The organization
A tower operator owns and runs several thousand rooftop and ground-based sites that host equipment for mobile network operators. Many sites rely on diesel generators and battery banks when grid power fails.
Field technicians cover sites region by region, and spares sit in a depot for each region. The tenants expect power at every site, so a missed generator service or a weak battery bank turns into an outage.
The challenge
Generator services are scheduled by calendar while runtime varies widely by site. Site visit reports come back as spreadsheets and photos in chat groups.
- Sites with frequent grid outages run their generators far past the service interval.
- Battery banks are checked irregularly, and weak banks are found during an outage.
- Technicians drive to a site without the right spares.
- Depot stock is counted by hand, region by region.
- Managers cannot see open faults or visit history across regions.
How it is set up in Asset Infinity
The operator registers every site and its power equipment in Asset Infinity and runs plans, visits and spares from one system.
Runtime-based generator plans
Each generator has plans by runtime hours, such as an oil and filter change every 250 hours. Readings entered on each visit move the plan. (Maintenance)
Battery and site inspections
Date-based inspections cover battery voltages, rectifier alarms, fuel level and site security, with required readings and photos. A failed check raises corrective work. (Maintenance)
Dispatch by region
Work orders for each region go to its technicians, with SLA timers on faults and reminders when a job waits too long. (Work)
Spares at regional depots
Filters, batteries, rectifier modules and belts are stocked per depot, issued to the work order, with reorder advice when stock runs low. (Stores)
How it works day to day
Here is how a technician’s day across a region’s sites runs.
- System: raises due work. Runtime plans whose hours are reached, and inspections whose dates have come, raise work orders for the region’s technicians.
- Regional supervisor: plans the route. The supervisor groups the day’s work orders by site and assigns them. Technicians are notified on the mobile app.
- Technician: collects spares at the depot. The work orders list the filters and parts each job needs. The storekeeper issues them against the jobs before the technician leaves.
- Technician: services the generator. At the site, the technician enters the generator’s runtime reading, works through the service checklist and adds photos.
- Technician: checks the battery bank. The inspection asks for the voltage of each battery string and the rectifier status. A reading out of range raises corrective work.
- System: advises on reorders. Parts issued from the depot reduce its stock. Items below their reorder point appear in reorder advice for the depot.
- Operations manager: reviews the regions. Dashboards show open faults, overdue plans and visits completed by region, and which sites raise the most work.
Before and after
| Before | With Asset Infinity | |
|---|---|---|
| Generator service | By calendar, whatever the runtime | By runtime hours on each generator |
| Battery checks | Irregular | Scheduled inspections with readings |
| Visit reports | Spreadsheets and chat photos | Mobile checklists on each asset |
| Spares | Counted by hand per depot | Stock per depot, issued to jobs |
| Dispatch | Phone calls by region | Work orders assigned by region |
| Visibility | Region by region | One dashboard across regions |
The first month
- Sites and equipment imported. Sites, generators, battery banks and rectifiers were imported by region, with each site’s location.
- Plans and checklists built. Manufacturer intervals became runtime plans, and the site visit form became a mobile checklist.
- Depots set up. Each depot’s spares were counted into Stores with reorder points before technicians went live.
Example results
- Every site generator on a service plan driven by its runtime hours
- 100% of site visits closed with a checklist, readings and photos
- 1 view of spares stock across every regional depot
- Generators at sites with frequent grid outages come due sooner, because plans follow their hours.
- Weak battery banks show up in inspection readings before the next outage.
- Technicians see the spares a job needs and draw them from their region’s depot.
- Regional managers compare open faults and completed visits on one dashboard.
Why it worked
Service follows runtime
A generator that runs every day is serviced sooner than one that rarely starts, because the plan counts hours.
Readings that raise work
A low battery voltage or a failed check becomes a work order on the spot, not a line in a report.
The right part on the van
Spares are issued from the region’s depot against the job, so stock and usage are known.
Looking ahead
With generators serviced by the hours they actually run, batteries checked on schedule and spares tracked by depot, the operator keeps power at its sites without relying on memory or chat groups.
The visit history on every site also gives the operator a clear record to share with its tenants when they ask how a site is maintained.