A flat line in the middle of the report
An analyst is building a client's monthly report and notices that one site's half-hourly profile stops dead three weeks ago. The data has not been zero, it has simply not arrived. Nobody noticed, because data arriving is the normal state of things and nobody watches for it stopping.
Working out why takes days. Was the meter exchanged? Has the SIM in the AMR unit failed? Did the data collector change? The site manager does not know, the supplier says to contact the meter operator, and the meter operator needs a reference the analyst does not have.
Why silent meters go unnoticed
Meter data problems are rarely announced. The data just stops, and the systems downstream carry on with whatever they have.
- Imports succeed even when a meter is missing from the file.
- Nobody holds a list of which meters should be sending data and how often.
- Faults involve several parties: supplier, meter operator, data collector, AMR provider.
- Meter exchanges at sites are not always reported to the consultancy.
- Fault references and correspondence sit in individual inboxes.
By the time a gap shows in a report or a bill turns up estimated, weeks of data may be missing.
Gaps that spread into everything else
Missing interval data weakens every service built on it: monitoring, reports, bill validation and, for larger sites, the consumption basis for the next tender. If the meter's data does not reach the supplier either, bills may be estimated, with the catch-up risk that brings.
Chasing a fault through several parties also takes a lot of time, and without a clear record the chase starts again whenever the person handling it is away. Clients reasonably expect their consultant to know when their meters have stopped talking, and to be the one who gets it sorted.
Monitoring that notices silence
We build meter data monitoring on top of your data imports.
- Every meter in your inventory records how its data should arrive: source, frequency and the parties responsible for the meter and its communications.
- Each import is checked against that list, so a meter that should have data and does not is flagged the same day, not at month end.
- Partial gaps are flagged too, such as a meter that sends some days but not others, or values that are all zero where the site is known to be open.
- A flagged meter opens a fault case with the site, meter details, the date data stopped and the likely party to contact, based on how the meter is set up.
- Emails to and from suppliers, meter operators and data collectors are linked to the case, along with every reference number they issue.
- Cases are chased on a schedule you set, and closed only when data is flowing again. Any backfilled data is checked on arrival.
| Question | Found at report time | Data monitoring |
|---|---|---|
| Has this meter stopped? | Noticed in a chart weeks later | Flagged the day data is missing |
| Since when? | Worked out by hand | Recorded automatically |
| Who has to fix it? | Found by phoning around | Suggested from the meter's setup |
| Where is the fault up to? | In someone's inbox | On the case with all references |
| Is the data back? | Assumed | Confirmed before the case closes |
The monitoring shows that data has stopped and keeps the chase organised. The technical diagnosis and repair remain with the meter operator and the other parties responsible.
Faults caught in days
The morning after a meter goes quiet, the analyst sees it on the monitoring board with the date it stopped. A case is already open with the meter operator's contact details and the meter serial number. The first email goes out that day. When the operator replies with a job reference, it is attached to the case automatically.
Account managers can tell clients about a fault before the client notices, and show the steps taken. Over time, the case history shows which sites and which kinds of meter fail most often, which is useful when discussing meter upgrades with clients.
Are silent meters slipping past you?
- You discover missing meter data when building reports.
- Nobody holds a list of meters that should be sending data.
- Chasing faults involves phoning several parties.
- Fault references are kept in personal inboxes.
- Meter exchanges at client sites reach you late.