How to improve management capacity and guarantee field traceability: the Deltagas case

Deltagas is a company specializing in supplying CNG (compressed natural gas for vehicles) compression systems, mainly to fueling stations. Deltagas's services are not limited to selling systems: it also focuses on after-sales support, with a specialized team available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to supply clients with spare parts, advice and support in maintaining their compression systems. 

Deltagas holds a notable share of the Colombian CNG market, equipping roughly half the country's fueling stations. Its after-sales commitment includes immediate delivery and constant availability of spare parts, to guarantee high standards of quality and safety.

Its field operations team carries out preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance, improves compression systems, performs failure prevention work, plans and schedules maintenance of various kinds, and evaluates performance indicators.

The challenge to solve: strengthening its management capacity to guarantee traceability of field operations and improve response times

Deltagas had its own system for coordinating field service, but that system gave no way of knowing where field staff were or confirming that technicians had reached their assigned stations.

It also lacked the digital record keeping that comes with field management tools. The company could see that digitizing information would save operational time, guarantee the availability of information generated in the field, and remove the complications inherent to paper records. Previously, its work orders were issued on physical forms that then had to be digitized, which needlessly adds processes and labor. 

The solution proposed: deploying GDW Services across its national field operation

GDW Services made it possible to locate technicians in real time and guarantee they completed their station visits. It also simplified and improved scheduling, delivering better response times through smart assignment of times and visits based on where staff were deployed at any moment and how far each technician was from the client.

That allowed client emergencies to be handled effectively and the agreed quality standards to be met. Being able, through GDW Services, to give clients online information about the work carried out let the company provide an additional service and add value. That deepens the client relationship, builds trust and makes results demonstrable.

Another important gain from digitizing information with GDW Services was the simplification of operational, administrative and record-keeping processes. Physical paper records were eliminated, saving operational time and reducing the labor devoted to that task. 

The productivity benefits for field operations 

The GDW Services tool had a positive impact on field performance, thanks to a stronger ability to manage schedules and plan work orders. It reduced the time and effort spent coordinating those orders and guaranteed they were completed, through digital tracking of field deployment.

Overall, and through the combination of the factors described, they achieved a productivity increase of around 10%. 

That increase also came from the improved view supervisors and managers gained, through the information the digital tool gathered and consolidated, of the work being carried out. Field operations management software supports better business decisions, because it lets us see the opportunities, results and challenges of a field operation clearly and with certainty. GDW Services systematizes the information from field processes and operations around the performance indicators (KPIs) most relevant to running the business. 

And, as noted, they are a source of assurance for clients, who can also receive online information about the work carried out and see that improved performance for themselves. 

In summary:

• A stronger ability to schedule work orders. By digitizing and systematizing where staff are, better decisions get made when assigning orders.
• Field visits are guaranteed, coverage of emergency visits improves and response times fall.
• The end of paper records and the administrative simplification that follows, saving time and labor.
• The ability to inform clients online about the work carried out, providing reassurance and trust.
• A clearer view of field activity, consolidated around performance indicators (KPIs) that make it possible to measure and analyze that activity and make better management decisions. 
• An overall productivity increase of around 10%.