Standing at the base of a 40-foot utility pole in the Nevada desert, the inspection crew leader checks his tablet one more time. In the pre-Atlas era, this moment would have involved clipboards, paper forms, and a camera that might or might not sync photos correctly with inspection reports. Today, with Cliffhanger Solutions’ Atlas platform, what once took 40 minutes now takes 12, and the data quality has improved dramatically.

Wasatch Electric, serving as the infrastructure contractor for this particular Nevada Energy project, faced the daunting task of efficiently performing detailed distribution pole inspections across Nevada’s challenging and remote terrains. Traditional paper-based systems severely hindered data collection, accuracy, and timely reporting, resulting in duplicate site visits, lost data, and significant administrative delays.

Nevada Energy serves customers across Nevada’s diverse landscape, from the Las Vegas metropolitan area to remote desert communities. Pole inspections across these varied terrains required robust solutions capable of overcoming unique operational challenges. Crews previously relied heavily on manual processes, filling out paper forms, taking separate photographs, manually entering GPS coordinates, and dealing with frequent mismatches during data entry. These inefficiencies created extensive lag times between inspection and actionable maintenance reporting.

Recognizing these issues, Cliffhanger Solutions introduced Atlas, designed specifically around the real-world needs of field workers. Atlas’s innovative digital inspection forms allowed Wasatch Electric’s crews to effortlessly capture comprehensive data and attach unlimited high-resolution photos directly to inspection records. Its offline-first architecture ensured consistent performance even in remote locations without cellular connectivity.

Atlas integrated every aspect of pole inspections into a single intuitive interface. Crews could scan barcodes or enter pole IDs to instantly access a pole’s complete history, including previous inspections, maintenance records, and historical photos demonstrating degradation patterns. The system’s intelligent forms adapted dynamically to inspection findings, prompting crews with specific follow-up checks and additional detailed data capture when potential issues were noted.

The impact was immediate and profound. Inspection times dropped by over 50%, translating into substantial operational savings and efficiencies. Beyond time savings, the quality and depth of data collected vastly improved. Crews could now perform detailed assessments, identifying subtle deterioration signs early and performing preventive maintenance onsite when necessary.

Atlas’s advanced photo capabilities significantly enhanced inspection accuracy. Annotated images provided precise visual documentation that far surpassed written descriptions, creating invaluable visual records that clearly tracked asset conditions over time. These detailed visual histories facilitated informed decision-making, optimized maintenance scheduling, and justified replacement decisions based on actual asset conditions rather than age alone.

The benefits of the Atlas deployment rapidly expanded throughout Nevada Energy’s organization. Real-time data availability empowered engineering teams to proactively identify systemic network issues, such as premature pole failures in specific conditions or accelerated wear in certain locations. Finance teams leveraged accurate digital records to predict and justify capital expenditures with greater precision, optimizing budgeting cycles and reducing costly emergency replacements.

Safety was notably enhanced by the implementation of Atlas. Detailed digital inspection records enabled Nevada Energy to prioritize pole replacements based on actual risk assessments, ensuring that poles showing rapid deterioration received immediate attention, significantly enhancing system reliability and reducing risks associated with asset failures.

The successful pole inspection initiative quickly demonstrated Atlas’s broader utility, leading to its expansion across other critical field operations, including transformer inspections, vegetation management, and storm damage assessments. Field crews, initially skeptical of adopting “another IT system,” became enthusiastic champions of innovation, continually proposing additional applications for Atlas across their daily tasks.

Culturally, Atlas fostered an environment of continuous improvement and innovation within Nevada Energy and Wasatch Electric. The flexibility of the platform allowed seamless adaptation to different operational needs without extensive retraining. Field personnel readily adapted to new inspection workflows due to the familiar, user-centric interface and consistent offline capabilities.

The financial impact of adopting Atlas has been remarkable, with an over 50% reduction in inspection cost.