Industry technology is quickly transforming, making it essential for natural gas utility companies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operational workflows. One way to accomplish this is to automate and digitize the data collection process. By digitizing workforce management, natural gas companies eliminate manual touchpoints that can compromise not only the quality and accuracy of the data but also community safety.
Tracking and traceability automation solutions enhance safety measures by allowing natural gas companies to adhere to safety and environmental regulations that keep communities safe by preventing gas line-related disasters and that reduce the gas industry’s environmental footprint. These digital solutions are revolutionizing the natural gas industry, bringing deep, real-time visibility into the locations, conditions, and technical attributes of natural gas assets, information that can be easily accessed and utilized by mobile field workers who are tasked with installing, inspecting, and repairing equipment.
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The ideal tracking and tracing automation can support workflow processes allowing field workers to have remote access to asset map data and be able to work more efficiently in the field. When field workers can visually represent asset data, it increases the effectiveness and accuracy of both small, individual crews and entire services territories. Below are a few important features you want to look for when selecting your workflow automation.
- A web-based platform to serve as a point of integration enterprise-wide for administration personnel, supervisors, and dispatchers
- A full-featured mobile application allowing workers to conduct installation, inspections, and other routine maintenance tasks with all the data and functionality at their fingertips – on their smartphone or computing device of choice
- Forms that can be easily configured
- Offline functionality and high-accuracy GNSS receiver integration for easy mobile access to satellite data
- A scheduling and dispatch engine that leverages real-time insights to expedite and simplify mission-critical workforce deployments
- Mobile workforce management features that allow managers back at the office to dynamically track the location of field crews and quickly divert them to new locations as needed
- Work-order management functions for easy digital planning, tracking, and management of work orders
- Enterprise level asset management tools to coordinate essential operational processes and enable deep, ongoing visibility into the condition of remote natural gas infrastructure.
Download our latest guide, “Automating Tracking and Traceability Processes: Minimizing Human Error for Better Field Outcomes” to discover how digital tracking and traceability tools can help you lay the foundation for a future defined by greater uptime, innovation, and better protection from the damaging effects of environmental factors.
Digitizing Gas Utility Workforce Management Enhances Community Safety
Digitizing gas workforce management improves community safety by providing real-time visibility into asset locations, conditions, inspection history, and field activity. Automated, map-centric tools reduce human error, accelerate emergency response, and support compliance with evolving PHMSA and ASTM standards—helping prevent gas line incidents and minimize environmental and public safety risks.
Tracking and traceability are critical because gas utilities must document asset materials, manufacturers, inspection history, and encoded identifiers such as ASTM F2897 base-62 asset codes. Digitized solutions eliminate manual data entry, improve documentation accuracy, support recalls and performance monitoring, and create a defensible audit trail for regulatory compliance.
A best-in-class gas workforce management solution should include a web-based administrative platform, configurable mobile apps with offline capability, GNSS-enabled mapping, integrated scheduling and dispatch, work order automation, and enterprise asset management tools. Seamless GIS and ERP integration ensures real-time synchronization, scalable deployment, and deep visibility into infrastructure conditions.
