BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC), embarked upon a project which is expected to not only improve the service given to consumers but also speed up the process of rectifying any problem consumers may have.
SKELEC's Public Relations Officer Gawain Fraites, speaking with SKNVibes yesterday (Sept. 4) said that the company has ventured into Pole Mapping, and explained what the workers are doing.
"What we are doing is managing the poles using GPS so that we know where each pole is, and we are counting the poles so that we know every pole that SKELEC has. We are going a step further and taking inventory from the poles, so that we know exactly what is on the poles, for example, if it has a street light, transformers, lines fittings, etc - everything.
"We are also checking to see who is using the poles, for example, we will know which poles have Cable or Telephone lines, so we are checking to see which poles are being used for what," he explained.
He said that the Company began this method as a pilot project using SKELEC technicians, but decided to expand it further by outsourcing the work to contractors. This move will improve the speed at which the exercise can be completed.
He said that the company is venturing into this project as a means of improving the quality of the service being offered to consumers, as well as the efficiency of the maintenance work for Emergency crews.
"We decided to do this because we would like to know exactly what our inventory is, to have live figures as to what is what. Also, say for instance a street light blows, we can quickly check and assess which pole's light blew out and rectify the situation in quick time, and we can also assess what lines are run from that post and act accordingly.
"Also, if the maintenance personnel were to go out to a specific area to do work on the poles, instead of them having to wait until they get to the worksite, assess what lines are on those specific poles and determine which equipment they will need, they will be able to make a check, and have the equipment readily available when they get to the work-site. This way, work will be more efficient," he explained.
Fraites also explained that with the pole inventory, SKELEC would also be putting in place a proper billing system to be able to determine which consumers are "feeding" from which poles and in doing so, if one consumer is having a problem, the company would also be able to determine if other consumers are also being affected.
"Three teams of two men are currently out on the roads taking inventory, moving in a western direction. The next phase of the project would be from Bayfords moving south towards Basseterre. The project, so far, has been very successful," he said.
Fraites explained that the men, since starting the project, had a few minor incidents where persons' dogs were concerned.
He said that there are situations where the men go out to take notes of the poles but could not do so because of the threat of client’s dogs that were not secured.
He informed that SKELEC would like the public to be aware of the project and what it entails. He said that the company would also like the public to bear with the men and keep their dogs and other pets properly secured for the safety of the men.
The Pole Mapping pilot project originally began during the first quarter of the year but the project did not officially begin with the contractors until August 27 and is expected to end by the beginning of the next year (2013).
