PILLAR: ASSETS AND OPERATIONS
Click and Quote — Major Connections
What we will do and why
In the Competitions in Connections (CiC) business, there is a currently a 15% acceptance rate of quotes. This means that 85% of time spent results in wasted effort, and thus higher costs for customers, affecting our competitiveness when compared to the rest of the market. Therefore, UK Power Networks requires a simple, cost-effective way to prevent this duplication of efforts, leading to improved timelines, lower prices, and higher satisfaction for customers.
Key deliverables
- Phase 1: Low-cost solution to compile similar quotes together utilising a probailistic approach.
- Phase 2: Build and integrate tool into Smart Gateway.
Target outcomes
Phase 1 UKPN IS Proof of concept:
- A low-cost solution is created that utilises a probabilistic approach based on postcode, address, or geospatial data to inform the designers if there is a similar quote they could replicate.
- Reduction in time for the connections team to produce a quote.
Phase 2 Click and Quote Tool Build & Trial:
- Tool can be integrated with other applications.
- Customers are able to accept fully anonymised quotes, that are automatically generated if a previous quote is available at the point of application.
- Coverage for all quote types discussed in the gate paper (e.g. up to and including 1MVA and 11kV POC).
- Reduction in time for the connections team to produce a quote.
- Positive CBA and incentive benefits.
Measures of success
Reduction related to Connection’s costs
- Reduction in connection engineer time & cost to design and service quotes.
- Reduction in front & back-end administration work relating to quotes: e.g. audits.
Financial benefit via Ofgem incentives
- Reduction in fines for missing regulatory timeframes.
Non-financial benefits – Improvement in customer satisfaction in CiC business
- Reputational benefits.
- Reduced risk of accusations of unfair treatment, due to consistency of quotes.
Stakeholder Engagement
The CiC team have been scoping and discussing a version of this project for several years with numerous internal stakeholders (Legal, connections).
- Simon Barons – CiC Lead Design Engineer. Idea originator. Extensive previous work in scoping project. Expertise and data on cost-benefit analysis, including number of quotes that could be automated, and benefits.
- Richard White – Connections System Analyst. Extensive prior work scoping project requirements.
- Robert Cooke – Principal Solicitor. Provided legal advice during the scoping phase.
- Graham Mace – Project Manager HSS & Connections. Extensive prior work scoping project requirements.
- Ellen Sharland – Bids and Opportunities Lead. Guidance on costs for project implementation.
Planned start:
05.08.2024
Target completion:
30.09.2025
Key milestones:
- Phase 1 KOM (Aug 2024)
- Phase 1 PDR (Aug 2024)
- Phase 1 CDR (Sep 2024)
- Phase 1 Development (Nov 2024)
- Phase 2 Contracts exchange (Jan 2025)
- Phase 1 PoC Completion Review (Feb 2025)
- Phase 1 Completion and Phase 2 decision point (Feb 2025)
- Phase 2 KOM (Feb 2025)
- Phase 2 PDR (Feb 2025)
- Phase 2 CDR (Feb 2025)
- Phase 2 Development (Jun 2025)
- Phase 2 Completion review (Jun 2025)
- Specifications and Process document updates (Aug 2025)
- Gate D & BAU handover (Aug 2025)
- End user training (Sep 2025)
Status:
On Track
View other employees projects
Status: On Track
Target End: 30.04.2025
Smart Stores
The application will allow to book materials out of any Emergency Store directly to your Personal Stock Number or direct to a Job Number (work order number). The application is simple to use and easier than the previous Emergency Stores App.
Status: On Track
Target End: 31.12.2024
Low Code Applications — Operations focused
Various projects delivered on the Netcall platform for case management across multiple processes.
Status: On Track
Target End: 25.02.2026
Project Evolve
Ensuring our processes and systems deliver cost efficiencies, improved customer services and support our RIIO-ED2 commitments. We are delivering an improved work management solution to support our field staff, ensuring work is delivered more efficiently and data is captured more effectively. Alongside this, we are improving and upgrading our customer and supplier relationship management applications to improve interactions with our customers and our suppliers.