BRIDGE Energy Group’s 2019 Utility Survey Confirms Employee Knowledge Gaps Remain a Top Concern

Utilities Must Evaluate if Current Plans to Address These Gaps, Including Resource Partners, are Effective Both Now and Into the Future


NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BRIDGE Energy Group (BRIDGE) today announced results from the company’s 2019 BRIDGE Index™ Utility Industry survey titled, “An Industry in Transformation – The People.”  Over 95% of utility executives, managers and engineers polled felt that new worker industry experience gaps are a major concern for their organization. The gaps uncovered underscore the need for robust change management and a knowledge transfer program, as well as finding and retaining talent, in order to properly ensure the North American energy delivery system reliability.

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95% of responders to @BRIDGEEnergyGrp BRIDGE Index™ survey An Industry in Transformation - The People agree #utility industry experience gaps in new workers is MAJOR concern and varies by tenure. Download Survey results http://bit.ly/BRSurvPeople

This year’s BRIDGE Index survey focuses on the changing dynamics in the utility workforce, including significant differences between new workers and seasoned staff employees that may indicate gaps in their efforts for both knowledge transfer and adoption of new technologies. The survey results also indicate that the North American utility industry continues to transform: 56% of respondents experienced an accelerated influx of new OT/IT personnel over the past 2 years with 80% adding analytics staff in 2018.

“Less experienced workers don’t recognize the risks that arise from their lack of institutional knowledge but will embrace technology that codifies this knowledge to support them in their jobs. The more seasoned workers must proactively embrace the value of technology for enabling this knowledge transfer,” said Hugo van Nispen, CEO, BRIDGE Energy Group.

To help address these concerns, some utility operators have turned to larger system integrators, but even here, they are struggling to find the right skills and the flexibility to scale to their needs.  The survey uncovered that:

  • Only 28% indicated that the depth of industry-specific knowledge/experience at large system integration firms used in the last two years was extensive, and
  • 54% indicated that those firms were unwilling to consistently commit to smaller, albeit important, engagements.

“Supply and availability of staff with the right skills is a universal challenge but these resources do exist. Management must find an agent or partner to gain access to more utility-centric consultants whose deep industry knowledge and ability to flexibly scale their engagement can enable their teams to deliver on time and on budget,” van Nispen concluded.

To discuss the 2019 BRIDGE Index™ An Industry in Transformation – The People survey results, visit BRIDGE at DTECH 2019 (Booth #11343), contact Research@BridgeEnergyGroup.com or download the results by visiting: http://bit.ly/BRSurvPeople

To improve your utility organization’s operational performance, contact BRIDGE at 1.888.351.8999 or via www.bridgeenergygroup.com/contact-us/

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https://www.bridgeenergygroup.com/challenges-we-solve/industry-insights/
https://www.bridgeenergygroup.com/challenges-we-solve/grid-analytics/operational-visualization/#1529003873024-7cf27205-771d 
https://www.bridgeenergygroup.com/challenges-we-solve/grid-operations/digital-grid-advisory-services/

About BRIDGE Energy Group
BRIDGE Energy Group is a consulting and systems integration firm transforming Transmission & Distribution operations.  We leverage operations, technology, analytics, visualization and real-time systems expertise to deliver innovative and pragmatic solutions. Our focus is on solving utility challenges and improving grid security and reliability while increasing profitability and efficiency for our clients.  For more information on BRIDGE, please contact 888-351-8999 or visit www.BridgeEnergyGroup.com

For more information, contact:
Jackie Abramian
BridgeView Marketing (for BRIDGE Energy Group)
603-570-7533
Jackie@bridgeviewmarketing.com
https://twitter.com/BRIDGEEnergyGrp

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9f783753-d0e1-4438-9ef6-da418f5cf072 

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