Energy Partners Refrigeration (a merger between FridgetTec, Refsols & Energy Partners) specializes in manufacture, installation, service, maintenance, and design of refrigeration systems for the supermarket, agricultural and perishables distribution industries in Southern Africa. They are a provider of energy efficient refrigeration equipment with turnkey solutions that include design, manufacturing and installation for over 250 clients in fishing, petro-chemical, plastics, cosmetics, wine, confectionary industries and all supermarket groups in South Africa. Their legacy operations are a refrigeration company that maintains refrigeration plants. Following their merger, they are now focusing on being a renewable energy company, with a new objective to own and operate those plants themselves and ultimately sell what they generate. This is all made possible with their 223 valuable employees driving the business with a vision to sell refrigeration as a utility.

"MobiWork specifically helped us digitize our business and our field maintenance operations."
- Ryan Coldman, Energy Partners Refrigeration Group COO

Key Challenges: Monitoring Technicians and Maintaining Assets

Energy Partners Refrigeration has a major differential component that offers selling energy and not just assets, which is a first for a company in Africa. "We are the first in Africa to run refrigeration plants maintenance on a digital mobile platform." They needed to monitor the technicians and keep track of what they were doing onsite and just really get a better understanding overall of how the technicians were utilizing their time on the job. In addition, they had to maintain their assets as well as their customers' assets, and complete 80 work orders a day, requiring attentiveness and mindfulness in order to oversee all of this responsibility. They were in need of something more than just pen and paper.

Results: Digitized Business and Field Maintenance

Digital documentation has been an immense assistance and guidance for Energy Partners Refrigeration. "MobiWork specifically helped us digitize our business and our field maintenance operations." They have two types of maintenance, preventative and reactive. They generate work orders for work that they know about, which is considered preventative maintenance. They allocate the tasks to the techs to go out and execute. 80% of work comes from a call center and is considered reactive maintenance. They also allocate these tasks for techs to go out and follow preloaded instructions. "Major benefits are the photographs taken of what technicians are exposed to and what technicians execute and do onsite." They are able to show and give proof of everything they come across. If there is a mechanical or electrical failure, they can have a factual meeting with photographic evidence, rather than just being explained verbally. No time is wasted with a "he said, she said" exchange between customers. All in all, Energy Partners is passionate and focused on improving energy solutions for Africa and their MobiWork implementation assists them in reaching that goal.