Power company puts trust in Workmate

By ADAM GIFFORD

TrustPower has bought Workmate maintenance management software from Auckland's Enterprise Performance Solutions (EPS) to manage operations at its 34 power stations.

EPS plans an assault on the North American utilities marketplace through a joint venture with WEL Technology, so a significant sale in the home market enhances its credibility.

TrustPower southern generation group manager Ian Lees said the software, which runs on a Sybase database, has been piloted at three stations for the past year.

It will be installed at eight further sites, which with networking will give the company full coverage.

"What we've found useful is that Workmate is user-friendly," Mr Lees said. "That's most important because it can be used by a broad range of people in the company, from the plant operators and maintenance engineers through to managers."

He said the system, which costs $7000 for each seat licence plus implementation service costs, is inexpensive in comparison with other packages on the market.

EPS director Andrew Willis said the deal "is a vote of confidence in our technology."