4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Implementation Strategy
Looking to the huge geographical spread, the implementation of e-Urja was critical but the same was successfully implemented within a record time by creating a chain of Champions and team of dedicated skilled persons at strategic points. To support the end user regarding any issues / problems of e-Urja modules, an exclusive HELPDESK was created, wherein various levels of process specialists are defined to resolve the issues of END user. The process flow is as mentioned below.
Each company has one Chief Nodal Officer (CNO) responsible as coordinator for each implemented module. CNO is the single point of contact for the company for all major issues. Further, Conveners & L1 Process specialists for all modules are appointed for resolution of module specific issues.
GuVNL realized that successful operation of such a large application would require a robust support system which is based on sound processes and hence they designed an operating structure for the project which is detailed in the section below.
Level 0:
Provided by onsite process specialists of GUVNL and subsidiary companies who register the calls/incidents using the Helpdesk/ Issue tracker tool.
1.Providing guidance on navigation as per current setup/ explanation/ sharing of SOPs / training manuals.
2.Conduct refresher trainings at local sites.
Level 1:
Provided by Super Users/ Core process specialists of GUVNL and subsidiary companies for specific application trouble shooting. Level 1 support shall be primarily responsible for the followings.
1.Interface with Level 0 for completeness of information/issue.
2.Helping in identifying the type and severity of requests for Level 0.
3.Registering and Routing the ticket to right level 2 queue.
4.Update Level 0 with the status of the ticket logged.
Level 2:
This is provided by Maintenance Support Team (System Integrator). This support provides solutions for the requests received from Level 1. The Level 2 support team monitors and accepts the tickets routed by Level1 support.
The Level 2 support responsibilities include logging SRs (Service Request) for genuine reasons to Oracle Global Support at Metalink after analyzing the issue. Further they follow up on the issues or escalate further to the Oracle Global Hub for resolution of problems in the e-business suite.
Level 3:
The support activities include:
1.Coordination with third party/support groups (Data Centre, DB, third party applications)
2.Coordination for Application server / Application issues with Oracle
3.Organization will have annual technical support from the OEM of the product.
Officers nominated across GUVNL.
No. of CNO (Chief Nodal Officer) 7
No. of NO (Nodal Officer) 48
No. of L-1 (Level-1) Champions 242
No. of L-0 (Level-0) Champions 1034
No. of CMG (Change Management Group) and Members 19 / 67
The project has been implemented in a phased manner in each of the seven companies. After successful implementation at one site and subsequent rollout phases, all other locations had been completed.
Training & Development
One of the most crucial factors in the implementation of the e-Urja Project with minimum resistance was to impart an exhaustive training to all end users. This was achieved through the following steps:
1.Introduction of Train to Trainer Concept
2.Identification of IT savvy employees and developing them as In-house Faculty for end user training.
3.Knowledge sharing by creation of a chain of process specialists.
No. of trainings – Core users ( L-0 & L-1 Champions) 15,000
No. of training - End user training 35,000
No. of man days 76,000
No. of Core Users (Faculties) 1,076
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5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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GUVNL chose TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) as its e-Urja technology partner. TCS with its rich experience in both the Energy and Utilities (E&U) space and Oracle Apps technology, contributed immensely towards conceptualization, implementation, training and management of the e-Urja program.
Studying the existing business processes and practices and blue-printing them to align with global best processes of ERP along with localizations and customizations involved a large pool of close to 200 people. This comprised of business users and process champions from different functional areas of GuVNL as well as IT professionals from TCS. The data centre adequately caters to the volume, security and redundancy requirements for business continuity. TCS also had to ensure that all the legacy processes were retired, whether automated or otherwise, to ensure comprehensive adoption of the new system.
As about the change management exercise at GUVNL, in order to address the concerns, fears and reservations of more than 50,000 employees, GUVNL had to come up with one of the largest HR initiatives involving a massive training program. To impart exhaustive training to all end-users, GUVNL introduced a ‘train-the-trainer’ concept where tech-savvy employees were identified, and developed as in-house faculty for end-user training. Another initiative was to improve knowledge sharing by creating a chain of process champions. An awareness programme about the benefits of e-Urja was initiated and employees were made aware of the benefits of the system. GUVNL also linked e-Urja with employee promotion and other rewards and recognition programmes. It kept the employees motivated by organizing e-Urja quizzes, newsletters and so on.
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6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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Some of the mechanisms adapted to meet these challenges were
1. “Communication made the key” - Several levels of communication were adopted in form of
Newsletters - Published on the GUVNL intranet for mass consumption and awareness.
2. Workshops for involvement of core team and management at critical stages of the project.
3. Steering committee meetings with senior management of all companies to provide direction for progress as well as solutions for issues.
4. Completely driven and supported by senior management of GUVNL.
5. Used the best practices in-built in the system to optimize processes.
6. The system integrator presented certificates to core team members to recognize and encourage ownership of their contribution towards implementing the required processes in the system. GUVNL management has planned for other recognition and incentives during planned eUrja week.
The total capital cost of implementation of this project stands at INR 2200 million. On a yearly basis approximately INR 22 million is being spent to maintain data center, support network requirements, enable security and as operational costs for TCS and other minor operational expenses.
The implementation of ‘e-Urja’ shall bring a Strategic, Tactical & Operational Transformation as mentioned below.
Change Management Process
The toughest challenge to implement the e-Urja project across all the subsidiaries of GUVNL was to apply the biggest Change using challenging working methods, working environment and customer interactions. Since, the employee strength of GUVNL including all subsidiaries was more than 50,000, it was a difficult and huge task to convince such a huge work force about the change to be adopted. However, the same was successfully implemented by majority of the employees in year 2009,with following measures
1. Top Management commitment
2. Periodical review by State Government
3. Employee Awareness about System Benefits
4. Employees participation in the Change Process
5. Imparting exhaustive Training to every end users
6. Linking e-Urja with Employee promotion
7. Creating a dedicated team for E-Urja
8. Motivating the employees by organizing e-Urja Quizzes, newsletters etc
Training & Development
One of the most crucial factors in the implementation of the e-Urja Project with minimum resistance was to impart an exhaustive training to all end users. This was achieved through the following steps:
1.Introduction of Train to Trainer Concept
2.Identification of IT savvy employees and developing them as In-house Faculty for end user training.
3.Knowledge sharing by creation of a chain of process champions.
4.No. of trainings – Core users ( Level-0 & Level-1 Champions) - 15,000
5.No. of training - End user training - 35,000
6.No. of man days - 76,000
7.No. of Core Users ( Faculties) - 1,076
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7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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1.Improved Customer Services
2.The processing Period from registration to release of new Connection has been reduced significantly.
3.Addition / Alternation to existing Installation happens Immediately.
4.Billing Related Complaints almost non existent
5.Multiple Payment Options made available
6.Meter Related Complaints attended to immediately
7.Customer Care Centre Functional in all Field offices
8.New Connection Release/ Addl Load (Non Motive power) reduced from 30-33 Days to 15-18 Days
9.New Connection Release/ Additional Load (Motive power) reduced from 104-122 Days to 55-72 Days
10.Billing Related Complaints reduced from 16 to 2 per Subdivision.
11.Any time any where payment option made available
12.Meter related Complaints reduced from 15 Days to Immediate attention
13.Response time to consumers reduced from 4-6 Hours to 2 Hours
14.Quality of Power Supply increased from 99.74 % to 99.82 %
15.Quick Response to Customer Queries, resulting in reduction of CRT (Customer Response Time)
16.Quick release of New Connections due to significant reduction in application processing and sanctioning time.Flexibility in payment - anywhere within the entire DISCOM.
17.Improved service to end consumers through improved asset reliability, utilization and maintenance of equipments
18.Quicker and improved response to customer queries through detailed online customer dashboards and queries
19.Improved management and tracking of environment and efficiency parameters leading to improved environmental safety.
20.e-Payment facilities for payment of electricity bill for customer
21.Standardization of New connection process ultimately moving towards a Corruption Free environment.
22.Revised and optimized approval hierarchy for employee related processes like leave, loans, claims, separations.
23.Online request entry and real-time request status monitoring leading to increased efficiency for each process as well as improved accountability of approvers. These include processes like leaves, HBA loans, vehicle loans, medical/travel advances, claims etc.
24.Integration with Financial modules for payment and with Payroll for recovery or payment.
25.Introduction of online appraisal system including sharing of rating and supervisor feedback with employee. This has brought in a lot of transparency in the appraisal process and hence improved employee satisfaction.
26.Single-source update to employee data, leading to removal of redundancy in processes, improvement in employee efficiency and elimination of human errors.Effective Employee Grievance Handling system
27.Increased asset productivity and reduced operating costs associated with maintenance, procurement, transmission, distribution, and customer service.
28.Proactive management of available resources such as inventory, equipment, and skilled personnel and mapping with asset maintenance demand, leading to optimized availability, reliability, and productivity of assets.
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8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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A full fledge deployment of dashboard having an easy to read, real-time user interface has been done. The dashboard shows graphical presentation of the current status and historical trends of company wise, module wise transactions with key performance indicators for senior managers to monitor and evaluate the project.
The CBRM - Change management Bimonthly Review Meeting is being arranged among all CNO, Respective module Conveners and system integrator to monitor the progress and to evaluate the below shown activities.
Core Maintenance – Comprehensive maintenance for e-Urja IT Support. The end to end IT solution including integration to the modules implemented at GUVNL and all its subsidiaries.
Change Management/ Request - Any change required into the system due to the change in the business process within the organization to explore the change in the functionality with respect to the offered functionality by the core product. The requirement can be mapped directly on the functionality of the product then it is not considered as change request otherwise for the requested functionality, customization to be made and considered as change request
Product/ version Up-gradation - The upgrade product / version of any implemented product covered under e- Urja project.
The Change Management Group (CMG) Conveners are in constant touch with Maintenance Support team and project leaders on various operational issues including those of the most critical target for the business. The maintenance support team provides for the following-
1.Translating functional requirements into solutions.
2.Initiate development of CRs after approval from CMG Conveners& Admin approval.
3.Ensure quality of deliverables and support thereafter.
4.Resource planning along with CMG convener.
Maintenance Support Delivery Manager
1.Responsible for activities and tasks of their own team.
2.Support team management.
3.Client Communication.
4.Assist and review tasks done by support team.
5.Risk identification, tracking and its mitigation.
Maintenance Support Implementation cum Support Team
1.Development of technical solution as per the plan.
2.User manual and SOP preparation & updating it on regular basis.
3.Report issues and risks to the team lead.
4.Participate in solution discussion and confirm technical feasibility.
5.Deployment of code into relevant environments after getting appropriate approvals.
CMG Conveners and Supervisors GUVNL and Subsidiaries
1.Decision making and guiding the development team in resolving application related issues
2.Co-ordination with GUVNL & subsidiaries regarding new requirements and approach and other CMG conveners for cross module deployment
3.Risk identification, tracking and mitigation
4.Provide functional and commercial approval for change requests
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9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Unleashing an enterprise-wide transformation of this nature entailed many challenges. While some were anticipated at the conceptualization stage, a few were discovered in the course of the implementation. This particular implementation involved tackling various IT challenges along with the task of taking care of the fears and concerns of a large and varied workforce.
The post-unbundling scenario posed a great challenge in the implementation of this project as there was a sense of uncertainty among the employees due to various organizational changes. It was important for GUVNL to expose their workforce to the current best practices being adopted in the utility sector across the globe and align their existing business processes to the current best processes. The employees also had a very limited exposure to the concept of ERP and its use.
Since the entire exercise was about exploiting IT as the primary agent of change, the foremost problem was timely procurement and commissioning of necessary computing and communication infrastructure. A very large geographical spread across Gujarat made this extremely complex. Zeroing-in on the solution platform, finalizing the IT landscape, working out equipment specifications, handling the procurement process, and ensuring timely commissioning through flawless co-ordination among dozens of vendors was a demanding task. Another technology challenge that had to be overcome was the mapping of existing complex business processes and then standardization for each of the companies. Finally, GUVNL had to come up with a strategy to collect and move huge volumes of data relating to distribution network assets, consumers and so on, into the ERP.”
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