Optimizing field operations for a global fleet of wind turbines

overview
With multiple outdated legacy systems causing inefficiencies in monitoring and maintenance, GE Renewable Energy sought to modernize the management of its global fleet of renewable assets. FutureDraft partnered with GE's digital team to develop Lifespan: a unified, cross-functional digital suite. This solution aimed to connect wind farms and monitoring systems into a single, modern software platform for improved operational efficiency.
my role
Product Design
User Research
User Testing
Mobile Design
Product Design
User Research
User Testing
Mobile Design
Product Design
User Research
User Testing
Mobile Design
Product Design
User Research
User Testing
Mobile Design
context
Field planners and technicians faced challenges managing multiple systems for maintenance planning, asset monitoring, analytics, performance tracking, resourcing, and work orders, leading to inefficiencies such as reclimbs, which resulted in revenue loss. To tackle these issues, I focused on designing the 'Execute' pillar. This pillar comprehensively addressed these challenges by optimizing task and resource management from planning to completion.
agency
team
client
FutureDraft
client
Product
GE Renewables
launched
2022

Centralized Scheduling and Resource Management

To streamline operations and enhance efficiency, we transformed a simple daily planner into a comprehensive management application. Centralized scheduling, future resource planning, and dispatch capabilities were integrated to provide users with a dynamic timeline and data grouping feature displaying data in diverse configurations and timeframes.

Considering the diverse use cases across various regions, languages, and system requirements, we automated routine tasks within each workflow, reducing manual interventions. This approach facilitated seamless adaptation of existing workflows into the platform, promoting user adoption and scalability.

The main ‘Execute’ interface versatility allows for drag and drop and data hierarchy grouping for efficient task scheduling.
Previously, technicians received assignments manually. The 'Execute' design seamlessly integrates crew and technician management with dispatching for their tasks.

Iterative Design Collaboration

During the design process, close collaboration with product managers, engineers, and end users was crucial in translating field experiences into the digital world. Through interviews with wind farm personnel globally we identified key regional differences, such as long-term planning in most of Europe compared to daily or weekly planning in North America.

While these differences presented challenges, they also provided valuable insights that enabled us to iteratively refine and tailor the platform to accommodate the diverse workflows across various regions.

Given the intricacies of the functionality, I delved into multiple design options to represent tasks in various formats and time frames
The MTM (Mobile Task Manager) application facilitates the dispatch of inspections, planned maintenance, and repairs to technicians in the field.

Holistic Digital Transformation

To address the challenge of field technicians receiving a high volume of work requests from disparate systems, we introduced a companion mobile application. Designed for scalability, this app streamlined data flow to technicians in the field. Not only did it simplify day-to-day operations, but it also empowered technicians to manage and prioritize tasks based on location and their intimate knowledge of wind farms, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.