POWER June 2022 Intl - 13

FOCUS ON O&M
3. Digitizing work orders does require investments
in both the solution and process
improvements, but those investments can
be quickly recaptured as they provide cost
savings across a utility's operations. Source:
Shutterstock
the actual state of the plant and people.
On the other hand, moving to a digital
system (Figure 3) requires investments
both in the solution as well as in process
improvement. However, with the
savings realized from improvements to
processes and safety (including a reduction
in incidents) outweighing the cost
of a digital system, industry leaders are
quickly embracing digital PTW processes
in their operations.
Shift Management. In the power and
utilities industry, we know that energy
must be delivered 24/7, and therefore,
employees must work around the clock.
Tasks and responsibilities need to be effectively
transferred from shift to shift,
day in and day out.
When the ownership of critical processes
isn't communicated properly,
important hazards can go unchecked
and escalate into incidents. With the increase
in remote work, as well as having
to operate with a limited workforce due
to COVID-19, controls to manage safety
practices between work shifts have further
risen on the agenda for industrial
firms. Ninety percent of the survey respondents
said that they include shift
management processes as part of their
CoW framework.
Software Essential for Success of
CoW Processes
As more companies-including those in
the power and utilities industry-place
greater importance on getting work
done safely and efficiently, there has
been an increase in the uptake of CoW
software. That's because CoW frameworks
for industrial firms have expanded
beyond traditional permit to work and job
hazard analysis to include incident management,
shift management, and even
barrier risk management. This has led to
more cross-functional collaboration and
stakeholder engagement from operaJune
2022 | POWER
4. Control of work (CoW) software digitizes the shift handover process and provides support
for workers in the field, which has been particularly important during the pandemic. Workers at
a job site can receive needed materials without having to visit an office. Source: Shutterstock
tions, EHS, and engineering.
In the survey, 84% of respondents
said they view software as either essential
or valuable for the success of their
CoW processes. While this percentage
is significant, it will continue to grow in
the future. As more operations teams
recognize and find ways to adopt CoW
software into their work, more businesses
will recognize its value.
One industry where this is already occurring
is power and utilities. By adopting
CoW software, firms can unlock
value in their operational workflow by
reducing asset downtime and increasing
workforce utilization. From an incident
management perspective, CoW software
gives power and utilities leaders
visibility into the complexities and hazards
across a worksite-and even across
every worksite in the organization-and
the flexibility to drill down into specific
areas and address local issues. This is
critical because power plants need regular
maintenance but are often big and
spread out over long distances.
CoW software also enables power
and utilities leaders to bypass the challenges
of traditional pen and paper, such
as managing historical records; getting
paper permits printed, signed, and approved;
and replacing missing permits.
Finally, CoW software digitizes the
shift handover process, ensuring that
stakeholders can access and review shift
handover reports from any location (Figure
4), which is critical with remote work
during the pandemic. By capturing audit
trails to ensure supervisors with back-toback
shifts have discussed handovers,
CoW software ultimately helps reduce
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accidents and keeps workers safe.
Improve and Optimize
Maintenance Programs
The power and utilities industry always
has been focused on general maintenance
at power plants. Companies are
struggling to perform and manage better.
While many are transitioning to more
sustainable energy sources and implementing
CoW processes at these new
sites, there will still be an emphasis on
deriving value from aging assets. One
way to accomplish this is to improve and
optimize maintenance programs through
a streamlined CoW process; and that
can be done through software.
The idea that a company needs software
to improve a process is certainly
not new. Software has the power to help
transform companies. In this regard,
CoW software has been shown to directly
influence safety culture. This is especially
essential in industries like power
and utilities. Many workers are out in the
field using their hands to perform their
tasks. They're doing dangerous work
every day. CoW software enables these
workers to participate and have a clear
role in a formal, digital, and streamlined
CoW procedure. It also empowers them
to contribute to a culture that values
safety as much as efficiency. ■
-Tina Amirtha is senior technology
product manager at Wolters Kluwer /
Enablon, a group that utilizes software
solutions to help companies manage
safety and environmental performance,
ensure compliance, minimize risks, and
improve profitability by leveraging some of
the world's most advanced technologies.
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POWER June 2022 Intl

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