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At six o'clock in the morning, the
night duty officer (known to team-mates as "the owl") is just finishing his rounds.
In a vehicle fitted with a GPS unit, he performs a set nightly round to make sure
all the city's light points are working properly. All defects are registered on
an on-board computer for automatic transfer to the central processing system on
completion of the duty round. This means the day shift will be able to programme
its maintenance route first thing in the morning, working on the data sent in.
The end result is prompt, efficient response, night after night, day after day.
For ETDE, client satisfaction starts by being quick off the mark, without fail. |
" When Nīmes City Council
selected us to manage the city lighting system, their overriding concern was to
improve response capability in order to improve residents' quality of life",
recalls Alain Chinardet, ETDE sales manager for city lighting.
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ETDE today holds a consortium mandate
to manage city lighting (20,000 light points), traffic lights (90 crossroads),
special-event illuminations, architectural illumination and videosurveillance.
It provides full services including electricity supply and management, preventive
and curative maintenance, regular servicing, and major repair. "With deregulation
of the energy market in July, we'll be looking at alternative sources to ensure
our client gets the best possible deal". The service contract also makes specific
provision for special circumstances, which is why it took less than 48 hours to
resume normal service in electricity supply following the dramatic flooding of
2002! |  |
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| Interview |
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Jean-Paul Fournier
Mayor of
Nīmes
and member of Gard regional council
Jean-Paul Fournier,
Mayor of Nīmes and member of the Gard regional council, comments on the first
ten years of the city lighting contract with ETDE. |
What are your impressions on this ten-year partnership,
from 1994 to 2004? Our main concern was, and still is, to improve
public service, safety and the city's image under optimized operating-cost conditions.
After analysing bids to our RFP, we selected an ETDE-led consortium which included
their local subsidiary, Fabre. We were impressed by their experience and references
in global management of city lighting systems in many localities in France. Neighbourhood
meetings confirm that people appreciate the fast response capability of the city
lighting team as part of a genuine neighbourhood service. The system also provides
the council's technical departments with an accurate picture of its illumination
assets, which makes for more efficient management and better public service all
round. That being said, we can and must work on further improvements; our objective
will only be reached when we can report zero failures. What
developments have been made over the last few years? One of
the first developments under the partnership arrangement was an ETDE software
package listing alphanumeric data on each light point, along with its exact physical
location, on a street plan. This provides highly accurate information on every
single light point, for rapid identification and full log details. This was followed
by a system for checking the operations carried out by ETDE, with data input via
internet enabling us to monitor service reports on a permanent basis. Then to
improve response times, ETDE set up a night-time monitoring and failure detection
system featuring new data entry and transfer technologies such as GPS, embedded
IT and internet links. Today, the ETDE maintenance pods are fitted with on-board
computer systems inputting full information on each operation carried out. Data
is sent by radio link to a central station. All these technologies are harnessed
to minimize failures and enhance response capacity, the ultimate aim being to
meet citizens' expectations. What is the
outlook for the future? There'll be further improvements in
response time, with the emergence of new equipment on the market. Electronic ballasts
will be bringing improved reliability. Lamps will be less vulnerable to supply
fluctuations, which means further savings and even better service quality. Then
with deregulation of the electricity market, on 1 July 2004, the council will
be requesting comprehensive analysis of market opportunities and a new approach
to the selection of energy suppliers. | |
