Utility Company Increases Efficiency And Accuracy With Rugged Tablet PCs

Horizon Utilities Corporation is one of the largest municipally-owned electricity distribution companies in Ontario, providing electricity and related utility services to 239,000 residential and commercial customers in Hamilton and St. Catharines, Ontario. With the slogan “Looking Beyond” and a commitment to search for ways to improve its services, the company’s overall vision is to be the leader in providing innovative energy solutions to the communities it serves. Like other licensed local electric distribution companies, Horizon Utilities has its rates and performance regulated by the Ontario Energy Board. Its 423 employees, who work out of facilities in Hamilton and St. Catharines, are committed to delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity, providing unparalleled customer value, and helping to create a culture of energy conservation in Ontario. As a result, Horizon is among Ontario’s top performing utilities in terms of both residential and commercial rates, corporate and community sustainability, and conservation and demand programs.

The Challenge:

Every year, Horizon Utilities service technicians process nearly 90,000 service orders, each one requiring at least two pieces of paper. This results in more than 180,000 pieces of paper being shuffled back and forth between the field technicians and office administrators before finally being stored in large storage rooms. The amount of paper stored each year, if laid end to end, would stretch between Horizon’s offices in Hamilton and St. Catharines, a distance of 50 km. Horizon Utilities’ customer service staff knew there had to be a better and more efficient way to process service orders and improve the overall system for the 40 different types of hard-copy service orders they use. The sought a solution that would reduce printing costs, lessen the likelihood of errors, remove the need for costly paper storage and boost the productivity of field technicians, while promoting conservation.

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