epochfield Archives | Epoch Solutions Group

EpochField Updates Reflect the Utility Industry’s Evolving Needs

Posted on September 24, 2024September 27, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

Today’s utilities are under greater pressure than ever. Electrification is rising dramatically thanks to accelerating AI use and electric vehicle adoption, creating a pressing need to expand and modernize the grid. Climate change is driving major, costly decarbonization efforts while threatening energy reliability. And skilled labor remains difficult to find and retain, creating workforce capacity constraints.

Epoch Solutions Group recognizes the challenges your utility faces in delivering safe, reliable, cost-effective energy. We’re committed to keeping our EpochField workforce management solution in sync with your dynamic needs—not only responding to customer feedback and requests, but anticipating the future of field service management.

This year we released a major EpochField update along with several minor updates as part of our drive to continually enhance this mission-critical solution for leading utilities. Here’s a recap of the invaluable features we added or enhanced in the latest EpochField 5.2 versions, designed to streamline field service operations, improve the efficiency and productivity of your crews, dispatchers, and schedulers, and equip you to deliver the level of service your customers expect.

A More Intuitive Mobile UI/UX for Better Efficiency

In sync with the industry’s shift toward mobile-first solutions, we redesigned the EpochField mobile app for better mobile workforce management. A more intuitive interface makes the app simpler for field workers to use and navigate and more engaging—a major benefit at a time when it’s tough to stay fully staffed and you need to accomplish more work with fewer people. Our app facilitates streamlined workflows, enabling field crews to complete work order-related tasks faster and easier using a mobile phone or tablet for a better overall experience.

.NET Maui Migration for Improved Performance

The migration from Xamarin to the .NET Maui (Multi-Platform App UI) platform accomplishes two important objectives: It improves cross-platform performance when your field crews use EpochField on Apple, Android, or Microsoft mobile devices and ensures you can maximize the value of the latest app development technologies. By taking a forward-thinking view, we’re future-proofing EpochField to provide a solid foundation for developing more mobile capabilities that work across platforms.

Work Order Process Improvements for Greater Productivity

EpochField now includes many enhancements that help your teams process work orders more efficiently. We enhanced the solution’s data collection capabilities to reduce administrative steps, simplify data entry, reduce the risk of data errors, and streamline workflow.

Self-managed work order creation: EpochField now allows your field crews to initiate and manage the creation of ad hoc work orders themselves by uploading CSV files through the mobile app, using asset data IDs or geographic coordinates. They can organize their own work and complete routine inspections and other jobs without waiting on external dependencies that risk slowing the process.
Improved editing of multiple work features: Utility field crews can use the solution’s lasso tool to precisely choose work features for editing just by clicking on the map. This tool makes it easier to select and edit tasks individually or in bulk, improving accuracy, efficiency, and oversight. The newest software version also allows end users to delete work features individually or in bulk through the main form, further saving time.
Better workflow form flexibility: An improved workflow forms layout is more intuitive for your field workers to use, guiding them logically as they complete the form. By combining Categories and Fields on the same form, and enhancing the Workflow Bulder with simple drag-and-drop functionality, we’ve made it simpler to create and use workflow forms.

State Model Functionality for Better Control

Many EpochField users expressed a need to better control field work order statuses. In response we introduced state model functionality that provides clearer workflows and better operational visibility across the EpochField platform.

Other EpochField Enhancements

In addition to these major functionality enhancements, EpochField now provides improved icons, particularly in the Print tool, to further improve the user experience. And of course, we’ve continued to prioritize the security of our platform by applying critical security patches as they become available.

Evolving in Sync with Utilities

EpochField is transforming field service management for leading utilities—streamlining how your teams work, improving efficiency from the front line to the back office, and empowering you to provide safe, reliable services to your customers. Our map-first approach leverages the power of GIS data to improve your field operations, supporting you as you evolve your business model to address the trends that are reshaping the utility industry.

By continually enhancing EpochField with updates that reflect customer input and industry trends, we’re adding the innovative capabilities you need today while keeping one step ahead of the future of field service management.

Learn more about the EpochField workforce management solution or schedule a live demo.

Shane Hullinger

Shane Hullinger is the Epoch Solutions Group Director of Product Management for EpochField, responsible for shaping the product and leading cross-functional teams to execute strategies, embark on impactful market research, and refine the customer experience.

EpochField 5.2.6 Release

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

What's New in EpochField 5.2.6

We’re pleased to announce the release of EpochField 5.2.6. The following highlights all of the items addressed.

Bug Fixes

ID	Title
CS-477	Work Management - Adding work features by lasso is not working
N/A	Can't Route to Asset from Identify Tool
N/A	Flash functionality inconsistencies - Flash Geometries in wrong place on first load

EpochField 5.2.5 Release

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

What's New in EpochField 5.2.5

We’re pleased to announce the release of EpochField 5.2.5. The following highlights all of the items addressed.

Bug Fixes

ID	Title
N/A	GPS Icon: "Regular GPS" versus "Follow Me"
N/A	GIS Landbase Basemap: grids/tiles/squares in the background
N/A	Work Management: Option selection highlight is very faint (WinUI/Android)
N/A	Apply better Preview and Check Mark icons in Print Area
N/A	Fix Maintenance Script to work with the new State Model Schema
N/A	Flash functionality inconsistencies - Flash button not enabling

EpochField 5.2.4 Release

Posted on August 19, 2024August 22, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

What's New in EpochField 5.2.4

We’re pleased to announce the release of EpochField 5.2.4. The following highlights some of the new features available.

Product Highlights

Edit Multiple Work Features Tool Enhancement
The ‘Edit Multiple Work Features’ tool has been enhanced to allow field workers to draw a lasso/polygon by selecting points on the map for each vertex and closing the polygon by double-clicking/tapping on the final vertex. This precise selection method is critical for accurately managing tasks and bulk editing work features. The enhancement ensures the tool functions consistently with other polygon-drawing features in the EpochField platform, such as the WorkOrderPolygon.

Key Features:

Vertex-Based Polygon Drawing: Users can now add vertices by clicking on the map and close the polygon by double-clicking/tapping on the final vertex, allowing for a precise selection of work features.
Configuration Settings:
- This new feature is configurable through the <WorkManagementToolSettings> node in the application config. Add <LassoToolMode>Vertex</LassoToolMode> to set the lasso to “vertex” mode. Valid values for this setting are:
  - Freehand
  - Vertex
This enhancement provides a more intuitive and precise way for field workers to manage their tasks, ensuring they can select and edit work features accurately and efficiently.
- Enhanced Printing Functionality
- App Icon Updates

Enhanced Workflow Form Flexibility
We have updated the Workflow Forms to allow Categories and Fields to be intermixed on the same form. Previously, single-select and multi-select options were in one section while fields for manual data input were in another, which was not conducive to how field workers complete forms. The new layout guides field workers through the form in a logical order, eliminating the need to hunt and choose fields, and Workflow Builder enables the creation of these forms using a drag-and-drop interface. Additionally, with this new approach, fields can be hidden as desired using Intelligent Workflow, reducing confusion and making the process more efficient for field workers.

Enhanced Edit Work Features Functionality
We have introduced a significant enhancement to the “Edit Multiple Work Features” lasso functionality. With this update, field workers can now see a list of all lassoed work features displayed on the left panel before the main form opens. This side panel allows users to view, select, or deselect work features for editing, providing better oversight and management.

Users can choose to edit individual features or apply changes to all lassoed work features at once, improving both efficiency and accuracy in task completion. This update streamlines workflows and offers greater flexibility when handling multiple work features. This enhancement provides a more controlled and flexible approach to editing multiple work features, ensuring users can manage their tasks more effectively.

Delete Work Features Directly from Forms
We have added the ability for field workers to delete work features directly through the main form. This enhancement also supports bulk deletion, allowing users to efficiently remove multiple work features at once, either through the main form or the pop-up form. This update simplifies the deletion process, making it more convenient and flexible for field workers to manage work features.

Bug Fixes

ID	Title
Various	Various bug fixes found internally that were not experienced by any customers.
CS-233	Android and iOS: Text is cutoff in the identify panel
CS-237	Epochfieldworkmgmt.exe fails to obfuscate text (required for install configuration)
CS-284	Active Work Order tool layout is not good - Click Classic
CS-296	Clicking on an Attribute table shows smaller table than originating side panel
CS-321	EpochField 5.2 SB - Location Services Required to be Enabled
CS-322	EpochField 5.2 SB - Identify, Attribute Table Visibility
CS-323	EpochField 5.2 SB - GPS Functionality Issues
CS-327	EpochField 5.2 SB - Tracing
CS-328	Must choose different tool to close hamburger menu
CS-336	EpochField 5.2 SB - Attribute Tables relationships appear incorrect
CS-337	EpochField 5.2 SB - Identify Tool Duplicates
CS-380	Send to Click Tool is failing in Click
CS-382	Portal User Maint ignores new users that have not yet logged in
CS-392	Assignment in InboundQueue does not update the state_id for the epochfieldscheduleitem table
CS-393	Work Tasks is deletable when the task type is configured not to be deletable
CS-400/406	_tickle_related_records should not have any business logic in it other than tickling the records

EpochField 5.2 Release

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

What's New in EpochField 5.2

EpochField 5.2 introduces new features for data management and administration along with an enhanced user interface, including support for phone format devices. In addition, it migrates the mobile application to the .Net Maui framework to follow some recent Apple App Store compliance issues related to iOS 17 support with the Xamarin framework. A number of bug fixes and performance improvements have also been implemented in both the EpochField Web Suite and EpochField Server components.

The following highlights some of the new features available at 5.2.

Product Highlights

Work Management Enhancements: As part of our support for vegetation management workflows, we have made some significant improvements to the work management tool:
- Streamlined Workflows: Enhanced data collection capabilities simplify processes, reducing administrative time by simplifying data entry and facilitating efficient editing, bulk creation, and deletion of features.
- Improved Data Accuracy: Enhanced features ensure precise data entry, minimizing errors in records. Personalized work feature filters help tailor data management to specific needs.
- Enhanced Field Worker Efficiency: Tools like auto-populating form categories and customizable work order filters optimize field worker productivity. Optimized user experience on Toughbooks with stylus support enhances usability in the field.

Redesigned Mobile UI/UX
- Mobile Interface Redesign: Modern and intuitive design for enhanced usability.
- Engaging Experience: Improved interface boosts productivity and simplifies interactions.
- Intuitive Navigation: Easy-to-use design for seamless navigation and understanding.
- Increased Efficiency: Streamlined workflows promote faster task completion.
- Simplified Interactions: Reduced complexity for improved usability.

WMS Inbound Queue Optimization
- Improved Performance and Stability: Enhancements boost system efficiency and stability.
- Streamlined Operations: Optimized processes ensure smoother workflow execution for enhanced productivity.
- Minimized Disruptions: Identified and resolved bottlenecks in the WMS Inbound Queue to minimize work management disruptions.

Self-Managed Work Order Process Improvements
- Work Order Task Upload: A large part of utility field work involves workers planning their own work in the absence of enterprise-driven work order creation. Field workers can initiate ad-hoc work orders and upload CSV lists of assets for completing assignments, such as routine inspections, within EpochField Mobile.

Work Order Status Visibility Enhancement
- Enhanced Visibility: Provides unified visibility into work order statuses for improved operational oversight.
- Shared View: Ensures all stakeholders have a common, near real-time view of work order statuses.
- Configurable Status Flow: Provides ability to define statuses and allowed status transitions between statuses on work orders to promote controlled workflows and align with outside systems.

Esri ArcGIS Enterprise 11.1 Support
- Compliance with Esri ArcGIS Enterprise 11.1 software, aligning the platform with industry standards and providing users access to the latest geospatial capabilities.

.NET Maui Migration
- Future-Proof Development: Establishes a solid foundation for future cross-platform mobile development.
- iOS 17 Support: Migration to .NET Maui addresses recent Apple App Store compliance issues related to iOS 17 support.

Bug Fixes

ID	Title
30727	Workflow Form: Navigation button enabled even though there is nowhere to navigate
30823	Omni-present Identify Tool does not reactivate once deactivated
30892	Map Markup: Editing a map markup feature comment appears buggy on iOS
30897	Login button remains active on a fresh install when the application is offline
31069	Inconsistency with the required indicator on the workflow UI
31706	Address search routing needs improvement in UI
31777	Map Markup Attachment view is too large
31926	Support for Composite Locators needed
32249	Rename the title of the Sort Work order filter to: "Choose and order fields to sort by:" from "Choose up to 3 fields to sort by"
32329	When a work order filter is enabled and group visibility is managed, the filter shows as active but is not
32360	Work order filters not functioning consistently
32399	Mobile: Map markup attachments with long names cover the delete button
32407	Work Calendar: Scheduled equipment doesn't display unit number in the resource name
32413	Opening a Work Order without editing causes users to become "stuck"
32414	Print Options: "Map Only" and "Header and Footer" produce the same result
32415	Worker calendar: "Add title" text defaults for an unnamed resource at a specific time
32435	Asset Query Screen: Filtering on date fields fails to generate a workable query
32440	Unable to enlarge Gantt chart in version 5.1
32455	PDF attachment doesn't work when added from Mobile and opened in Work Scheduler
32460	Adding attachment to a work order in Work Scheduler results in inability to open attachment on mobile
32508	Scroll Bar covers buttons
32567	Groups/Roles Currently Assigned are not populating
32570	Assets tab not visible when clicking to View an SDS Work Order
32658	Work Order Dialog: Input validation on existing WO throws a message
32672	Fixing file already exist error
32673	Table EPOCHFIELDUSER creates a new user record every time it goes to the portal
32674	Selecting address suggestions fails to actually select the suggestion
32683	Issues with Sync Fusion controls for iOS and Android
32888	Mobile: Version 5.2 crashes in EFRelationship in models
33042	Omni present tool bug on Google Street View and tracing tools
33072	Unable to create a new worker in Resource Management
33137	Caching Base Workspace Names takes over an hour
33140	Several functions in WMS take several minutes to run or more
33142	Running WMS generates a bunch of empty log files for each tool
33146	Log file purges delete everything in the log folder, not just old logs
33380	enable_archiving_attachments.py script is broken
33526	Remove portal maintenance from WMS
33578	Database after running Archiving/Attachments is missing some views
33581	Work Order List/Filtering Gantt: Issues with colors
33623	EF Data Class doesn't default schema to configured value
33833	Saving color in Schedule Item type saves an "ff" at the end of the hex
33892	Weird and intermittent messages related to out of memory exception while downloading a package more than 200 MB
34087	Gantt Filter doesn't change colors as expected when filtering
34091	Creating child work order from Gantt is inconsistent
34455	Work Scheduler freezes when map configuration to ESRI is not correct
34486	Work management views loading bug
34917	State model processes take a long time to load
34918	Errant character "<" in Processes page
34919	Save Process button
34921	Not able to add states with a hyphen
34923	Should not be able to save a process without transitions
34924	Left align the Process cards
34926	Validation of transitions is too much
34963	Large space between tabs and Event log grid
35014	Data Prep has incorrect scripts for EPOCHFIELDLOG and does not contain EPOCHFIELDSCHEDULEITEMVIEW
35064	Should not be allowed to copy a Schedule Item Process type
35065	Clicking copy on process card creates 2 copies
35067	States are not copied correctly when copying a process
35088	Word Order ID overlaps buttons when adding User History in ad-hoc work order
35091	Duplicate process name validation does not clear
35092	Can't tell which states are duplicate
35093	Copying processes naming is weird
35094	Certain states are required so different products can function
35095	Sort Process cards by name
35096	Editing a state model process should allow for adding transitions and states
35097	Edited process names not showing correctly in process cards
35098	Performance issue when refreshing process cards
35104	State model audit tracking not inserting nulls for nullable IDs
35107	Sort State model dropdown
35109	Each update to WO causes a state audit record to be saved
35112	Deleting all scheduled items does not set the audit tracking correctly
35113	Scheduled item changes are not being audited
35526	Work Order Filter Form freezes when tapping reset to default
35535	Fix known issue with layer toggle colors
35558	System has issues after it has 2000 active work orders
35674	Database Lock
35718	Logs are not uploading to WebApi
35742	Leading or trailing spaces should be trimmed off when updating in Resource Management
35787	Relationship attributes information does not display when the key fields used in the relationship joins are included in the attribute exclusion tags
35822	When closing a work order form, it throws a null reference exception
36416	Blank Dialog When Typing in Workflow Fields
36671	Sync closes the download-only geodatabase in UWP causing null reference errors
36761	Error with null reference on addControl for EventLogs component
36779	Add button not working for Configure state for schedule item types
36789	Saving, Save and completing work flow form throwing object reference error.
36830	Sometimes General Settings adds additional records
37005	Broken Access Control Leading to Privilege Escalation
37007	Non-Standardized Queries: SQL Injection In a Stacked Query Context
39369	WMS/InboundQueue/Maint. not functioning as intended

EpochField 5.1.4 Release for Mobile

Posted on May 5, 2023March 22, 2024 by Ciara Tobin

We are thrilled to unveil the latest version of our mobile app, EpochField Mobile 5.1.4. Our developers have been dedicated to optimizing the field user experience and have implemented numerous improvements to enhance the app’s performance and efficiency. We take pride in providing our clients with a reliable product, and EpochField Mobile 5.1.4 is no exception. Discover the exciting changes we’ve made by reading below.

The products team at Epoch Solutions Group has been busy working on a few new enhancements and updates to EpochField for iOS, Android, and Windows. EpochField 5.1.4 can be found in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft App Store today.

Ease of Use

Previously, the app would switch to Pan mode once a tool was closed; now, users can close the tool menu and still make edits on the map, freeing up screen space. Users can now save Operation Layers visibility settings. Map Markup has been improved to allow users to better see and understand the tool’s interface. With this update, users can download multiple files within each region, as well as delete all downloaded data files without encountering any error messages. EpochField Mobile now notifies users when the offline geodatabase syncs successfully.

Routing and Geofencing

Our latest updates have made asset management more streamlined and efficient for users. The Identify tool now includes routing functionality, enabling users to quickly locate the desired asset and access directions. Search results are now displayed in order of relevance, and accurately rendered on the map. Geofencing and GPS location updates have been optimized, allowing users to minimize the app without losing progress. Additionally, GPS Breadcrumbs are now limited to the selected work order, while the newly added Compass Navigation feature keeps the user’s location centered on the map during Follow Me mode. Finally, users can utilize Lat/Long results from the Address Search feature for routing purposes and can easily copy and paste the information directly from the app.

Identify and Asset Research

We’ve made several improvements to streamline our search functionality. Users can now seamlessly scroll through search results without the need to update their criteria, and toast messages are now displayed even when the Search Bar is open. We’ve also resolved the issue of objects hidden by Operation Layer options appearing when lassoing assets in Identify, and have corrected the object counts for Asset Search and Identify. To improve the user experience, we’ve added new configuration options that allow users to zoom to the map extent of search results instead of solely focusing on the first result in an Asset Search.

Tracing

Tracing has been enhanced for both performance and ease-of-use. Not only do users experience faster results, the tracing user experience has been upgraded with customizable field ordering and the ability to view multiple types of assets. Additionally, we’ve enhanced the tool’s functionality, allowing users to easily share CSVs generated by the Tracing Tool.

Phone Specific

We’ve made significant improvements to EpochField Mobile to optimize its use on phones and other mobile devices. Phone users will notice that the scale and extent buttons remain visible even when the tool menu is collapsed, and we’ve redesigned the menu to minimize interference with native phone buttons like “Back” or “Home.” The menu now opens at half the height of the phone screen, providing a more streamlined viewing experience. In addition, phone users can now easily access Print Previews, allowing for quick and easy sharing of results.

Feedback and Support

We value your feedback! If you have any questions, suggestions, or experience any issues, please contact our support team at support@epochsg.com.

Thank you for your continued support and trust in EpochField mobile. We believe these enhancements will greatly improve your experience. Stay tuned for more exciting developments in the future!

Leverage Utility Field Operations Digitization to Enhance Customer Service

Posted on June 23, 2022February 28, 2023 by Epoch Solutions Group

The economy is digitally transforming, and utility companies are taking note. In fact, according to IDC, by 2023 digitally transformed organizations will contribute to more than half of the global gross domestic product. And the investments made by public and private entities to digitize operations are clearly paying off – so much that organizations the world over are doubling down on the strategy.

Consider industry research showing that 35% of business executives claim digital transformation helps them “better meet customer expectations,” 40% say it helps improve their firm’s operational efficiency, and “38% of executives plan to invest more in technology to make it their competitive advantage.”

To keep pace with innovation and deliver the kind of customer experiences expected today, utility companies are modernizing their infrastructure, automating and digitizing workforce management processes to improve employee productivity and operational efficiencies.

More than Cost Savings

While digital transformation strategies can yield significant time and cost savings for utilities, eliminating manual touchpoints from gas and electric customer service processes is a delicate balancing act. Even though modern consumers value – and expect – the easy, fast access to information they get using your website, social media outlets, chatbots, and other self-service resources, there are many instances in which only a live agent can meet a customer’s service needs.

Though the quality of the customer service you provide isn’t typically associated with your field operations, having an enterprise-grade, digitized workforce management platform in place can prove invaluable during the most critical, time-sensitive customer service interactions. Without immediate digital access to remote field service teams and infrastructure data, your agents may be ill-equipped to respond to customer inquiries during times of need – such as when an outage disrupts their daily lives or ability to conduct business.

Investing in the right utility digital tools can transform service interactions into positive customer experiences that resolve issues faster and instill consumer confidence in your brand. The most advanced solutions on the market today empower live agents and other internal staff members with these and other benefits:

Instantaneous exchange of data across systems, applications, locales, and personnel
The ability to distill data into strategic insights for more informed decisions on field deployments and other aspects of your operations
Automated workflows that expedite processes and reduce human errors
Faster, more accurate responses to service inquiries, for more positive customer experiences and better consumer sentiment overall

Beyond Technology

While the breadth of functionality achieved through digitization can prove transformative to your utility company’s operations and service levels, as with any organization sweeping changes to your infrastructure should be supported by a comprehensive change management strategy. Ultimately, staff members need to be well trained on the technologies you are introducing and comfortable assuming any new tasks and responsibilities your digital transformation initiative requires of them.

When evaluating field operation solutions, ensure possible partners provide the training and support resources utility companies need to educate both internal staff members and critical field operations teams on our industry-leading technologies. Implementation teams should be part of the process from the design and development phases of a project through the platform’s roll-out and beyond.

Why Choose EpochField

Epoch Solutions Group’s EpochField Service Platform transforms customer experiences by laying the foundation for business process automation, enterprise-wide data access, and real-time communication between field operations and internal teams, including vitally important customer service agents.

Based on the industry’s most advanced geospatial and workflow management technologies, EpochField enables seamless integration across your utility’s digital infrastructure and automation of processes ranging from data collection and reporting to field operation scheduling and work order management.

With EpochField, utility companies achieve deep visibility into what is happening throughout the regions and communities they serve and can therefore communicate up-to-date information to customers and other stakeholders in real time. Broad data access also helps internal teams quickly prioritize field operation team deployments to optimize service levels and minimize downtime when adverse events occur.

Highly configurable to meet an individual utility company’s unique infrastructure and service requirements, EpochField offers a breadth of essential features, including:

Mobile offline viewing for field personnel who are often working in remote locales
High-performance maps that dynamically update as new data is fed into the system
Configurable work order forms that can be customized for the customer service request at hand

With a track record of success extending back decades, we bring to clients a deep understanding of the technological, operational, and customer service challenges facing utility companies today – and proven industry best practices you can easily adopt now to ensure your investments in digitization deliver on their promise for years to come.

Digitization in Mobile Workforce Management: Overcoming 5 Barriers in Field Operations

Posted on April 11, 2022March 9, 2023 by Epoch Solutions Group

The pandemic added a level of urgency to digitization in utilities unlike anything the industry has ever seen. And yet, for many companies, the ongoing work towards digital transformation has been anything but smooth.

In this report, we cover some of the barriers we’ve seen firsthand as companies follow the path to streamlining and simplifying end-to-end mobile workforce management.

Read the guide to learn:

How digitization is reshaping field operations and bridging the gap between field and office workflows
The top 5 obstacles companies face when implementing technologies meant to promote digital ways of working
How to overcome these challenges with a phased, achievable roadmap to digitization

Download the White Paper

EpochField 5.0.3 Release for Mobile, Work Scheduler, and Web API

Posted on September 29, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

The products team at Epoch Solutions Group has been busy working on a few new enhancements and updates to EpochField for iOS, Android, and Windows. EpochField 5.0.3 can be found in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft app store today.

We are introducing a number of new features and enhancements in the EpochField Mobile 5.0.3, EpochField Work Scheduler 5.0.3 and Web API Release. Read on for the summary release notes below.

EpochField Mobile

Lassoing multiple assets for a bulk update fixes
Fix for multiple ad hoc task types with the same geometry
Click Integration Tool enhancements and fixes
Backwards compatibility fix for a vital Click Adapter
Fix fo group layer visibility does not honor the individual layer configurations in the APRX

Known Issues:

Android – Due to a Xamarin Essentials bug reported with Android 11, users will need to set their Android device location permissions manually. To do so, go to the “App Location Permissions” section of your device’s “Settings” app and choose “Allow Always” or “Allow Only While Using App” for the EpochField app.

Copying Text does not work with APRX documents published to ArcGIS Server 10.7.1

EpochField Work Scheduler

Groups should be able to be configured so that they can see all groups/content or only their group/content.
Groups should only be able to Delete or Disable workers, crews, and equipment which they have created in Resource Management.
“Managed By” drop down list should only include Groups that have the setting “Only Show Managed Work in Gantt”.
Expected user visibility for the work order scheduling resource dropdown list is not honored.
When utilizing the EF Mobile calendar view, users shouldn’t be able to edit/delete work orders – only view them
Actual Start and Actual Finish Dates for completed WOs are not editable
Service Point not showing for the Stand by Calendar fix
Planned work orders not showing up in Gantt Chart if no work has yet been assigned to workers.
Initial Dates in Work Scheduler are not being populated or displayed fix

Known Issues:

None

EpochField Web API

Cannot find stored procedure error when using SQLServer fix

Known Issues:

None

EpochField 5.0.2 Release for Mobile, Administrator, and Work Scheduler

Posted on September 2, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

It’s officially Fall 2021 and the products team here at Epoch has been busy working on a few new enhancements and updates to EpochField for iOS, Android, and Windows. EpochField 5.0.2 can be found in the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Apps store.

We are introducing a number of new features and enhancements in the EpochField Mobile 5.0.2, EpochField Administrator 5.0.2, and EpochField Work Scheduler 5.0.2 release. Read on for the summary release notes below.

EpochField Mobile

Lasso tool enhancements and fixes
Click Integration enhancements
MapMarkup text box fixes
Click Integration Tool multiple selection fixes
Multiple ad hoc task type with same geometry fixes

Known Issues

Copying text does not work with APRX documents published to ArcGIS Server 10.7.1.

EpochField Work Scheduler

Manage Group Visibility enhancements
File attachment fixes
Zoom to asset fixes
Work order grid status enhancements

Known Issues

None

EpochField Administrator

Work order comments in Scheduler for mobile fixes

Known Issues

None

Increasing Readiness and Assessment Efficiency with a Sound Damage Assessment Solution

Posted on August 6, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

EpochField optimizes storm management, before and after a storm, by automating common damage assessment workflows.

Old Methods and Process

Historically, utilities have utilized manual methods and processes when approaching a damage assessment workflow. A common approach to a manual assessment typically goes as follows: the use of printed paper maps, assigning work tickets to a field worker, handwriting assessed damage data, and then manually updating back-office outage management systems (OMS) once the data has been delivered.

Open Loop Damage Assessment Process:

Printing of maps.
Assigning damage tickets and maps to field crew.
Field crew collects and reports damage by hand, on printed maps.
Driving back to the storm center with maps notating damage.
Aggregating all the notations on each map to a) make sense of it, and b) determine a game plan for repair.
Someone else manually entering the status of the damage ticket in the Outage Management System and creating a work ticket.
Beginning the routing process for work tickets.

The open-loop damage assessment process is a lengthy process, inefficient, and prone to errors when compared to modern methods. Often, a damage assessment team can run into several problems such as difficulty interpreting handwritten notations, lack of accurate data collection, and the difficulties of printing and using paper maps.

Automating a Damage Assessment Workflow

Although automating damage assessment workflows is a process in itself, the long-term benefits are worth it. Even though a damage assessment workflow will change case by case, generally the automation approach starts with using mobile devices in the field to collect damage data, electronically synching that data with outage management systems, then planning a restoration plan based on that data.

“Utilities can increase restoration efficiency following a major storm by automating data collection, scheduling, and restoration planning with EpochField.

Where Does EpochField Fit In?

Damage Assessment starts in the back office with supervisors viewing outages on dashboards and crew locations on a spatial map in real-time with integrated GPS tracking. By using EpochField Administrator and EpochField Work Scheduler, a plan and assessment strategy is developed based on crew location and outage areas. Field crews utilizing EpochField Mobile on lightweight tablets receive work orders from the back office and note damage specifics on configurable forms. Progress is tracked in real-time with tools and dashboards, enabling utilities to prioritize restoration areas.

Sometimes, in areas such as with high hurricane or tornado activity, the damage is so severe field crews cannot determine where utility assets were located. With the tablet’s internal GPS and GIS information, field crews will know exactly what materials are needed to be replaced. EpochField will then build a list of materials required for restoration and sync that data to the OMS for warehouse personnel to load construction materials on trucks for the crews.

Utilities can quickly restore power using EpochField by taking advantage of timely damage assessment information. With EpochField, utilities can quickly gain a detailed picture of the damage, identify and prioritize damaged areas, and assist staff with a restoration plan based on accurate GIS data.

Schedule a demo today to learn more about how EpochField can transform your storm damage assessment and response processes.

Network Tracing with EpochField Mobile

Posted on July 7, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

Historically, network tracing has been a critical piece of functionality needed by field crews in the utility industry. While certain functionality needed in tracing may not be as sophisticated as back-office uses, for example, capacity and flow analysis, it still is heavily utilized in the field along with one very definite requirement: it must work offline.

EpochField Mobile was designed from the ground up with “offline first” being one of the most important factors a utility field worker needs in a working mobile solution. With the capability of being scalable enough to download large areas, or all, of service territories for asset and map visibility to performing field workflow data collection and network tracing, all need to work offline.

At Epoch Solutions Group, we have supported an optimized offline connected model and tracing for many years. Three main factors led us to this decision that is the driving factor of this post. Our product, EpochSync, used for cross-platform spatial data integration for technologies such as Smallworld and Hexagon G/Technology, will now be integrated into the EpochField platform. There have been many discussions recently regarding Esri’s Utility Network, its capabilities, and how it can be utilized in a mobile solution, and I would like to address some factors in this topic.

Many of our Esri-based customers are still in the process of transitioning from geometric network to utility network and still need that tracing experience in the field today. The tracing extract functionality within EpochField Data Preparation Server has connectors for both Geometric Network and Utility Network. We can deploy offline network tracing to the field fed by the geometric network and switch very easily to the utility network. Once the transition happens in the enterprise GIS with no changes to the field, apart from the different schema necessitated by the utility network.
Utility Network is still not available offline, so any solution that utilizes this is severely limited in low or zero cellular coverage areas. Offline tracing through the EpochField Mobile network model continues with zero interruption.
Many of our customers utilize other GIS Platforms such as Smallworld and Hexagon as their system of record. EpochSync, which is now part of the EpochField solution, can handle the synchronization of network connectivity data straight into the EpochField Mobile network model. With the plugin architecture of EpochSync Pro, additional data sources can easily be customized to integrate other network connectivity models. This also adds additional capabilities to the EpochField Mobile solution, such as the ability to view Smallworld Internal Worlds, which has been somewhat of a mystery to other mobile solutions.

All in all, implementing a geospatial enabled mobile solution with tracing is often not just a simple question of “does it do network tracing?” There are many factors in how the solution meets both the business requirements and integrates with the existing enterprise architecture seamlessly and with a future roadmap. Utility network is absolutely part of ours but only when it is part of yours.

Schedule a demo to learn more about EpochField’s network tracing capabilities and how they can work for you.

Just Released: EpochField 4.3.5

Posted on June 30, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

Epoch Solutions Group is excited to announce that the release of EpochField 4.3.5 is now available in mobile app stores for both Android and iOS and an install package for Windows 10 (UWP). EpochField is a complete, end-to-end multi-platform workforce management solution designed for both back-office work management and field crews to strategize, plan, and execute utility workflows in a map-centric, disconnected, real-time environment.

EpochField 4.3.5 is a minor follow-on to the previous 4.3.4 EpochField release. It continues to build on and strengthen the capabilities of 4.3.x EpochField in several key areas of the software and user experience.

For 4.3.5 to work as expected, please ensure the version alignment for your EpochField Suite is as follows:

EpochField Mobile 4.3.5
EpochField Workflow Builder 4.3.2
EpochField Work Management Server 4.3.2
EpochField Work Scheduler 4.3.3
EpochField Data Preparation Server 4.3.1

What’s New:

Synchronization of work order tables and work order features happens bi-directionally. This includes all work tables, including attachments which can become extremely large. There is a new EpochField Mobile application configuration boolean parameter under the <WorkManagementToolSettings> tag called. If this is omitted from the application configuration, the behavior defaults to false (current behavior, which is bi-directional attachment sync). Set it to true, and the work management replica geodatabase is created with the option to only upload attachments set, so attachments created by others are not downloaded. The usage is as follows:

true

Issues addressed in this update:

Bugfix #21493: This is a product enhancement that allows the user to save their layer visibility settings on a portal group level between application sessions. Settings are saved to the device and can be removed if the user chooses to. To save the layer visibility settings, the user can tap on a “Save” button on the Operational Layers Tool UI. These saved settings are removed from the device when the application is uninstalled.

Bugfix #24499: The animation behavior of the GPS symbol on the map can cause a spike in GPU activity, adversely affecting the usability of EpochField Mobile. To address this problem, we have added a configuration setting to the application configuration. Set the value to false to disable the animation behavior:

false

Bugfix #24821: Prior to this fix, EpochField Mobile for UWP could not be downloaded for offline install from the Windows Store, which is a requirement for some customers who distribute the app through their own MDM.

Bugfix #25187: This fix addressed a problem with the Click Integration tool where no matter which asset in a selection list is checked/selected for passing to ClickMobile, only the first asset in that list is sent.

Bugfix #25456: In short, electric tracing was broken. We fixed it.

Bugfix #25598: While trying to route from an asset on the map from the Identify results user interface, when using an external routing application, it throws an error message to the user. It would first display the error message about the Address Search not being enabled, with no additional information in the log. A second route search on a nearby asset does not throw the error a second time.

You’ll find EpochField 4.3.5 in the App Store and Google Play today, or contact us at:
720-458-3006 or sales@epochsg.com

EpochField as a Service – A New Offering

Posted on June 29, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

As part of our next major release for EpochField, we are moving to a new offering in the way of SaaS. As part of this article, I’d like to address some of the industry trends that have led us to this decision and an exciting new chapter for EpochField and our existing and new customers.

EpochField integrates with multiple back-office IT systems such as GIS and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM). This integration becomes even more critical now that EpochField 5.0 supports scheduling and dispatch with Work Scheduler. These IT systems invariably are deployed on-premise with customizations to support the utility’s unique business processes. Together with the practice of certain accounting rules, it was a natural decision for us to launch EpochField supporting this on-premise model of implementation. With this model, after implementation, the utilities IT team would take over day-to-day support of EpochField and have complete autonomy of the environment to be successful with the architecture.

However, one of the significant drawbacks to the on-premise model has been the impact on the support team. Software vendors continue to evolve their products which for Epoch is two major releases per year, and taking into account some of the other major back-office system upgrades taking 1-3 years and migrations in virtual hardware infrastructure, the utilities IT staff is completely consumed upgrading and replacing all these systems.

So, how do we free up these IT resources to focus on non-support items and internal innovation and increase their bandwidth? There are lots of reasons for a software vendor choosing SaaS as a deployment strategy for its products. Still, it is why it is valuable for our customers, which is the primary driving factor here at Epoch.

A SaaS architecture allows the utility to evolve with the latest new features in quick iterative releases and, through the automation factor, relatively cheap to test and deploy.
SaaS vendors provide automated patch releases and upgrades across all the products. This needs to be done seamlessly to the business and efficiently, especially when dealing with geographically and intermittently connected field personnel. This in itself is a huge time saver for internal IT personnel.
A large part of the business we support with utilities is dependent on seasonal processes and events. For example, subcontracting a large pole inspection project for the spring/summer in a climate that has major ground freezing or mutual aid crews being enabled in the event of a major hurricane. Through a SaaS architecture, the licensing and scaling on the solution are automatic and metered, so you only pay for what you need and, therefore, no need to overprovision. Imagine the scaling of internal architecture for that once-in 2-year event that may hit your service territory. This factor is probably one of the most significant selling points of cloud solutions.
For a utility trying to attract new talent, legacy/aging infrastructure is probably the most significant factor in losing good internal IT talent. With SaaS, it leverages modern software tools and practices but also allows the internal talent to work on new and innovative internal projects.

In summary, SaaS takes away the cost and mundane tasks that running on-premise software has. It also forces good software practices and helps enforce configuration over customization, which is the path of destruction for many utilities. We often say that utilities all do the same thing but differently. SaaS helps enforce best practices.

As a final point, while SasS will become an offering that we feel will benefit customers, we will continue to offer on-premise implementations to support customers whose internal policies need it. The improvements we are planning in EpochField architecture will benefit even these implementations.

Just Released: EpochField 4.3.4

Posted on April 16, 2021February 28, 2023 by EpochTester

Epoch Solutions Group is excited to announce that the release of EpochField 4.3.4 is now available in mobile app stores for both Android and iOS and an install package for Windows 10 (UWP). EpochField is a complete, end-to-end multi-platform workforce management solution designed for both back-office work management and field crews to strategize, plan, and execute utility workflows in a map-centric, disconnected, real-time environment.

EpochField 4.3.4 is a minor follow-on to the previous 4.3 EpochField release. It continues to build on and strengthen the capabilities of 4.3.x EpochField in several key areas of the software and user experience.

For 4.3.4 to work as expected, please ensure the version alignment for your EpochField Suite is as follows:

EpochField Mobile 4.3.4
EpochField Workflow Builder 4.3.2
EpochField Work Management Server 4.3.2
EpochField Work Scheduler 4.3.3
EpochField Data Preparation Server 4.3.1

Issues addressed in this update:

Bugfix #24575: Category list scrolling in Workflow forms was broken. For long category lists, if you scrolled down to the bottom of the list and selected a category, then chose a value, the category list would ‘snap’ or ‘jump’ back to the top unexpectedly, causing some confusion about what the user was seeing. This has been fixed.

Bugfix #24867: While using an Android device and collecting Map Markup information, the barcode/QR scan button would crash EpochField when it was pressed. This has been fixed and the barcode/QR scan functionality now works as expected running EpochField on Android.

You’ll find EpochField 4.3.4 in the App Store and Google Play today, or contact us at 720-458-3006 or wes.clain@epochsg.com