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Customer First Initiative |
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Our Customer First initiative is more than a phrase; it’s a mantra we’re committed to—at all levels of our organization. This quarter, we dedicated this recurring column to listening, a crucial ingredient in any successful partnership.
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Randy Bays
President, Sensus |
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One thing I’ve learned from my encounters with our customers over the past two and a half years is that you aren’t a shy bunch. You’ve got a lot to say, and you believe in holding us accountable.
For that, I say thank you. That accountability keeps us honest, and it ensures we focus on listening to you. I’m not talking about giving lip service to the concept either. I’m talking about meaningful listening—the type you get from someone truly invested in you and your success. The type only a partner provides.
Walking along with you in partnership is our number one goal. We know creating opportunities for two-way conversation where each side is heard and understood can help promote success for both parties. That’s the type of relationship we want to have with you.
You see that desire evidenced in a variety of ways. Take, for instance, the new Sensus Cathodic Protection solution, introduced in the story, Corrosion Never Stops. Neither Do You. Developed at the request of a customer, it’s the latest example of how we are devoting engineering resources to your ideas.
I and other members of the leadership team also make a point of having as many one-on-one interactions with customers, distributors, consultants and others as our schedules will allow. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day for us to speak to everyone.
That’s why it’s important you take advantage of other opportunities to engage.
One of the most beneficial to you is joining the Sensus Partner and Advisory Network (SPAN), our users’ group. This year, SPAN has launched a membership drive and moved to significantly expand its reach. There’s plenty of room at the table for you, and there’s no better way to grab our attention and help influence our path.
We could use your insight in other areas, too. Initial preparations for the 2016 Sensus ReachSM Conference have begun. It’s our one chance each year to gather our customers, distributors and others together in a single place and have a meaningful dialogue with them. We invite you to help shape this year’s event. From submitting an abstract to speak, to nominating yourself or other deserving individual for a Sensus Reach Award, you have several opportunities to make yourself heard, before, during and after the event.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge those of you who completed the reader survey found in our last issue. We’re grateful for your responses and the comments you shared. You can read more about them in And the Survey Says… later in this issue.
Regardless of which opportunity you pursue, the important thing is to connect with us. Share your thoughts. We want to know what you think. With your candid feedback—both good and bad—we can be the partner you need and the partner we desire to be.
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Customer Spotlight:
City of Evans, Colorado |
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Old meters were slowing operations at the City of Evans, Colorado water department, and customer service was suffering. A Sensus smart water network, including the FlexNet® communication network and iPERL® and OMNI™ water meters, provided needed relief. With it, the municipality was able to:
- Improve billing accuracy, reducing estimated reads by 94 percent
- Cut the time it took to conduct meter reads
- Better serve customers
Read the case study to learn more.
Got a compelling story of your own? One that will educate and enlighten others in the industry? We want to hear from you. Contact Paula Dickerson, and share your story. The next customer highlighted here could be you. |
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We Put Big Data to Work for You |
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There’s no denying it. The age of big data is here. It’s everywhere. Where you work. Where you play. Simply everywhere.
Growth in the number and type of smart end points is driving a change in how we and our customers manage information. Once we used relational databases with tens of billions of rows (a large number by any measure). Now, it’s not unusual for our databases to house hundreds of billions of them.
The problem is relational databases can’t handle that volume. Nor are they structured to quickly and accurately analyze it and uncover answers built on numbers, not gut feelings.
Tame the big data beast
Working with technology partners, Dell and Intel, we implemented a solution that enables us to process real-time, ad-hoc queries in less than a minute, even on the largest of tables. It’s transformed areas of our business, like return material authorization (RMA), enabling us to be proactive, not reactive.
Using predictive modeling, we can look at a customer’s entire meter population and identify performance issues before they actually begin. We’ve not only increased our responsiveness and timeliness, but we’ve also improved the efficiency of our investigations.
“We’re thinking about our business differently and better communicating not just problems—but solutions,” said Mike McGann, Vice President, Quality. “By putting data first, we’ve put our customers first.”
A bright future ahead
Harnessing big data empowers us to open doorways that ultimately benefit you and your customers. Data like this is extremely important to our industry. It’s our future. It’s your future. And together, we’re ready for it.
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Corrosion Never Stops. Neither Do You. |
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It’s simple chemistry, metal pipelines corrode, and their structures weaken. Over time, corrosion can lead to a pipeline burst.
To lessen the likelihood of failure, natural gas companies are mandated by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) division to test their pipelines regularly.
That testing takes time and can be error prone. Not anymore.
Detect corrosive conditions in minutes, not hours
With the Sensus Cathodic Protection solution, you know what’s happening across your network of pipes—when and where it happens. It automates the collection of data from test points and rectifiers throughout your system. Plus, built-in alarms alert you to breaches in coverage, power failures and more within an hour of them happening.
CPA enables you to:
- Increase operational efficiency
- Focus on maintenance, not data collection
- Reduce vehicle operation and maintenance costs
- Perform a day’s worth of work in under five minutes
- Improve safety
- Avoid the potential for employee exposure to electric shock
- Know when a problem arises within one hour of its occurrence
- Mitigate issues that might arise between readings with around-the-clock corrosion monitoring
- Meet PHMSA regulatory requirements
And you can do all that without affecting your network performance. The FlexNet system is designed to support multiple applications, enabling you to rapidly send and receive data, even from remote sensors. The point-to-multi-point network means mission-critical data arrives quickly, and the separate alarm channel ensures the fast delivery of alarm-based information.
Schedule your demo now
The application is currently in beta trials with general availability expected in December. For more information or to schedule a live demo, send us an email. |
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Recognize Those Who Reach Farther |
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What you do matters. Each day you make profound contributions to the quality of life in your communities. You continually stretch your capacities to reach farther in new and innovative ways.
We want to recognize your efforts. Celebrate them and share them to inspire others. We invite you to nominate yourself or other deserving individual for the 2016 Sensus Reach Awards. This year we’re presenting customer awards in two categories.
Sensus Reach Awards – Customer Commercial
This award honors the customer who has reached farther through the application of Sensus technology. They could have done so in many ways:
Share your success or that of a peer, and nominate a Sensus customer today.
Sensus Reach Awards – Customer Community
This award recognizes the Sensus customer that goes above and beyond to make their neighborhoods and towns better places to live, work and play. The recipient:
- Is actively involved in their community and looks for ways to improve their cities and towns
- Doesn’t just talk the walk; they walk the walk. They’re a model for others to follow.
Tell us about a customer you know that is helping make their community a better place.
Recognize distributors and employees, too
We’re also celebrating outstanding efforts by Sensus distributors and employees. Nominate a distributor or acknowledge a Sensus employee who’s gone the extra mile for you.
It’s easy to recommend someone. Follow these nomination instructions, and submit your entry today. All applications must be received by 5:00 pm (EDT) on Monday, August 1, 2016.
Recipients will be announced at the 2016 Sensus Reach Conference in Palm Desert, California with their success stories on display throughout the event at the Partner Pavilion. In addition, customer and distributor winners will receive complimentary registration fees. |
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And the Survey Says… |
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A huge thank you to those of you who completed our reader survey. We appreciate the feedback you shared. It will go a long way toward making Sensus Customer Connection even better.
So what did we learn? Many things. Some surprising and some not so much. For starters, we were pleased to hear how much you enjoy the newsletter. From content to frequency, your responses indicate you’re overwhelmingly satisfied with it.
That’s not to say there isn’t room for growth. Of course there is, and we pledge to seek out ways we can enhance the newsletter to ensure it remains a valuable resource for you.
What’s in highest demand
Requests for more customer success stories are at the top of your wish list. They’re at the top of ours, too. Help us grant that wish. Share your story with us, and we’ll do our best to highlight it in a future issue.
Contact Paula Dickerson and tell her about the interesting ways you’re using Sensus technology. The next customer story highlighted in the newsletter could be yours.
Access to more information you can use
You also said you’d like to see how-to articles as well as tips and new features covered. The good news is you don’t have to wait for the next issue.
Starting in late spring, you’ll be able to access that information 24/7 on our customer portal, My Sensus Connection, in the new Knowledge section. The roll-out of articles is just beginning and will continue in the coming months. Look for complete details in an upcoming issue.
A general concern expressed by several of you was frustration about not being able to readily access product manuals and other documentation. We checked with our team here and found it’s a simple three-step process.
- If you haven’t already done so, set up an account on My Sensus Connection by emailing [email protected]
- Log on to the portal and click the Documents icon
- Use the Libraries drop-down menu to narrow the type of document you are searching for and search by keyword(s)
Congratulations to our lucky winner
Deb Kolling, Business Analyst at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, won the $100 gift card for completing the survey. Congratulations, Deb! Thanks again for sending in your feedback. |
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SPAN Corner: Have You Joined Yet? |
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From its beginnings in 2008, SPAN has grown to a total of 115 members with new companies joining regularly.
Open to all Sensus customers, it’s your opportunity to exchange ideas, solve problems and act as a conduit for information with Sensus. Industry-specific subcommittees meet via conference call, and the entire group meets annually at the Sensus Reach Conference.
Raising their profile
Recently SPAN members have been upping their game. You may have visited their booth in the Partner Pavilion at Reach15. They’ll be there again this year, too. You’re also likely to see them working alongside Sensus employees at our booth at major industry events, like DistribuTECH.
You may even get an email or phone call from a current member, eager to share the benefits of participating.
Why join?
There are many reasons. But they all boil down to discovery—listening to one another’s experiences, learning more about Sensus products and solutions and realizing just how far we can all reach together.
“SPAN provides the perfect opportunity for you to connect and share,” said Mitch Cason, Chairman SPAN, and Network Coordinator, Georgia Power. “There’s no better way for you to expand your knowledge of Sensus solutions. Plus, you’re certain to uncover a trick or two that will help you do your job better.”
For more information about becoming a member, contact Mitch at [email protected] or 404.506.7315.
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Let’s Celebrate Mother Earth |
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April 22, or Earth Day, is almost here. And an anticipated billion people from all across the globe will take part in activities marking the occasion.
We got a head start
Together, with our community partner, EarthShare, we began early. Joining 13 other companies and a total of 160 volunteers, we fielded a team in EarthShare North Carolina’s Corporate Challenge. A group of Sensus employees spent an afternoon volunteering at SEEDS, a community garden located close to our corporate headquarters in Research Triangle Park.
Rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty, we weeded and helped build a 39-foot retaining wall. At day’s end, our muscles were sore, but our spirits were high, knowing we’d made an important contribution to our community.
How about you?
Maybe you’ve got plans of your own. It could be participating in a day of service, too. Perhaps it’s directly connecting to this year’s theme, Trees for Earth (#trees4earth), and planting a sapling. Or it could be attending a community event or observance.
Whatever it is, we invite you to join the conversation and post your activity using the hashtag #EarthDay. Let’s celebrate Mother Earth. |
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On the Road with Sensus |
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Sensus and our customers will participate in a number of conferences in the coming months. Be certain to stop by our booth and attend the sessions we or our customers and partners are speaking at while you’re there. Visit our website for a complete list of upcoming events. In addition to these events, look for our recent ads in publications like WaterWorld, UIM and Water & Wastes Digest, among others.
- American Public Power Association (APPA) National Conference
June 10-15, 2016
Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ
- Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Annual Convention
June 12-15, 2016
Sheraton Grand Chicago, Chicago, IL
- American Water Works Association (AWWA) ACE16
June 19-22, 2016
McCormick Center, Chicago, IL
Gold Sponsor, Booth #1701
Join us on Monday, June 20, 11:00-11:45 a.m. (CT) in Exhibit Hall Classroom, Booth #2171 for a roundtable discussion moderated by Sensus Vice President – Strategic Solution Development Colin Walsby and including George Kunkel, Principal, Kunkel Water Efficiency Consulting, on ways to “Reduce Water Loss and Recover Revenue.”
Join us later on Monday, June 20 from 3:00-3:30 p.m. (CT), Sensus Senior Product Manager, Water Metrology Travis Smith will present on “Using AMI to Manage Water Loss.”
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| In Other News |
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- Let’s shine the spotlight on you! Sharing insights and discussing the latest trends is the heart of the Sensus Reach Conference. There’s no better way to come together and learn from one another. Help others reach farther by presenting at the event. Speaker abstracts are due by Friday, June 24, 2016. Submit yours today.
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About Sensus Customer Connection
Sensus Customer Connection is a quarterly e-newsletter created with you, the Sensus customer, in mind. Here we'll share important company announcements, initiatives, product information and upcoming events. It will also be a place where you can learn from your peers and hear about how Sensus products and services help them achieve their organizational goals.
If this issue was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive future issues, you can subscribe by completing this form.
Share Your Feedback
We want the sharing to go both ways and encourage you to recommend your success story for coverage in future editions. Send that information to Paula Dickerson. All submissions will be captured and considered for future newsletters. The next customer success story you read might be your own!
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