GWMWater: ERP Solution

Transforming business

Since implementing TechnologyOne’s enterprise solution, GWMWater has made significant improvements to its productivity, accuracy and customer satisfaction. These improvements have received a nod of approval from the Essential Services Commission (ESC), Victoria’s independent economic regulator of prescribed essential utility services supplied by the water and sewerage, electricity, gas, ports and rail freight industries.

“In Victoria the ESC produces an annual water performance report which is released to the public, publishing information about our performance across a number of parameters, such as service reliability,” Mr Williams said.

“The report relies on data provided by us, and about four years ago we received quite a poor score because we weren’t able to provide all the information needed.

“In the most recent audit, we had a quantum shift in performance, with more than 95 per cent of scores in the top A1 category.

“TechnologyOne’s software has certainly supported us to achieve the significant productivity gains we were targeting, and continue to target, year-on-year.

“It has been a cultural shift for the organisation that has been successfully enabled by the systems we use.”

Benefits for Human Resources

TechnologyOne’s software has enabled GWMWater’s HR team to save time by automating manual processes such as timesheets, reporting and performance reviews. With integrated real-time data and employee self service, staff have access to the information they need, at their fingertips.

“By automating the process we now do our payroll in two days, cut down from six days previously. We also have just one payroll person to process this, whereas in the past we had two people working full time to crunch the numbers and enter data,” said Manager People and Culture Peter Drummond.

“One of the huge benefits is that all the information across the system is in real time. This leads to much more accurate information and eliminates the need for separate spreadsheets, databases and other scattered data.

“We have seen a lot of improvements by moving to a single enterprise system. It has enabled us to make better use of resources, with staff working on strategic and value added tasks, rather than data entry.”

Benefits for Corporate Performance Management

By enabling GWMWater to define its strategic goals and outcomes, and measure and manage performance against them, TechnologyOne Corporate Performance Management (CPM) provides the water corporation with the insight it needs to achieve its organisational goals and focus on growth and innovation.

“CPM has given us the ability to integrate with our existing systems and streamline business processes and workflows,” Executive Manager of Business Planning and Performance Sally Marshall said.

“By having all our information in the one enterprise system, we now have better quality information to support our decision making. We have one place where we capture all our information, and CPM provides the functionality to report that information multiple times over.

“Through automating regular reports, such as our monthly board report, we now focus less on validating and inputting the information, and more on the issues and how to resolve them. CPM has freed us up to spend more time analysing the data, rather than putting it together.”

Ms Marshall said GWMWater has also improved the timeliness and accuracy of its information.

“When our billing system was separate to our reporting software, we only used to load the information in to report once a month. By having a single system for all our information, we don’t have to wait for a particular reporting period for it to be up-to-date - it’s always in real time,” she said.

Benefits for Asset Management

TechnologyOne Asset Management has enabled GWMWater to improve efficiencies and save time, through a holistic solution that manages the entire lifecycle of its assets.

“Through the mobile application, field staff can enter data directly into the system, which has saved a lot of time,” Acting Executive Manager, Service Delivery Rob Caris said.

“Paper-based processes have been replaced by mobile devices, which has improved the accuracy and reliability of information coming into the business.”

By implementing Asset Management as part of an enterprise solution, GWMWater is also reaping the benefits from improved integration of its business software.

“It’s very handy to have full integration between all your business systems,” said Mr Caris.

“GWMWater is moving away from a best of breed setup to a whole of business solution, and we saw using TechnologyOne for asset management as the best way to achieve that.”

Benefits for Billing

TechnologyOne’s Water Management has enabled GWMWater to streamline its business, by consolidating urban and rural billing into a single enterprise system across the business.

“When our billing system was separate from our other core business systems, we only used to sync the systems once a month. Now we don’t have to wait for a particular reporting period to get current information - it is always available, in real time,” said Billing Manager Steve Briggs.

With integration between the TechnologyOne system and the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Victorian Water Register, Mr Briggs said the company has saved time and significantly improved data accuracy.

“Our billing system is now integrated with the Victorian Water Register, which is the central repository for all water allowance information across the state,” he said.

“Essentially that means we’re not having to duplicate records in the Register, which has improved the accuracy of our records quite dramatically. It has improved the process for customers as well, which is a real measurable parameter.

“TechnologyOne is now our one-stop-shop; our single source of truth. Our whole business operates from it.”