount Appearing on DC Water Bill $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Increase / Decrease Over Prior Year $ 8.76 $ 5.33 $ 6.50 $ 7.60 $ 6.95 $ 6.75 $ 7.21 $ 5.51 $ 6.20 $ 6.64 Percent Increase in Total Bill 17.0% 8.8% 9.9% 10.5% 8.7% 7.8% 7.7% 5.5% 5.8% 5.9% (1) Assumes average monthly consumption of 6.69 Ccf, or (5,004 gallons) (2) District Department of Environment stormw ater fee of $2.67 effective November 1, 2010 How will you help your customers manage rate changes that can double their bill in 10 years?

23 Service Impact Higher rates translate into higher customer expectations Improved customer service Safe and reliable service Minimal service interruptions Faster response Improved notification Greater access Lower cost of service Rate design options Discount programs

24 By 2020, Potential Conflict bills will have doubled median age of pipe will remain about the same. Water 78 years old Sewer 85 years old consumption will continue to decline customer expectations will rise However, most of this can be managed if we change the way we do business

25 Practice Of Technology Innovation Using analytics driven asset management to improve service delivery DC WATER AND IBM ARE PARTNERING ON A JOINT RESEARCH PROJECT ON PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS, FIRST-OF-A KIND ( FOAK PROJECT, ANALYTICS DRIVEN ASSET MANAGEMENT (ADAM) TO DEVELOP AND APPLY ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS TECHNOLOGY Preventive Maintenance Demand Management Develop analytics which can lower the cost of preventive maintenance. Understand water usage patterns to support pricing and demand management. Customer Service Develop analytics which can improve the quality of service (uninterrupted, high quality water) for DC WATER customers Work Management Lower the operational cost of DC WATER by effective crew scheduling and optimal rolling stock use

26 Meter Maintenance M6 is a great guide but is there a better solution? Cost of service is high One large meter test can cost about $300 Revenue loss remains undetected for long periods Each 1% loss represents about $2.5 million to us Asset failure is not immediately identified The process of testing 100% over a predetermined time means that a true asset failure condition is not quickly identified. In effect we sometimes see, seldom hear and never speak to our assets We need to see, hear and eventually speak to our assets

27 Asset Failure Condition Yellow line total use looks fine to high/low checkbut low flow blue line shows loss of about $40/day

28 Asset is speaking but we were not listening Potential Cross Connection In a gas or electric utility, this could suggest a backward or upside down installed meter or tampering Calendar days increase, dial reading on register decreases Why Am I Running Backwards?

29 Defective Meter Detection Using AMR Data Anomaly Accounts Comparable Normal Accounts Accountnum = Accountnum = Accountnum = Accountnum = Accountnum = Accountnum =

30 Rate Change Considerations Group 1 (with strong seasonal patterns with score > 0.4): 96/9722 accounts TYPE SELECTED TOTAL RATIO COM % RES % MF % FED %

31 Benefits that can be realized: Retail Revenue > 2.8% Defective Meter Revenue Recapture $1MM/Yr+ 27 before Field Operations Productivity 25% after Fuel Usage 20% 31

32 Real Benefits Job Position Reclassification 9 classifications to 3 classifications Reduction in Force Initially 25 positions ($1.7 million/annually) Worker productivity increase of nearly 25% Migrated from specialists to generalists One and Done Reduced truck rolls for customer complaints by 70% Increased truck rolls for PM by 25% Increased revenue (7% increase in residential class, 5% in non residential or about $17 million /year) Career progression paths established Customer satisfaction on the rise