Using Basic Building Blocks to Create Custom Solutions

There’s an unfortunate tension between finding tools that work well for you and finding tools that are easy enough to implement so you don’t lose precious time trying to get your team up to speed. 

For some reason, software tends to either be basic and removed from teams’ end goals, or it takes so much configuration that teams are forced to build it out themselves. Building it from the ground up is so demanding that by the time it’s finished, the original problem has shifted and evolved. 

So teams get trapped into rigid, inapplicable systems that weren’t built for overhead utility distribution. It’s full of friction because what seems intuitive in the overhead industry isn’t always apparent to the folks who build software. 

Finding What Fits 

There’s a sweet spot somewhere in the middle where software is based on real work and real lessons learned but isn’t so unique that roll-out demands sacrificing calendar days and falling behind in deliverables. 

The right software should: 

• Leverage default workflows to help you hit the ground running. 

• Provide customizations and tailoring so it fits into your workflow. 

• Lower the burden on your teams. 

• Produce end-deliverables that are tailored to meet your client’s needs. 

As we’ve developed Katapult Pro, we’ve leveraged the experience and work done by our Engineering Services team for a major IOU to keep improving tools that other teams across the country can use.  

Standard building blocks are based on real-world experience and informed by national standards. Default implementation leads to faster rollouts no matter what project your team’s working on. While the real projects, workflows, and deliverables might look different, through consultation and custom configuration, those standard building blocks can quickly be adapted and used for various applications and tweaked to fit seamlessly within preexisting processes. 

Unique Needs and Unicorn Projects

Sometimes initial consultation and needs assessments reveal that current packages and approaches require a deeper level of customization to address a team’s unique needs. Some projects demand more investigation and creativity to build something effective. 

When that’s the case, it’s time to look for an individualized approach. More intensive consultation should help build a tailored workflow that optimizes the team’s strengths, simplifies messier pieces, and improves the end deliverable. 

Our consulting team digs into the specifics of your project to craft a solution based on your experience. With your project in mind, we use custom configurations to build software that’s informed by tried and tested methods and designed to your goals. 

Take a recloser project for example. Before beginning deployment, a team has to compile all the data sources, including GIS data and asset information like feeders and substation locations. Maybe this info is on hand, or maybe someone has to run an equipment inventory to find and collect data points. 

With that information, the team will need to decide how many reclosers are needed and what feeders are the highest priority for improvement. 

For actual deployment, engineering teams need to assess how reclosers will affect the current system, minimize disruptions, and actually design the deployment for the construction crew to then build out. 

A custom workflow solution could combine data collection tools and mobile field assessments to ensure collection specifically informs the needs for a recloser project. Custom configuration could identify feeders automatically based on criteria you set, and GIS data can create jobs based on location and priority ranking for faster deployment. Alerts and notifications can be triggered based on completed tasks so teams can stay on top of project timelines and save calendar days.

Ongoing Support for Custom Solutions

Over time as teams grow, it’s only normal for needs to change and adjustments to become necessary as they take on new work or build new relationships. Industry-informed, default building blocks are far more flexible to meet varying needs. 

As your team scales, our team works with you to keep optimizing tools and giving you the ability to make those changes as you see fit. With continued consultation, your workflow should help your team keep growing to take on new work. 

Trying to adapt your team’s process to fit into a rigid system stunts your growth. Trying to build something from scratch drains resources and creates a backlog as you work to onboard your team. There are informed, intuitive workflows that have been built for your success, and these solutions can act as a flywheel for your operations, compounding efforts for more return because they were built to help you do what you do best. 

Thanks for reading! If you’re struggling to find the right tools that play to your team's strengths and help you succeed, shoot us an email at contact@katapultengineering.com. We’d love to chat about what you’re looking for and figure out if we can help you level up your team.