From paperwork to prepared crews

The expensive part was the loop

DTEK’s field work spans underground coal mines, power lines, remote wind turbines, solar installations and generation facilities. The equipment and working conditions differ, but crews face the same practical problem: getting to an asset can take considerable time, and a missing detail can mean another journey.

A crew might travel out to diagnose a fault, return to report it, collect parts and travel back to make the repair. If the first inspection missed something, the loop started again. Paper assignments, handwritten notes and separate approvals added delays between each step. Managers needed to know what had happened; workers needed enough information to finish the job.

Design the whole operation

The goal was to connect assignment, inspection, defect reporting, materials and repair in one operational platform. Digitizing a form alone would leave the repeated journeys and coordination gaps intact. The desktop and mobile experiences needed to carry the same work record from the manager’s plan to the crew’s evidence of completion.

My contribution was UX direction and team management within the enterprise delivery team. I guided the experience across the office and field workflows, with the wider team delivering the platform and its enterprise integrations.

Plan the work before crews leave

In the desktop application, managers create and manage teams, assign tasks and build inspection routes. They can review defects, see required materials and coordinate their allocation or relocation. Workers receive their assignments and routes on a mobile device, so they know where to begin and which assets to check.

The device must fit the environment as well as the workflow. Underground mine crews use protected devices certified for those conditions; other field teams use the mobile application at the assets they maintain.

Turn each inspection into a usable record

At each stop, the worker scans the equipment’s NFC tag to open its information and inspection instructions. The app guides the check, helping crews follow the route and record findings against the correct asset.

When a defect is found, workers capture the detail on site through text, measurements, photos, video or audio. They then continue to the next stop. The finding stays attached to the equipment, giving the next team the context it needs without relying on a loose note or someone’s memory.

Keep work moving without coverage

Connectivity cannot be assumed underground or at a remote facility. The mobile application supports offline work, retaining inspection records and evidence until a connection becomes available. It then synchronizes the information automatically.

Managers can see progress and defects as information arrives. Visibility is close to live where coverage allows; in disconnected areas, it updates after synchronization. Crews can keep inspecting without returning to the office just to submit a report.

Arrive ready to repair

Managers use the recorded defects to assign a repair team. The team receives the work details and the list of parts and equipment to collect before travelling to the site. Workers go to the storage facility, pick up what is needed and head to the assets requiring repair.

After the fix, the crew records proof through measurements and photo, video or audio evidence. The completion record gives managers a basis for review and follow-up. Connecting diagnosis, preparation and proof reduces avoidable repeat visits and gives workers more time for maintenance itself.

From an internal solution to the market

The platform was adopted widely within DTEK and then taken to the external market because it addressed recurring field-service problems. GTSOU, the operator of Ukraine’s gas transmission network, used the solution for its own maintenance operations. That delivery involved a technology partnership, with our team contributing design, requirements advice, QA and development support.

The published DTEK power-grid case reports 15% faster incident resolution on average. The GTSOU maintenance case reports 40% fewer office–field trips, and its project was a 2025 SAP Innovation Awards finalist in the Industry Leader category. These are results from separate implementations, rather than a combined platform-wide measurement.

The design lesson

A useful field-service experience starts before a worker reaches the asset and continues after the repair. Routes, asset identity, inspection guidance, materials and completion evidence all have to support the next person’s decision. The platform’s value came from making that whole chain usable, including the places where connectivity and working conditions are hardest.