Reference Gasanlagenservice Gelsenkirchen

Modular planning portal

More about the project

A mammoth task for an entire industry

There are currently two different kinds of natural gas in Germany, which are transported in two separate networks and have different calorific values – L-gas (low calorific gas) and H-gas (high calorific gas). According to the German Federal Network Agency, one quarter of German households are currently supplied with L-gas – that means about five million connections. This gas comes from German and Dutch sources, but these will be depleted in the foreseeable future. The alternative is H-gas, which is obtained primarily from Norway and Russia. According to a specified plan by the German Federal Network Agency, over six million gas consumption devices must be adapted gradually for a supply with H-gas by 2029. As a company specialising in the installation, maintenance and replacement of gas and water meters as well as house service regulators, this is a task which GasGe, one of the industry’s most experienced service providers, has prepared for early on. Even in the 1990s, the company had overseen the conversion of city gas to natural gas.

Requirements

Requirements

Planning portal improves data exchange

This L- to H-gas marketplace conversion, one of the largest gas infrastructure projects in Germany, has been in progress since 2015. It is a unique but comprehensive mammoth task for the responsible network operators. As the greatest complexities are generated locally at the customer’s sites, this is where the individual gas devices must be identified, documented and evaluated in terms of their suitability for the new type of gas in a so-called survey phase. This is performed by specifically certified gas installers. Depending on the classification, these devices must be individually adjusted a few months later, shortly before or after converting to the new type of gas. Then certified QA technicians randomly test and document the execution of the work.

However, just like the specified timetable, the large amount of the devices that must be surveyed and adjusted – some of which are older than 30 years – poses a challenge for everyone involved, from network operators to manufacturers, service providers to customers. This is compounded by the requirements for the technical skills of the installers, which must be verified, as well as the documentation and evaluations that are specified by the German Association for Gas and Water Applications (DVGW). At GasGe, this quickly resulted in the conclusion that a custom-fit, scalable IT solution was required for all the tasks, namely the processing of high volumes of orders for the gas device survey, adjustment and quality control.
This is exactly the solution provided by Telekom MMS, for which a standard workforce management solution was gradually configured to meet the industry requirements and the necessary additional applications were developed.

Solution

Mobile, electronic data entry and data management in a planning portal with a modular structure

Telekom MMS has implemented its portfolio of WFM solutions in various markets and industries for over ten years. The development of a customised solution for marketplace conversion started in 2014 and has been used with a mobile connection at GasGe since 2017. The solution is multi-client capable and operated in the Microsoft Azure Germany cloud as software as a service, comprising the following components:

For installers, the mobile client is the direct connection between the central planning office and their individual work locations, the private households. It helps them plan and process the order with data compilation and adjustments. Review and adjustment tasks are captured intuitively in electronic forms on the tablet and, where appropriate, supplemented with local photos to document the condition. Customised workflows and plausibility checks also support the installers as they work on site. An important feature is the mobile client’s offline capability, since the inspected gas equipment is often located out of wireless range.

Automatic Bluetooth transmission of readings of peripherical devices - for example to measure exhaust gas. Manufacturer-specific apps and protocols were integrated for each workflow so that installers can receive the results of their measuring processes in the electronic order form without further operations.

A connection to the gas equipment database from the DVGW, which can be used to access all information, such as technical specifications about operating modes, setting parameters, order numbers for new gas nozzles or adjustability. If new gas devices are found that are not on file yet, existing information (manufacturer, type plate, etc.) can be sent to the DVGW via a defined interface for follow-up registration. This central database currently has over 16,000 entries.

Through the integration of the mobile solution into the central planning portal and infrastructure of GasGe, the orders for the specific consumer sites are assigned to the installers and, after the execution message, encrypted with the compiled data and returned via auto-push.

Thanks to the continuous data exchange between the three key elements of the solution, GasGe always has an overview of the current status and progress of the work at the consumer sites.

Benefits

Seamless dataflows for a complete overview across all systems

In the initial step, GasGe benefited from the modular construction of the offer provided by Telekom MMS. This made it possible to replace the paper-based order processing with the mobile client within a short time – while work was in progress. Here the client was connected to the existing planning solution developed by GasGe itself.
With the extensive travel and manual work of numerous installers, the industry-specific solution helps to coordinate the many appointments and work processes with optimised schedules and routes. All completed tasks are also documented for legal purposes in case there are any subsequent malfunctions in the adjusted equipment.

Despite an increase in employed installers, GasGe was able to significantly improve the process reliability thanks to the lowered amount of manual process steps in the solution provided by Telekom MMS.

Icon / Quote
Above all, the data exchange between our own planning application, the databases and the mobile component without media discontinuity represents a special benefit for us. The elimination of the error-prone and time-consuming subsequent recording of paper documents has led to higher efficiency right from the start, but also the increased transparency of pending and completed orders in the system represents an important information gain for the necessary reporting to the network operator. Ulrich Masuch, Manager of GasGe

Benefits to our Customer

  • Increased process reliability with partial automation and digitisation

  • More transparency and optimised planning with mobile, seamless data entry and processing

  • Higher efficiency by eliminating paper-based order processing

About Gasanlagenservice Gelsenkirchen GmbH

Gasanlagenservice Gelsenkirchen GmbH (or GasGe) is a specialised service partner for energy supply companies. The company’s range of services includes, among others, the conversion and adjustment of gas equipment, the cyclical replacement of gas and water meters, inspections of house service regulators for gas, replacements of house service regulators for gas, technical services for manufacturers of gas equipment and inspections of interior parts of gas and water lines in buildings. For its customers, GasGe also handles installation tasks on gas lines as part of a conversion from counter meters to house service regulators.

Do you have any questions?

Dr. Cornelia Mossal

Corporate Communication

+49 351-28 20-0
Send e-mail

Für morgen.
Und übermorgen.

Subjects

Media

Kanäle

Subscribe to RSS feed
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on XING
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on YouTube