9 ways companies can use scheduling technology to achieve net zero emissions goals

The global drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a more sustainable future has impacted all industries, and the energy sector is certainly no exception.   

In the UK alone, the path has been set to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 according to independent statutory body, the Climate Change Committee. To support greener technologies and lower the cost of offshore wind production, the UK Government recently announced a £12 billion investment program—which will also assist with economic recovery following COVID, and give rise to thousands of new jobs in renewable energies. 

The investment adds fuel to the green movement which has been building momentum over the past 5 years,  paving the way for new players in the sector which are proudly offering consumers 100% renewable energy at competitive prices. This alternative is highly attractive to a growing portion of the population who are demanding more sustainable practices from the companies they buy from. 

The challenge is on for both established carbon-intensive energy providers and renewable energy providers to consider their business operations holistically, and take proactive steps to:

• improve sustainability across the board
• boost operational efficiencies 
• increase market share
• respond to changing consumer demands
• deliver an outstanding customer experience

A commitment to innovation is driving positive change

At Skedulo, we’ve found a higher percentage of companies are actively invested in achieving all of the above. New roles such as Director of Operational Excellence, or Director of Innovation and Sustainability, are being introduced to ensure a top-down approach to kicking company-wide goals that assist in attaining carbon neutrality. 

These goals extend from the boardroom to the coal face, with a strong emphasis on leveraging technology to facilitate change. 

For those companies still burdened with archaic methods of managing frontline workers, the race is on to find an infinitely better solution. Spreadsheets, emails and whiteboards are simply incapable of providing the efficiency, transparency, and data capabilities needed to identify avenues for reducing the carbon footprint. 

For green-minded energy companies, the challenge is  on to “walk the talk” and ensure their field operations are as green as the services they provide.  

The concern in undertaking this level of digital transformation often comes down to the perceived magnitude of the project. Archaic scheduling systems were never designed to manage huge cohorts of mobile teams, and they’re often near impossible to manipulate and ridiculously costly to upgrade. 

Luckily, new best of breed technologies such as Skedulo eliminate many of the perceived barriers to entry. An overhaul is not what’s needed. Rather, companies can cost-effectively target individual pain points using cloud platforms that are:

• rapid to deploy and adopt
• able to integrate with incumbent software
• easy to configure and extend
• AI-driven
• mobile-first and flexible
• quick to provide value

These platforms deliver immediate efficiencies for all energy companies – helping to reduce operational expenditure, drive cost savings for customers, and free up funds for more investment into renewables. 

How Skedulo is helping energy companies kick goals

Scheduling a large mobile workforce is a significant operational component for energy companies. This is why scheduling is gaining much needed recognition as an area ripe for improving efficiency while reducing resource wastage. 

Here are 9 vital ways Skedulo is helping energy companies achieve this…

1. AI-driven scheduling with valuable data outputs

Skedulo allows you to weight different business objectives by using data to identify inefficiencies—such as extensive travel time or poor allocation of resources – before deciding which changes to make. 

You can then configure Skedulo to guide scheduling in such a way that these goals are a top priority (for example, suggesting the fastest route to a job and recommending suitably skilled workers who live closest). 

2. Eliminating first time install and fix failures 

Skedulo makes it easy to get the right people with the right skills, equipment and information in the right place at the right time…the first time. 

3. Empowering frontline workers

Driven by our mobile-first view of scheduling, Skedulo is as easy and intuitive to use as any social media app. And it’s on hand, in their pocket, anytime they need it.

4. Automating job dependencies 

With Skedulo, you can automate the sequencing of crews so they don’t all need to be on site at the same time. For example, in repairing an underground gas main you can schedule the first crew (to dig up the ground), the second crew (to fix the pipe) and the third crew (to fill the hole) as each job ends. 

This also frees up resources so workers are available to fulfill other jobs elsewhere.

5. Improving communication

Skedulo helps reduce pressure on the call centre, while keeping communities informed with broadcast messaging to all crews or customers in an area.

Combined with the ability to provide an ‘Amazon-like’ experience where customers are kept informed on the status of a service in real time, all this leads to a greatly improved customer experience. 

6. Effective resource allocation

Skedulo allows you to assign primary, secondary and temporary regions to field workers. If there are no available resources, you can leverage the system to suggest the nearest, most appropriate resource without manual and time consuming checking.

7. Fast allocation for emergency jobs

Skedulo is not constrained by the concept of a crew. With Skedulo you can schedule appropriately skilled individual workers within crews, as opposed to relocating a whole crew to another job or to fix an emergency issue. 

8. Seamless deployment into hostile IT environments without costly third party system integrators

Even if a company’s IT systems are old, on-premise and difficult to integrate with, Skedulo can still be seamlessly deployed. Instead of a huge IT overhaul, the process is painless and can be completed in just weeks with the help of our friendly in house delivery and customer success team.

Skedulo can  be configured  to ensure it is completely fit for purpose and unique to your business. 

9. Greater oversight on sustainability goals

Skedulo serves up real data on your frontline operations and can integrate with existing BI software—allowing you to track and present results in custom dashboards to prove you are meeting specific company targets for emissions reduction. 

To learn more about how Skedulo can help your energy company reach its innovation and sustainability goals, book a free demo.