Research Highlights the Impact of Grid Modernization and Digital Transformation on Current and Future State of Utility Industry Workforce


2933-LIB_utilities-whitepaper-BlogW-B-d1

Librestream’s research details how utilities benefit from technology and solution implementations to ensure safety, productivity, and efficiency for the future workforce

Librestream, the #1-rated remote technology platform for the industrial deskless workforce, announced today the release of its research paper, “Powering the Utility Workforce of the Future.” The company outlines the impact and challenges of the modernized grid on workforce transformation and delves into key elements to transform the utility workforce with digital solutions, providing best practices and recommendations for the successful deployment of technology solutions. 

The utilities sector is faced with significant workforce challenges that will affect service reliability if left unresolved. Over the next decade, 50% of the utilities workforce is set to retire, and there aren’t enough tenured workers to fill the gaps, nor the same length of employee retention for the new workforce as compared to those retiring.  “The impending retirement wave and the current Great Resignation are taking a massive toll on utilities, resulting in organizations losing critical operational knowledge,” said Gary McAuliffe, VP of Global Energy & Utilities at Librestream. “When organizational knowledge is lost, it creates room for errors, affecting business competitiveness in the electric & gas utility industry, and even worse, putting workers in dangerous and sometimes even fatal situations.” 

Librestream’s research provides insight into digital transformation technologies, like AR-enabled remote expert solutions, and how they can help drive operational efficiencies and workforce resiliency. The paper also dives into several detailed benefits of digital transformation technologies in the industry including training, onboarding, and reskilling, immediate access to remote expertise, and reduced O&M costs. In fact, by allowing field workers to access the right guidance at the right time, organizations report seeing 70% productivity gains, 50% cost savings, and 3x efficiency gains. 

Taking into consideration the new sustainability journey utilities are undertaking with decentralization, decarbonization, and grid modernization, enterprises are increasingly adopting transformation technologies to turn some of these challenges into opportunities. The research discusses best practices for leaders considering deploying or expanding their digital transformation initiatives. From identifying business needs to piloting and evaluating technology for specific use cases, Librestream aims to facilitate a view of the current state of digital transformation to enable modernization goal attainment.  

“Librestream is committed to providing customers with resources to make informed decisions within their digital transformation strategies and meet and exceed their goals,” continued McAuliffe. “With this paper, we intend to shed light on the needs for the future of the deskless workforce.”  

Download the “Powering the Utility Workforce of the Future” research paper here.