Before installing its AMR system, collecting data from 1,000 meters took all day. Now it only takes one hour.
Click here to enlarge image“AMR has increased the amount of information available to help our customers,” Kemp explains. “With the capability to store daily and hourly information on individual customers, we can show customers their pattern of water usage over a period of weeks. We can demonstrate not only overall monthly consumption, but also how usage was distributed throughout the day.”
This profiling capability has been a huge help to many customers whose water, and dollars, have gone down the drain with wasteful leaks. In one case, customer service representatives helped a landlord find a leak in the vacant portion of a strip mall. When total consumption didn’t match up with the sub-meters in the mall, technicians knew a problem existed. When they found it, the landlord’s bill dropped by 500,000 gallons of water per month.
At another site, the profile found lawn sprinklers kicking on soon after a factory closed at night and staying on for the remainder of the night. “A simple adjustment to the irrigation system solved the problem,” says Jean Spencer, Plano’s Customer and Utility Services manager.
Spencer also recalls the time an elderly couple called with high-bill concerns. “The couple only used one of their two bathrooms,” she explains. “The other was used only when they had family or friends visiting.” As it turns out, the extra toilet leaked, and with no houseguests around to jiggle the toilet handle, the leak resulted in a high bill. Fortunately, continuous consumption shows up in ProfilePLUS.
“Datamatic’s profiling feature has been a great tool in resolving customer water consumption and billing issues,” Spencer says.
She adds that the technology allows the utility to raise the level of service to customers by giving them access to usage data, as well.
Not surprisingly, Spencer also notes that utility managers and elected representatives alike view the AMR project as “an absolute success.” More than a cost-saver, AMR has been a political asset for the City of Plano. As Spencer enthusiastically says, it gives city officials “bragging rights.”
For more information about Datamatic AMR systems and products, visit www.datamatic.com or call (800) 880-2878.
About the Author:
As Vice President of Sales, Scott Durham has been responsible for Datamatic’s successful marketing and customer acquisition activities for the past five years. His background includes market research, sales management, analysis, operations and business planning/strategy. With a degree in mechanical engineering, he is equally adept with the technical aspects of integrated and automated systems.
Datamatic is a leader in utility meter reading automation. The company’s innovative ideas created an industry when it installed the first electronic meter reading (EMR) system in 1980. For nearly a quarter of a century, Datamatic has been at the forefront in the design, implementation and support of advanced utility meter reading and field data collection solutions for gas, water and electric utilities worldwide. Additional information about the company and its products is available at www.datamatic.com.