Lifecyle
The lifecycle of meters begins when a truckload of meters (~7000) is delivered to the “meter shop”. The advanced shipping notification (ASN) provides the information about the truckload of meters. The meter records are created in mass in Maximo by importing the rotating item, serial number, meter header and meter name plate details. Upon receipt, the status of the meter asset record is Not Ready.
The existing inspection process would be used to indicate when the meters are inspected as a batch.
A random sample test via a test board can be completed on the new truckload of meters and the batch of meters is received into inventory. At this time, the asset records are created when the ASN file is imported electronically into Maximo. The only drawback here is the manuall intensive process to remove or delete meters that failed testing. Some of our development partners wanted to track failed meters, others send the failed meter back to the vendor to be repaired or replaced.
The meters are transferred to a storeroom or staging area and the location is updated.
From the storeroom or staging area, the meters are placed on a technician’s truck.
From the truck, the meter is installed at a Premise and a work order is completed. The status and location of the meter is updated in Maximo.
From here the meter information is synched with an Operational Data Store and/or Meter Data Management System.
When the meter is removed from the Premise, the meter is moved to the truck and the status and location is updated in Maximo.
Once deployed the meter will be randomly sampled according to the scheduled defined for the group of meters. Meters can be sampled in the field or replaced with a new meter and the old meter can be returned to the meter shop for testing.
From the truck, the meter is moved to the storeroom and the location is updated in Maximo. The truck could be modeled as a satellite storeroom to provide visibility of the rolling inventory.
The storeroom ships the meter to the meter shop to be tested and the location is updated in Maximo.
If the meter does not pass the test, the meter is lost, the meter is obsolete then the meter is change to a status equivalent of retired.
If the meter passes the test or if the meter is calibrated, configured, etc and passes test on a retest, then the meter is shipped back to a storeroom.
From the storeroom, the meter is moved to a truck location when ready to be installed at a Premise.
Lifecycle Activities while Installed at Premise
While the meter is installed at the Premise, there are activities that can occur. For example, the service disconnect switch could be activated to turn off power at a Premise and the meter status reflect this with a status equivalent to left in open. When the service disconnect switch is closed then the meter is in an equivalent to active status again.
Also, remote firmware upgrades and remote reconfigurations can be completed at the meter while it is installed at the Premise. Maximo integrates with other AMI applications to receive updated firmware versions and program numbers to store for reference and reporting.
The meter also can send events through the RF mesh. Events may include RAM failure, ROM failure, demand overload detected, etc. Maximo integrates with other AMI applications to receive these events and in some cases generate a work order for a meter exchange.
The vision is for smart meters to be a rotating asset within Maximo. The location would be the premise id in CIS and the unique identifier for the meter would be the manufacturer and serial number. Maximo would be able to communicate with the CIS and MDM with these three key fields.