IFS and ESRI firm up on utilities asset management

The pair say that companies will be able to improve efficiency and reduce costs in maintenance management and engineering, while also improving customer service levels. Mitch Garnett, marketing manager for the utilities sector at ESRI, says that by bringing GIS and EAM together, users will be better able to visualise and resolve problems across their electricity grids by navigating from online maps to IFS Applications and vice versa. “After several years of collaboration on a number of specific projects, we have now formalised our working relationship with IFS,” he says. “We view IFS as a premier solution provider for asset-intensive industries, such as the utilities and the oil and gas sectors.” Norwegian power grid owner and operator Statnett is an existing user, and Einar Mørk, its maintenance department director, says: “We have seen many benefits, such as reductions in manpower and materials costs, improvements in customer service levels, improved asset performance, and better environmental stewardship.”