Two thirds of utilities admit they might fail an on-the-spot safety check

Two thirds of utility sector players admit that they are unlikely to comply with on-the-spot Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspections. The executive has taken action against 18% of utility companies because their assets failed to comply with standards, and hit more than half of those with a fine.

These findings were detailed in a report from a study commissioned by asset management systems provider, BPD Zenith, in which 500 asset management and maintenance staff in the utility and renewables sector were interviewed. The research revealed that data held by 51% of the utility organisations surveyed was neither detailed, nor updated or recorded accurately enough to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 or other HSE regulations that apply to their sectors.

Close to nine out of ten respondents in the sector acknowledged that improvements to their asset management systems and processes are required to drive up the quality, completeness, and consistency of their data. 32% said they used paper-based methods in part or in full to record, update, and store maintenance data.

Among the priority improvements to their asset management strategies: 69% recognised the need for enhanced data quality, 56% highlighted improved analytics, and 49% identified a need for better systems integration with their existing enterprise asset management.

The study also identified a greater demand from utility companies for improved field-based, mobile data capturing and utilisation. The biggest challenges to keeping asset management and maintenance data updated for 41% of respondents were: recording data in the field; not being able to record data at the point of work; a lack of intuitive forms; and not having technical data and maintenance manuals at the point of use. 

Access to real-time inventory levels (20%) and struggling to plan, schedule, and dispatch work to multiple crafts and contractors (10%) were amongst the other challenges organisations faced.