About Resort Municipality of Whistler
The Resort Municipality of Whistler serves a variable population of about 10,000 citizens. Whistler uses WaterTrax to maintain its excellent water quality that exceeds all relevant health standards.
The Challenge
Whistler has a comprehensive water quality plan which includes taking frequent samples from across their network, resulting in a lot of data. This data includes test results from external laboratories and field readings from samples collected every two weeks from 36 sampling locations throughout their distribution system.
Before implementing WaterTrax, Whistler kept all records and reports in a paper filing system. Whenever they needed to pull historical data reports, they had to sift through 100s of paper reports for the relevant sampling locations and then manually type the data from each paper report into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet before they could analyze the historical results. These data requests took a long time to process and left room for errors.
As soon as we enter data into the WaterTrax log sheet, the results are loaded immediately into the centralized database, making the results available immediately.
The Solution: WaterTrax
Whistler chose WaterTrax Data Management to help centralize their data and facilitate easier data management. “With WaterTrax, all of our sampling results are in one place no matter where they are analyzed,” explains Emma Jarrett, Engineering Technologist – QA from Whistler’s Engineering Department. When a member of the team uploads data into the system, it is very convenient to have all of their data in one place, saving time when it comes to analysis. “With WaterTrax, all of our sampling results are in one place no matter where they are analyzed. Summary reports can be produced, criteria can be added to reports, column headings can be added and as required and report templates can be saved so that monthly reports can be easily updated.”
The Benefits
Jenny James, Utility Operator for the municipality, has found that the log sheet feature has simplified her data entry efforts. Prior to implementing WaterTrax, Jenny found that everything took so much more time and the manual processes left room for error. The log sheets save time when entering and verifying the data, with the built in error checking feature which immediately checks for typing errors before the data is uploaded into WaterTrax. “The automatic data verification feature will alert users if there is an error in the data, which helps me to ensure that I am entering the data correctly,” explains Jenny. The automated alert feature within WaterTrax allows users to enter varying alert levels for each parameter, assisting in the data verification process. If data entered exceeds or is below a defined alert level, users are notified of this error. The data is available immediately to all WaterTrax users, which allows for reports to be generated, trend analysis and early identification of water system issues.
“We find WaterTrax so easy to use,” explains Jenny James, “When I do have a question about generating a report or using WaterTrax in some way, I call the technical support line. They are so helpful and always have a solution to whatever my issue is. In most cases, WaterTrax will have implemented a new feature, which I can use and that brings benefit to the way that I use WaterTrax.“
Solution Highlights
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Centralized data to facilitate easier data management
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Reduced errors by eliminating manual processes with automatic data verification and alerting
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Simplified data entry with log sheets
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Improved data access, reporting, trend analysis, and early identification of water system issues