May/June 2017 | The Davey Bulletin 15
CLIENT RELIES ON DAVEY FOR CRUCIAL SOFTWARE UPDATE
PG&E, Davey Resource Group (DRG)
and the Davey Tree Surgery Company
work together to keep the lights on
and residents happy through PG&E's
pole test and treat program.
By law, electric companies with
wooden utility poles need to inspect
them for structural integrity on a
regular basis. To streamline this
process for PG&E, DRG provides
administrative support with GIS project
building, database management and
mobile device support.
"Essentially, we add value for PG&E
by supporting the other contractors
in fulfilling the functions of the pole
test and treat program correctly and
successfully," said John Daubenspeck,
project coordinator, DRG.
In the field, DRG provides quality
control monitoring for the contractors
working on the pole test and treat
program. Davey Surgery is one of two
contractors who perform the pole
inspections, and DRG checks their
work to ensure safety, quality and
consistency, Daubenspeck said.
However, PG&E recently updated their
software used to perform and record
pole inspections, and that created new
complications in the process.
"The software is a mix of off-the-shelf
products, licensed material, and
custom-made applications developed
in-house. Getting it all to work together
is tough," Daubenspeck said. "The last
time PG&E updated the software there
were issues that resulted in a lot of
lost time and productivity."
PG&E counted on DRG to relieve any
pain points in the process with as
little lost downtime as possible,
Daubenspeck said.
Maria Carino, database management
specialist, DRG, played a pivotal role
in making this a smooth transition.
She coordinated the deployment of
new devices and software for 100
contract inspectors.
Meanwhile, Joleo Oviedo, database
management specialist, DRG, became
PG&E's resident trainer and presenter,
showing contractors how the new
software worked. "His easy manner
and deep knowledge of the new and
old software made him the perfect fit
for this role," said Michael Koffman,
supervisor, PG&E.
To manage a time-sensitive and diffi-
cult task, DRG relied on its employee
strength to overcome a challenging
task for an important client.
"They took on roles of scheduling
meetings, providing IT support, and beta
testing, which proved effective with
very little downtime," Daubenspeck
said. "They really stepped up and took
the lead in getting this important
project completed as smoothly as
possible for the client."
Davey Resource Group's
Joleo Oviedo helped train
PG&E staff on new software
Davey Resource Group's Tami Oehlert
inspects utility poles for PG&E's
pole test and treat program.
