When the call comes in, the agent or call handler must first locate the incident and capture all the details that the caller can provide. A good SSO/CSO response system provides on-screen mapping that the agent can use easily to locate where the spill has occurred, with forms that capture the relevant information simply and accurately. For example, there is no point in sending a field crew to an incorrect location. InfoAsset Mobile enables you to create your own forms so that agents can pick the incident type from a list of choices, add notes, and assign to a crew leader – automatically generating a digital SSO/CSO response package for the crew.

The SSO/CSO response package generated by the agent arrives in the crew's calendars on their field device (tablet/laptop) as a Work Order (WO) with both task and email notifications. The WO should deliver everything they need to respond effectively and quickly to the reported incident. It includes the documents required by the regulatory authority, guidelines and instructions for the field crews such as health and safety compliance, and the forms to be pre- populated with the relevant data regarding the incident. The WO will then form the basis for recording the detail of the SSO/CSO event.

InfoAsset Mobile provides all of this to the crews in the field on their mobile device (tablet/laptop) in a preconfigured and user designed form. It's the same data as used in the call center, with relevant data and information constructed from the existing asset management system. This ensures that everyone at the utility/wastewater authority is using a single version of the truth, displayed and presented in a format that's relevant and appropriate to their role.

Once the crew is on site, InfoAsset Mobile provides a map with tools to enable the crew to accurately digitize the extent of the spill. To calculate the volume of the spill the crew can apply the “eye-ball” method, the measured volume method leveraging the area of the extent of the spill from the map, and a duration and flow rate method.

Then they diagnose the cause of the failure, identify and locate the failed asset or assets on the map, and begin the process of recording the details of the spill. All of the required data and information for doing this is at their fingertips in the field.

Using reliable data and information at their fingertips in the field, the crews are better equipped not only to evaluate the incident but also to determine and initiate an appropriate response, mobilize other field crews in support, and secure the resources and materials to solve the problem. InfoAsset Mobile is able to support the simplest and most complex workflows.

The crew now generate their report. InfoAsset Mobile provides the reporting tools to record the full details of the SSO/CSO incident, attaching a copy of the map showing the extent, sketches, photographs, videos, number of hours the crew worked, safety issues, traffic management needed, and the parts needed for repair. Once the WO has been completed, all the information and data collected in the field is uploaded to InfoAsset Manager in the office.

All the information generated during the course of the response to the incident is automatically uploaded from the field to the InfoAsset Manager database in the office. This provides a persistent and perpetually managed centralized environment for the data and information which can be shared with the rest of the utility.

InfoAsset Manager provides the necessary visualization, querying and reporting tools, enabling managers to assess the cause, effect, impact, and action taken to solve the incident. Managers do not have to waste time locating and retrieving information.

They can also evaluate the performance of the field crews; determine the time between the initial report and closure of the incident; assess the response against pre-defined KPIs; calculate the extent and volume of the spill using a variety of measures; determine the detailed cost of the response, comparing estimated and actual costs of the clean-up; and more.

It helps prevent future CSO/SSOs too. It collates and manages all the CSO/SSO incidents over time, and its analytics can identify hotspots, summarising the number of incidents over different time periods and identifying common causes, types of impacts and assets that fail – all of which help prevent further CSO/SSOs.

InfoAsset Online provides a simple to use and intuitive web-browser interface to share and disseminate information and data with other stakeholders such as local officials and councillors, team leaders, and finance colleagues.

Because the asset management system updates its central database immediately and continuously, anyone who needs to check progress or costs can do so at any time, enabling monitoring, control, and persistent evaluation of the utility’s reponse to the SSO/CSO incidents against measurable KPIs including costs.