Utilities field operations deserve better than Frankentech

Utilities field operations keep critical infrastructure running, often under dangerous conditions, but they’re burdened with outdated, fragmented tech systems never designed for the field. The patchwork of disconnected apps and processes creates inefficiencies, risks, and unnecessary friction. It’s time for utilities to adopt a true field-first platform that empowers workers and supports modern operational demands.

Key insights

• Utilities field teams are stuck using fragmented systems not designed for field conditions, leading to inefficiencies and safety risks.
• Field workers often resort to paper because current digital tools are clunky, unreliable, or hard to use in real-world environments.
• Field-first platforms must enable offline functionality, cross-functional workflows, and field-level adaptability without bureaucratic delays.
• Accurate, real-time field data is critical for AI initiatives and enterprise decision-making across departments.
• Utilities can’t meet growing demand and operational challenges unless they treat FieldTech as a strategic investment, not an afterthought.

Every day, utility field workers climb poles in dangerous weather, navigate underground infrastructure in cramped spaces, and respond to emergencies to keep our communities powered and connected. They’re the bedrock of our critical infrastructure, doing some of the most essential and hazardous work in the utilities sector.

And what do they get in return for all that?

When it comes to technology investment, they’re given the short end of the stick.

It may not be deliberate, but it’s consistent. While corporate offices adopt the latest AI, the people in hard hats powering those desktops are making do with a Frankenstein’s monster of systems never built for their world.

The corporate cost of utilities field operations neglect

The performance and data from utilities field operations directly impact the corporate office. They need that data to solve their problems, too. After all, the best AI available is useless without complete, clean, timely data to analyze. That field data is exactly what utilities need to plan for surging demand.

As Utility Dive reports, energy demand is a trillion-dollar problem with a surge of 128 GW — 15%! — needed by 2029.  “We haven’t seen that kind of load growth since the 1980s,” Grid Strategies Vice President John Wilson said late last year. 

Utilities field operations are integral to hitting growth targets, so they need real technological support. A disjointed work process, fashioned from multiple mobile apps and pen and paper, will only hold these teams back. Not even lightning could bring that monster to life.

The daily toll of fragmentation on field teams

These stitched-together parts are the defining fact of most field workers’ lives.

Need asset data? Go ask the asset management team. Location info? That’s GIS territory. Cost estimates for rolling out the trucks? Use the field service management system. Safety protocols? Use the safety management system, and don’t forget to download the latest PDF safety manual. 

And when you do the job, use the mobile apps that were built for these systems so they’ll get updated correctly. 

The impact of this fragmentation is felt across the entire business. It creates a cascade of inefficiencies that would be a scandal in any other critical operation.

Utilities field operations teams are trapped between systems that don’t talk to each other, analytics that don’t reflect their needs, and processes they can’t directly adapt or control. The frustration is palpable when skilled technicians struggle to log vital data across three different systems, none of which were designed for field conditions.

The clearest sign of this technological neglect is that many field teams quietly — and understandably — revert to paper. They’re making a practical choice for a tool that is flexible, semi-reliable, and entirely under their control. It’s far easier to use a notebook and transcribe things later than to use the awkward grab-bag of tools in their kit.

Putting field alignment first

FieldTech, the technology built specifically for field workers, must first master the field’s harsh environment. It has to operate where connectivity is spotty, conditions are unpredictable, and decisions must be made on the spot. It needs to manage processes that cross multiple business functions: asset management, equipment installations, maintenance, safety, quality assurance, compliance, environmental impact, and more.

Additionally, it has to recognize that field supervisors know their operational needs better than anyone at corporate. And finally, it must allow field teams to adapt processes without requiring approval from three different departments to change a workflow or add a new data field.

In other words, it needs to solve field problems first.

Field-first alignment means information from other departments and platforms exists to support the fieldworker on the job. FieldTech must work even when the signal is down. Real-time data is helpful, but offline access is the priority, which means much of the information will be pre-loaded.

The field team’s requirements are the priority. Once the job is done safely, efficiently, and completely to their standards, the data can then flow to the other departments and platforms. Asset managers get asset data, GIS teams get GIS data, and safety compliance officers get safety data.

Beyond Frankentech for utilities field operations

All of this may seem obvious, but it’s really a long-overdue realignment.

Each department has the clout and technology platform needed to control its own processes. Maybe Finance has Oracle Financials. The asset management team has Maximo. The GIS team has Esri. The safety team has VelocityEHS. These business units all control their own processes and data within these platforms.

What platform does utilities field operations have?

Until that question gets an answer, the field will feel like a second-class citizen. And that’s unacceptable.

It’s time for the field to regain control of their workflows with a true, best-of-breed solution, moving beyond the coping mechanism of cobbled-together parts. While new platforms bring challenges like justification, planning, and adoption, the need is too urgent to allow for delay.

The utilities sector faces unprecedented challenges: aging infrastructure, severe weather, cybersecurity threats, and a looming workforce transition. But the true cost of technological neglect — in safety risks, job satisfaction, and the battle for skilled workers — is hindering their response. When technology advances like AI are sweeping the industry, field teams should be applying them to their challenges. Instead, they are left scribbling notes on clipboards or wielding multiple mobile apps. 

Giving the industry’s most critical workers its most broken technology is a failing strategy. Field teams deserve technology that directly supports their work, not treats them as an afterthought in someone else’s digital transformation strategy.

See what a true field-first platform can do

Your field operations deserve a true, best-of-breed solution, not a collection of disconnected parts. See how Fulcrum unifies workflows and puts control back in the hands of the field. Sign up for a free demo today to get started.