FERC vs NERC: A grid control showdown over cyber security

WWW.INTELLIGENTUTILITY.COM /// JULY/AUGUST 2011
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I asked about the cultural changes associated with adding
new technologies to the mix in the field, and the types
of technologies being incorporated with the field services
groups at each utility.
SCHACH It’s kind of interesting to watch. Like all utilities,
and probably a lot of industry, we’ve got an aging workforce
and we’re going through quite a transition with retirements
and the like. What’s interesting, and it’s probably just a sign
of the times, is that as we bring in these people to our organization
who have had a little more access to the iPhones
and the games and things that this generation is used to,
not only are we not seeing a cultural issue, but we’re seeing,
“Why can’t it do this?” or “Why can’t it do that?” The whole
world is changing around us, and we’re actually getting in a
generation of folks that not only find it easier to use, but also
are helping us find ways to make it better.
Now, having said that, we still have a considerable workforce
that has been around for a long time and we spend a
lot of time trying to ensure that we keep their training up to
speed. We are providing a lot more communication about
what the value is and trying to have them recall what they
used to do compared with what they do today. What we’re
seeing is that even those folks who at the beginning were just
dead set against a laptop in the truck, I’d venture to stay that
at least 80 percent are more than happy to have it and would
be upset if you took it away.
SCHEEL Historically, prior to 2007, we used some type of
Toughbook. Sometimes, this is where you ask, okay, if you
come from nothing, then you can introduce folks to anything
new. We did try, and then when we went to make the
change to what are we going to use in the future, we tried the
PDAs. The folks did not like them: they said they were too
small, they couldn’t see them.
The field worker was
provided the same
level of functionality
and capability that
an office worker
in our environment
would have.
MARK BROWNING
UTILITY MOBILITY
For me as management, I love the PDAs. But they did not
like them. We even tried the tablets. I have to give kudos to
our IT department. They said, okay, here’s what you have;
take them and use them. But we voted on just a regular laptop.
You can buy three laptops versus one Toughbook, and
not all the trucks are so rough that they require a Toughbook.
Now as far as field services, which is where I came from, I
would strongly encourage the PDA if you can. But we have
not engaged our employees enough. They are a little resistant
to it, and right now, we’re not pushing that venue. We just
use regular laptops with aircards that go into base mounts
installed in the vehicle. But I would love to use PDAs. If it
could start out that way, I would never give another option.
BROWNING We started out thinking that we were going to
deploy a lot of different form factors, a lot of different tools.
Early on in the project, we quickly realized that the majority
of users viewed the tool as something that was going to
remain in their vehicle and that they wouldn’t be carrying it
around. And it was really the taking it out of the vehicle and
using it in various ways that we thought—in terms of collecting
information in substations, making rounds and the
like—would drive the need for different form factors.
But we didn’t see that big push to drive to multiple form
factors. So, we really took a one-size-fits-all approach for
the project, and now, almost two years post-project, we’re
starting to see maybe a revitalization of this drive for new
form factors. I view it as a maturity and an evolution of the
technology. The ruggedized laptop in the vehicle is probably
something that solves 80 percent of our business problems,
and now that 20 percent is driving the need to start to look
at different form factors, in the form of smart phones and
PDAs, that maybe synch with the device to go out, collect
some form information and come back and sync with the
vehicle’s MVT and push the information back up. So a lot of
evolution, I think, is going to occur there over time.
I asked each panelist about guiding principles or key lessons
learned with their deployments. Here are a few of
many that were discussed.
BROWNING We approached this project as an extension of
the edge of corporate network. This is an important piece in
that we did not set any limitations or boundaries over what
the field worker could do. The field worker was provided
the same level of functionality and capability that an office
worker in our environment would have. A fully enabled
Web browser would allow them to leverage the corporate
intranet and the Internet to perform their various work
functions. And this was a key component that I think really
helped our project gain traction with the field workers. It
demonstrated trust in the field workers, trust that management
had in their ability to use the tools, and it gave them
an opportunity to look at how they could do their job in