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4 Practices That Set Top Utility Crew Leaders Apart

Technical skill may earn someone the opportunity to lead a utility crew. It does not automatically prepare that person to set expectations, handle conflict or make decisions for...

The Connected Utility Jobsite: Why Data Has Become a Competitive Advantage

Utility contractors have more information available to them than ever before. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can map existing infrastructure. Global Navigation Satellite...

PAPA Excavation Safety Video Takes Contractors Beyond the 811 Call

Safe excavation starts before equipment moves dirt, but knowing the damage-prevention process and consistently applying it in the field can be two different things. A new...

Building the Next Generation of Utility Workers

Finding enough skilled workers to keep crews staffed and projects moving remains a persistent challenge for utility contractors. As experienced workers leave the industry and...

Why Utility Procurement Teams Should Multi-Source to Assure Supply

The supply chain challenges of COVID showed industrial businesses the risk in overly lean supply strategies. It is the way to minimize inventory carrying costs, but it reduces...

Fixing the Maintenance Gap by Tracking Utilization

Fixing the Maintenance Gap by Tracking Utilization Most fleet maintenance schedules are built around a calendar. Change the oil every 250 hours, or every 90 days, whichever...

Why System Planning Can’t Wait for the Next Outage

By the time a utility or its construction partners are rebuilding damaged infrastructure, the decisions that mattered most were already made months or years earlier, or they...

How SCADA Is Simplifying Data Handoffs in Utility Construction

A construction crew and a control room operator are looking at the same substation. They are not looking at the same data. The crew has field notes, GPS coordinates, and...

Underestimating Contractor Readiness Could Cost Utilities $174B

Utilities are betting capital dollars on execution.Electric power utilities reached about $174 billion in capital expenditures by the end of 2024, with 42% allocated to...