Once reliant on handwritten logs for cathodic protection data, this energy company’s electric transmission team modernized with American Innovations’ Pipeline Compliance System (PCS)—gaining speed, accuracy, and confidence in protecting critical underground assets.
About the Company
As a regional energy provider, the company delivers both electric power and natural gas to millions of customers. A critical part of its electric infrastructure lies underground, where steel pipes protect high-voltage transmission cables. The company’s Asset Management Group is responsible for safeguarding these vital assets, using cathodic protection (CP) to prevent corrosion and ensure long-term reliability.
Paper Processes Couldn’t Keep Up
For years, CP readings on the electric side were captured in handwritten logs, which limited their ability to:
- Keep data consistently organized across teams
- Eliminate the risk of small errors adding up over time
- Quickly confirm that CP systems were functioning as intended
- Save valuable hours otherwise spent reconciling and uploading field data
Recognizing the importance of protecting critical infrastructure, the engineering group set out to move beyond paper and create a system designed for accuracy, compliance with CP standards, and smarter decision-making.
Digitizing CP Data and Management with PCS
The company turned to American Innovations’ Pipeline Compliance System (PCS), deploying it with the Field Data Collector app and Survey Manager to transform its CP program.
Key improvements included:
- Centralized storage: All CP records for electric transmission assets are now housed in one secure system.
- Faster turnaround: Survey Manager eliminated multi-day download delays, enabling near real-time data transfer and allowing technicians to stay focused in the field.
- Ease of use: Even less tech-savvy technicians found the tools straightforward and quickly saw how they simplified their work.
- Secure hosting: Data is stored on the company’s internal server, ensuring accessibility and control while meeting IT requirements.
Why They Chose PCS and American Innovations
When modernizing cathodic protection recordkeeping, the engineering team wanted more than a digital replacement for paper. They wanted a solution that would streamline the entire process. PCS delivered on all fronts.
- Ease of use: PCS is straightforward for both engineers and field staff, requiring minimal training.
- Speed and efficiency: Data moves quickly between the field and office, eliminating days of manual uploads and delays.
- Reliable support: The American Innovations team is consistently responsive, helping resolve issues quickly and keeping CP compliance on track.
- True partnership: Beyond the software, the company values American Innovations as a partner invested in their long-term success.
“Support from American Innovations has been amazing—whenever we have a question, they help us figure it out right away.”
High-Confidence Data, Faster Insights
PCS has fundamentally changed how the electric transmission group manages its cathodic protection program. What began as stacks of handwritten logs is now a centralized, high-confidence system that empowers both engineers and field crews.
- Greater accuracy: Eliminates human error and ensures consistent, reliable records.
- Time savings: Field data moves seamlessly to the office, cutting out manual reconciliation.
- Organization: All CP data is easy to find, review, and share.
- Actionable insight: Engineers can identify potential problems earlier and take corrective action faster.
- Confidence: Teams now trust their CP data to guide asset protection and compliance decisions.
“It’s a great tool to organize all your cathodic protection data. You can see the history of every single test point that we have—which gives us the confidence we need.””
Building on Success: What’s Next
With PCS now firmly established on the electric side, the company is focused on expanding its value and reach. Upcoming initiatives include:
- Advanced reporting: Building Power BI dashboards to uncover deeper insights and trends.
- Cross-divisional use: Exploring PCS adoption on the natural gas side of the business.
- More remote monitoring: Expanding use of Bullhorn™ Remote Monitors to increase efficiency and reduce field burden.
For this energy company, PCS has become more than just a recordkeeping tool; it’s a foundation for continuous improvement and long-term asset protection.
Conclusion
By moving away from handwritten logs, the company’s electric transmission team has gained a faster, more organized, and more reliable way to manage CP data. PCS has streamlined field-to-office workflows, reduced errors, and given the team greater confidence in their CP data to support ongoing compliance and asset protection.
↔