Fieldman presents
Guide to Smart
Meters Deployment
Smart meter installation: how to measure success
What are smart meters? ✍️️
Smart meters are digital devices that measure and record electricity, gas, or water consumption in real time. They automatically send these readings to a billing system, ensuring citizens receive accurate invoicing.
Replacing traditional analog meters with smart digital meters is both exciting and challenging. Utilities want to upgrade outdated infrastructure, and utility metering is essential for building smarter cities. This need is especially pressing now, with electricity demand poised to skyrocket and water costs on the rise.
According to a report by IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, smart meter use in the US is projected to hit 93% between 2021 and 2027.
Smart meters alone don't guarantee the success of the advanced meter infrastructure program. Many elements need to work together, especially integration with billing systems. At Fieldman, we like to think of a smart metering deployment project as a puzzle, where smart meters are just one piece of it.
Unfortunately, some utilities struggle to deploy smart meters properly and send readings to billing systems. As revealed by the NYTimes investigation, the failed smart meter projects appear to have been a major factor in multiple Mississippi cities' financial troubles. For example, Jackson accumulated massive debt that led to federal intervention.
Many city managers recognize that smart meter deployment projects are incredibly complex and require strong leadership, but they often pass this responsibility on to contractors and meter manufacturers.
A successful smart meter deployment program is achieved when a utility billing system receives monthly accurate readings from all its meters. Government funds had been spend wisely, and within a couple of years, a utility sees a return on investment.
This might all sound simple and straightforward, but during implementation, if you're not well-prepared, plenty of things can go wrong, making success hard to achieve.
Where to start? Think about what tools you would use to plan and manage your AMI project.
Select the AMI communications network that is right for your local terrain
Now that we've established the importance of smart metering, here's how you can get started.
AMI communication technology is responsible for transmitting water, electricity, or gas usage information to the billing system. There are different types of technologies available, and you should choose the one that best fits your municipality's terrain.
Warning: If you choose a communication technology that does not work well in your area, the whole project might fail or become too costly.
There are a few different communication technologies to choose from:
Radio Frequency (RF) signals
Сellular networks
Local Area Network (mesh)
Power line communication (PLC)
How do you choose the right smart meter communication technology? Go outside. Do you see farms and small towns spread far away from one another, or is it a populated city with suburbs? Maybe there are both. Population density is the most crucial criterion, and it will determine how smoothly usage information is sent to a billing system.
1. Radio Frequency (RF) signals
Rural areas with widely spread towns should consider relying on Radio Frequency signals (RF). If you've seen a water tower with antennas, that's part of an RF receiving system: smart meters use wireless RF signals to transmit data.
RF is the oldest and most proven communication technology. However, it works best in areas free of large structures like skyscrapers that could block the radio waves. Utilities and municipalities typically place antennas on the highest point in town to help with interference like tall buildings. For example, to achieve a good signal at 20 miles with 900 MHz, antennas need to be at least 152 feet tall.
RF signals travel very long distances, meaning they can receive data from all installed meters. Typically, a municipality will need only a few antennas, making the investment in this part of the infrastructure cost just a few hundred dollars.
2. Cellular networks
For cities, suburbs, and other urban areas with populations over 100,000, cellular network communication technology is becoming an excellent choice. Think of your new smart meters as devices with a tiny cell phone inside; they can transmit water, electricity, or gas readings just like your smartphone sends text messages. This communication network has become more affordable in recent years, and the rollout of the 5G network will provide additional bandwidth.
Cellular networks work best where there is excellent cell coverage, and, as we all know, the best coverage is in cities where the people are. If you are unsure about the cell coverage in your town, start by investigating local cell providers.
The most important benefit of cellular networks is that meters not only send consumption data but also receive commands. This capability allows for remote meter management without needing to send a technician. For example, if you need to shut off electricity or water or upgrade software, you can simply do it from the office.
However, more frequent communication with meters consumes more power. Smart meter manufacturers claim that the batteries in the meters or transmitters will last up to 20 years. But this battery life estimate assumes ideal conditions. No one really knows how the batteries will perform in extreme summer heat or cold, and it remains challenging to predict how long the meter will last.
3. Local Area Network (mesh)
Using a Local Area Network (LAN) or mesh, smart meters communicate with each other to find the best way to send consumption data to a billing system. If one path is not working, the meters can find another. Think of it like a private Internet, where there is no central data center or master computer — data flows seamlessly, letting you easily read this AMI tutorial.
This allows the LAN to cover larger areas and reach meters in remote or obstructed locations that would be difficult to access with other communication technologies. A LAN network is widely used by Itron, a smart meter manufacturer, who bought Silver Spring Networks and used it to develop a GEN-X mesh-routed network.
LAN is a proven and widely used smart meter communication technology. However, it does not well support pilot projects, which are quite common among municipalities. For towns that want to deploy a few hundred meters and wait and see how things work before installing another batch, more than 2,000 meters should be installed to allow them to communicate effectively.
Mesh networks are highly scalable as new meters can be easily added to extend the network's coverage without requiring significant infrastructure changes. This makes mesh networks cost-effective for large-scale smart metering deployments, where traditional communication infrastructure may be limited or expensive to deploy.
4. Power line communication (PLC)
Electric Utilities in rural areas, especially coops, can rely on Power line communication (PLC) technology. It works only for electric smart meters and transmits radio signals over existing power lines, eliminating the need for more communication infrastructure. This method can be cost-effective and provide reliable communication.
Audit your meter infrastructure
Before creating an RFP for your AMI deployment project, it is crucial to have accurate, up-to-date data about your meter infrastructure. You need to know exactly how many meters the city owns, including residential, commercial, and compound meters. This means having a clear picture not only of meter sizes and locations but also of the conditions of meter boxes, lids, and other parts of the metering infrastructure that might need replacement.
Where can you find this information? It can be found in a billing system, a work order management solution, old purchase agreements, or spreadsheets that your utility department might have. For projects with more than 10,000 meters, it is recommended to physically audit the meter infrastructure before diving into the deployment project.
Audit around 5% of meters and then extrapolate this data to cover all endpoints.
For example, for a 10,000-meter project, you would need to check 500 meters, their locations, and their conditions. An audit will help assess the condition of lids or meter boxes and determine how many need replacement. You will want to order parts in advance to avoid delaying or pausing the project due to a shortage of necessary meter boxes.
Why is it important to have up-to-date information about meter infrastructure conditions? It allows for accurate forecasting of expenses and obtaining supplies before technicians go into the field. In addition, hard-to-access locations require appointment scheduling, so it is essential to determine in advance how many such locations you have.
You need all of these parameters to configure job types, project duration, and workforce scheduling in your work order management software (also called field service management software).
Before you audit the infrastructure, ensure that the work order management solution you choose for the audit is the same one you will use for the smart meter implementation project. Relying on a single platform will save you a lot of money.
Setting up a work management platform for a field service project, especially a large one, can be expensive. Field workflows need to be evaluated, data organized, and the platform configured.
You want to pay for the work order management platform setup once, not twice.
AMI Audit checklist
Download checklistWater meters
1. Verify a water meter number to validate your data
2. Check meter box condition
3. Identify hard-to-access accounts
4. Inspect meter lids and need to drill for installing antennas
5. Condition of a shut-off valve
Electric meters
1. Verify an electric meter meter number to validate your data
2. Check meter box condition
3. Identify hard-to-access accounts
4. Verify form and class
5. Identify meter sockets and the need for repairs
Gas meters
1. Verify a gas meter number to validate your data
2. Check meter register conditions
3. Perform leak detection
4. Check for any signs of damage, corrosion
5. Verify the meter is accessible and not obstructed
Map your meters and enrich their data
Geocoding and enriching meter data is a technical step that should be handled by your work order management platform provider. But why should you care about it?
The success of smart meter implementation means that after meters are installed, citizens receive bills for their own water or gas consumption, not their neighbors' usage. However, technicians are frequently unsure which meter needs replacement or retrofitting, and mistakes occur more often than you might think.
Field technicians often find meters indistinguishable one from another, especially in apartments. Mapping helps workers locate and identify the correct utility meters.
What Exactly Is Data Enrichment? ✍️️
Data enrichment is the process of enhancing and improving the quality, accuracy, and completeness of raw data by combining it with additional information from external or internal sources. It goes beyond just cleaning or deduplicating data—it adds entirely new dimensions and context to existing records.
Accurate data enrichment ensures that every meter is correctly identified and associated with the right address, reducing errors during deployment and improving project management.
How is meter data enriched?
A data engineer uses all available data resources about meters that you might have, such as spreadsheets with accurate meter data or a current meter reading system. Then, additional data is added from third-party providers, public data sources, internal databases, or other proprietary sources within the organization.
It's not an easy process, and mastering this art is what sets great software providers apart. At Fieldman, we offer this as part of our platform setup service; we geocode each address and clean data before importing it into the system.
How is meter data geocoded?
The most common method for geocoding meter data involves matching the service address associated with each meter to a reference address database, converting text-based location information into spatial data, typically as latitude and longitude coordinates. In some cases, geocoding is done by matching meter data to parcel databases for more precise location information.
To improve accuracy, data engineers may employ techniques such as data cleansing to standardize and complete address data before geocoding, manual verification of geocoded locations, and combining multiple data sources like address matching, GPS data, and asset management information. These practices help ensure precise geocoding, essential for effective smart meter deployment.
What are the benefits of meter mapping and data enrichment?
Mapping is crucial for optimizing overall work management, from dispatching jobs in one area to dynamic scheduling, where software algorithms create the best routes and schedules for the workforce. Mapping increases the efficiency of scheduling and dispatching jobs by up to 60%.
Mapping meters and enriching data are the foundation of the entire advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) program. Without it, planning becomes a real headache, and your AMI meter project's success is on shaky ground.
Develop a plan for problematic meters
When planning an AMI solution field project, you might expect that all legacy meters will be upgraded to new smart meters. However, our data indicates that no project has achieved a 100% success rate.
A citizen put concrete over the meter pit, a building was fenced with a locked gate, technicians weren't able to enter because of an unleashed dog on the property, or there was a wasp nest in a meter box. There are many obstacles that could hinder project completion.
Warning: On average, 3-5% of legacy meters will not be replaced during the initial roll out
This number might be as high as 15% for projects where a meter audit was skipped. At Fieldman, we have witnessed a project with close to 30% unreplaced meters. (Audits hadn't been performed, and when technicians started installing new meters, they discovered that many meter boxes were old, damaged, and in need of replacement).
What happens with unresolved accounts? By the end of the project, the field service vendor will return them all to the utility. If not prepared, the utility will not have the infrastructure to deal with the old meters: there will be no employees to do meter readings, and all allocated funds will have been spent.
All of this could have been easily prevented.
Here's how: сreate a plan for handling these old meters
- Mark the unable-to-complete locations in a work / field service management software.
- Decide who — utility or vendor — will deal with these meters.
- Create a plan for handling skipped locations. Start addressing it at the beginning of the project; don't wait until the number of skipped accounts becomes unmanageable.
- Plan how you will read old meters that were not exchanged.
- Track all jobs in a single work / field service management platform to keep all information organized.
Create a strategy for manual meter reading
The goal of any AMI program is to transition from manually reading meters to smart meters that automatically report water, electric, or gas usage. However, this transition can take months or even years, especially when a project is done in phases. This means that you should have a strategy for managing both manual meter readings and new meter installations simultaneously. How can you do it efficiently without wasting taxpayers' money?
The best operational strategy for this case is to visualize the end of the AMI deployment program and move backward. Accept right from the beginning that at the end of the project, about 3 to 5% of meters would not be replaced for various reasons. As we mentioned in chapter 3, for utilities with poor infrastructure this number can get up to 15%.
You will need software for manual meter readings. Here is an important strategic question: Should you rely on the software you have been using for decades for manual meter readings, which all employees are familiar with, or should you move this workflow to the work order management solution you have started using for AMI deployment?
The correct answer is that you need one software solution, not two. Using two different software platforms will lead to waisting resources.
Why managing multiple software solutions is tough
Having multiple software solutions will lead to a host of issues that hinder productivity and increase your team's frustration.
Data Inconsistency and Silos: Data spread across multiple systems leads to inconsistent information, and the more new data field techniques will collect, the harder it will get to synchronize data in both systems.
Increased Complexity and Maintenance: Managing various software systems is complex and resource-intensive, becoming a management burden.
Inefficiency and Productivity Loss: Switching between systems creates bottlenecks, wastes time, and reduces productivity.
Higher Costs: Maintaining separate systems increases overhead, leading to ineffective software usage.
Collaboration Challenges: Fragmented systems hinder efficient team collaboration and information sharing.
Lack of Flexibility: Multiple systems reduce the ability to streamline processes and improve operations.
Limits of manual meter reading software
Manual meters are becoming an endangered species, as software solutions for meter readings are not being updated or upgraded. They are not agile enough to collect other data in the field and add new workflows. That is exactly why they are not being used for AMI deployment projects.
There are even cases where meter reading software providers no longer support their software. Our client, the City of Statesville, learned in the middle of their AMI program that their meter reading software provider, which the city had been using for decades, went out of business.
Read the case study on how the City of Statesville uses Fieldman for smart meter installation, meter reading and maintenance
The sooner you say goodbye to it, the better for an organization's operations.
How work order management software can do meter manual reading?
Manual meter reading is just another workflow in your work management platform. For agile work order management systems like Fieldman, adding a new workflow takes only five minutes. The tricky part is that meter data should be geocoded and enriched so the system can identify each meter correctly. Fortunately, your work management software provider has already done this!
At this point, data about all your manual meters will already be geocoded, enriched, and uploaded to your work management system. For meters that are unable to be replaced, additional data, including photos, homeowner contacts, and notes, has been collected by field technicians.
Last but not least, your work management platform has already been integrated with the utility's billing system, so there will be no friction or issues with transmitting manual meter reads. Additionally, your team is likely already familiar with the work management platform for AMI, eliminating any learning curve or need for extensive training.
Keep all workflows, including the one for manual meter reading, in a single work order management system.
Prevent meter installation mishaps
Contract workers installed some water meters backward in McComb, a city of 12,000 south of Jackson. In Birmingham, Alabama, a backward water meter caused a resident to receive an almost $1,000 water bill. In San Diego, the Public Utilities Department found at least five homes with mismatched meter parts, causing false readings. One homeowner was billed over $4,800 due to an overestimated meter reading.
These cases are a nightmare for any utility. How can the risk of installing meters backward or with mismatched parts be minimized?
Human errors are likely to happen in utility field service projects, especially when technicians work in extreme weather conditions and try to install as many meters as possible since they are typically compensated based on the number of installations.
This is where an agile work or field service management system for AMI projects ensures success. Technicians track and complete each job in a field service management app, which includes a step-by-step workflow for meter installation with data validation. Field workers cannot skip steps, such as entering meter numbers or photos, before completing the work order. Following workflows minimizes the risk of human errors and ensures accuracy and consistency in meter installations.
For example, a technician enters the final meter reading before removing the legacy meter; the field service management system instantly validates this to ensure it's in line with the previous monthly reading of this meter. If he makes a mistake while entering the meter reading, the system will not allow him to proceed to the next step.
The field service app also tracks inventory and prevents the use of mismatched parts. If a technician has to scan a barcode or enter the serial number of a meter part, the system checks if it is the correct piece. Repetitive and routine tasks can be automated through workflow automation tools.
Tip: When choosing software to manage field service projects, make sure its workflows are easily customizable.
You will likely need to change a workflow several times before completing the project.
At Fieldman, we see this happening almost on every project, especially those that skipped an infrastructure audit. Ensure a workflow can be changed quickly, not requiring 50 man-hours. Native cloud technology allows reconfiguration in seconds, while outdated hard-coded solutions take days.
Watch our video how customizable workflow should look like.
Smart Meter installation verification
Proper smart meter installation is only halfway to success. The next step is to wake up the meter, register it with the network, and ensure that it sends consumption data over the air to the billing system.
You may wonder what can possibly go wrong. At Fieldman, we recently witnessed a technician bringing a programming device from another AMI meters deployment project and using it to program more than 100 water meters. At the end of the month, the billing system couldn't find consumption readings to generate invoices for the residents, and the utility realized that something had gone wrong. A contractor had to send technicians again to reprogram those meters, and the utility lost a month of payments from residents due to inaccurate invoices.
This could have been easily prevented! To ensure that new smart meters are connected to a utility metering system and can send data to your billing platform, not to a neighboring county, rely on the meter installation confirmation feature in your work or field service management software.
Work order management software helps bridge the time gap between meter installation and the next invoicing. The first month after the installation of a new smart meter is full of uncertainty: the new meters are installed and may or may not be communicating. Because invoicing is done monthly, there is a delay of up to four weeks between the meter installation and the billing system receiving the data.
You should manage this phase of implementation to avoid any surprises during invoicing. Tools like Fieldman's meter installation verification check that newly installed meters are activated in the manufacturer's utility metering software and that reporting reads correctly.
You will see a green check mark notifying you that there are no issues or that non-communicating meters are highlighted in red. These advanced metering infrastructure alerts and notifications allow the technician to remediate the issue before the next billing cycle. The Fieldman platform can be integrated with the most advanced metering infrastructure systems, including solutions from Kamstrup, Sensus, Badger Meter, Neptune, Landis+Gyr, Aclara, Itron, Honeywell, and others.
Integration with a billing system
Now that the new smart meters have been physically installed and are communicating, the final step is to replace old meters with new ones electronically in the utility's billing software, which generates invoices for residents.
This means that data collected by technicians during meter installation must be transferred into the billing software. Since the billing cycle cannot be interrupted, this must be done in a timely and error-free manner. Depending on the utility's requirements, the data transfer can be done daily, weekly, or monthly.
The challenges of automating billing system integration
You might think data exchange can be done in a few clicks, like how accounting software such as QuickBooks integrates with banking software (e.g., Chase, Bank of America). We wish it were that easy. For API integration, all parameters would need to be standardized across all utilities, but each utility's parameters are different, including meter size identification and consumption multipliers.
Unfortunately, this integration is difficult to automate; even the same billing software is usually implemented differently for each client and requires custom code. The key to successful integration is testing. At Fieldman, we spend hours on calls with a utility, a billing software provider, and a field service contractor.
Often, billing systems must add new smart meters and communication modules as inventory items before the meter exchange transaction can occur, requiring two separate integrations instead of one. This process is done manually, making it time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Nevertheless, you should consider this integration at the beginning of the AMI deployment project. We recommend starting by conducting end-to-end testing. This will ensure data exchange is performed smoothly and regularly, preventing billing delays.
End-to-end testing can take from a few hours to a week, depending on the complexity of the utility's requirements and the billing system configuration.
Be aware that manual integration carries the risk of human error and bias, which can compromise data accuracy and the integrity of future billing.
How can you minimize the risk of billing integration mistakes?
- Choose a work management provider that has performed such integration (like Fieldman!).
- Discuss billing system data requirements with your work management software provider before configuring the platform for an AMI project.
- Update the billing system weekly to ensure there are no issues with newly installed meters.
Smart Meter Maintenance & Reporting
This is typically an exciting moment - the advanced metering infrastructure has been rolled out, new smart meters are sending usage into a billing system, and residents receive accurate invoices. You might think that this is a happy moment and the program is over.
However, it is just the beginning of a new thrilling chapter: asset management.
What is exactly utility asset management? ✍️️
A new advanced meter infrastructure has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and it's a utility's responsibility to perform regular maintenance and management. Additionally, the accuracy of smart meters is crucial for utility revenue, so they should be regularly monitored, tested, and replaced when needed.
A comprehensive maintenance program that includes meter maintenance, emergency repairs, and performance checks is a key component of an asset management program. The goal is to maximize the value and performance of utility assets while meeting service level expectations and managing risks effectively.
Asset management for utilities is the strategic process of managing physical assets and infrastructure that includes:
- Planning, acquiring, operating, maintaining, and disposing of assets efficiently
- Balancing costs, risks, and performance to achieve organizational objectives
- Using data-driven decision making to optimize asset lifecycles
- Ensuring reliable service delivery while minimizing downtime and costs
- Complying with regulatory requirements and industry standards
As infrastructure costs increase, asset management that helps reduce spending has become a popular practice in the USA. For example, the state of Michigan has an educational program for public works aimed at increasing awareness of the benefits of asset management.
By strategically managing infrastructure, organizations can extend asset life by 30%, cut costs, and reduce the risk of asset failure.
There are numerous standards for how meter maintenance should be performed. The American Water Works Association has created comprehensive guidelines on the use and maintenance of water meters for water services. The American Gas Association regulates the inspection frequency of gas meters, and the American Public Power Association has requirements for electric meter maintenance. Make sure to adjust your AMI maintenance practices to align with these standards.
What do you need for a successful meter management program?
To roll out a successful asset management program, you need to have a catalog of all assets, including their location, condition, and value. The most challenging part of any asset management program is creating this catalog. It takes months to extract data from spreadsheets, enrich and geocode it, and verify it by sending employees to physically audit those assets.
You have already done it! While installing new meters, you have collected accurate information about all your meters, including their sizes, condition, location, and cost. For efficient management, all cataloged assets should be connected to a work order management platform that is capable of issuing work orders for field technicians and has tools for collecting new data about assets in the field.
Are there other industry standards for meter management?
Yes, there are. These standards help ensure consistency, accuracy, and interoperability in utility meter management and reporting across the United States. Specific requirements can vary by state, utility company, and type of utility (e.g., electricity, gas, water), but generally, a utility should record and be able to report information about its meters.
A utility should record and be able to report information about newly installed meters, including location, meter readings, meter ID, and manufacturer. Additionally, there is a requirement to have photos of installed meters, photos of connected pipes, and more.
Essential smart meter reporting requirements for utilities
Download checklist- Exact location of the water meter
- Date the meter was installed
- Manufacture
- Size
- Type
- Serial number
- Photograph and / or a diagram of a meter
- Photo of a pipe before and after the water meter
- Meter reading at the time of installation
How to keep records?
You can rely on a spreadsheet or keep records in billing software. However, they won't be efficient and won't have all the accurate data required for reporting. Spreadsheets are prone to human errors during data entry, and billing solutions cannot issue electronic work orders or store photos of meters and pipes.
The best way to keep records of your smart meters is by using specialized software. The great news is that you already have it! The work order management (or field service management) solution you used for meter deployment can also be utilized for utility metering maintenance. Utility employees are already familiar with the software, making the transition smooth for the entire organization. This solution can help you build a strong foundation for asset management across the entire infrastructure owned by the utility or municipality.
Guide by Vlad Kravchenko
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