Seeboard Power Networks Case Study
11 February 2002
Ai Solutions have now completed the installation of a major software upgrade of their CDM ToolKit™ in one of the UK's premier regional power companies. Seeboard Power Networks maintain and upgrade the electricity network for the major part of the south east of England. The company decided some time ago that they needed to formalise their approach to the Health & Safety Executive's Construction (Design & Management) regulations. They wanted to ensure compliance throughout the group. Having researched the UK for suitable software to enable this, Seeboard contacted Ai Solutions to pilot their CDM ToolKit™ software within one part of the group.
The key to success for Seeboard was their decision to use standard software so that they could benefit from the many enhancements being made to the product as experience was gained throughout the CDM ToolKit™ customer base. As improvements were made to this major document management system, they were passed on to every user as part of the standard maintenance contract. In addition, the group were able to benefit from the concurrent license policy operated by Ai Solutions so that they only paid for licences actually in use across the business.
As the benefits from the installation began to be realised, many important changes were taking place in the software solution. An upgrade in the year 2000 ensured that year 2000 compliance was maintained. A new easy to use tree structure was introduced along with compatibility with Microsoft Word features.
The company was offered the Away From Base (AFB) option so that selected users could work on their laptops on site and easily update the master database when returning to their offices. This particular feature has proved to be very effective with Transmission Projects site staff whose work patterns keep them away from the office for weeks at a time but still require regular contact with base on CDM reporting issues and guidance. AFB has been so successful that Seeboard are now looking to pass the same benefits onto other staff with similar work patterns in other businesses within the group.
CDM ToolKit™ was originally designed as a single database product designed for a local area network. Ai Solutions have developed new networking options. It is now installed across 5 distributed sites serving very different business within Seeboard Power Networks. The requirement to keep all the businesses updated with the latest information from each site has been achieved by a synchronisation process that can be scheduled as required, currently each evening. This process, together with a 'conflicts manager', ensures that each business starts the working day with the same version of the database available to all everyone.
The ToolKit™ provides many benefits for the user and the manager alike. The company's CDM library is being developed within the CDM ToolKit™ so that everyone with permission has access to key procedural information and standard forms. The task manager can be used to track task, events and milestones in the CDM business. Monthly management reports are available at the touch of a button. A time line chart shows the progress of every 'open' project with single key access to a wealth of information about the project, its personnel and documentation. All documentation generated by the CDM ToolKit™ is provided from the database. Every copy of the Heath & Safety Plan, File and associated letters and supporting documents can all be generated at the touch of a button. All documents can be e-mailed, filed, or printed with the ability to keep facsimile copies for future use; this provides a full version control mechanism for the user and manager alike.
A key issue of interest to the health & safety executive is the ability of the CDM ToolKit™ to provide a full audit of the users' activities within the CDM ToolKit™ database. This is achieved automatically within the standard product.
Power Networks are now looking to enhance their solution by providing links from the existing CDM ToolKit™ database via a web browser interface so that many more users can start to access the system via their intranet. These enhancements will be delivered as part of the CDM ToolKit™ Compliance System upgrade. The upgrade will provide many more integration opportunities including the Asbestos ToolKit™ product which can be used with the new Asbestos Management regulations due in 2002.
John Park, System Development Manager
For Asset Management, Seeboard Power Networks