The primary workflow challenges in the telecom industry are familiar to network operators. Teams use different back-end systems and different mobile apps that don’t digitally integrate or communicate. Even a single stage of the lifecycle, such as construction, can involve multiple teams with different work breakdowns. Field crews have trouble accessing current data away from the office. As a result, data becomes siloed, and the problem exacerbates over time as processes repeat.
The good news is that this seemingly insurmountable challenge can disappear when your software expands the context of workflows beyond forms and tasks to connect vital workflows directly to your network model.
Many of the solutions in the market focus primarily on single use cases, such as construction management, rather than a more comprehensively connected network. Others have been designed to create forms for work orders but without a map view of where specific tasks will be performed. IQGeo’s Workflow Manager integrates seamlessly with our Network Manager Telecom software so that operators can view every project and task in the context of your network’s location and connectivity. It delivers a single geospatial view of network data that can be accessed and shared across teams. Crucially, this means that field users can access the network model from the field for any workflow.
By connecting workflows to the network model, operators avoid the need for integration between disparate systems. It eliminates the need for data loading, which inevitably results in inaccuracies and delays, and which only creates more backlog and cost as processes repeat over time.
Incredible efficiencies occur when workflows are informed by your network model. Rather than building forms without a geospatial context or waiting on integrations and data loads, Workflow Manager auto-generates projects and related sub-tasks based on asset intelligence from the network model.
Mobile view of assigned work tasks
For a construction project, users typically must export a design to a separate system. Construction team managers then create tickets within other, disconnected systems. As the project progresses, operators can’t see the status in the original design or broader network inventory. Workflow Manager uses a very different approach. The completion of the design process auto-triggers a network build project with tasks assigned to specific assets and users, along with an accurate bill of materials. Anyone across the organization can view project progress, in the office and in the field (online or offline).
Network model connectivity report
Workflow Manager delivers similar benefits for operational projects. For example, as network capacity is being consumed, Workflow Manager understands the capacity profile of the Network Manager model and can trigger workflows within the inventory to proactively create tasks to add capacity. Another example is running an inspection or survey. While using Workflow Manager in the field, a user may discover new issues with vital network assets. Because the application is connected to the model, it can auto-initiate a repair or update the asset condition from the field and create related tasks. The network model updates are fully integrated, ensuring better data quality than using separate, siloed systems.
Geospatial workflow automation software
Finally, a tight connection between workflow software and the network model enables operators to expand their execution far beyond single stages such as design or construction. Operators know that even a single stage includes numerous processes and updates. By connecting each one to the network model, every team views and shares current data. This enables seamless transition between stages, such as moving directly from a new build to activation. By relying on the intelligence of the network model rather than the stage itself, operators enable automation across the lifecycle, connecting the work of every team to the larger operational picture.
By fully integrating tasks and workflows with the network model and empowering field teams with powerful geospatial intelligence, tremendous operational efficiencies are gained across the entire network lifecycle.