WE just became NETA certified. We currently use Power DB. It has been a nightmare. Is there any program out there similar to PowerDb that can generate reports?
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We have been using PDB since 2005. What are your issues?
Are you trying to something special or different?
Just curious.
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I’ve been using PowerDB for quite some time. I think it’s great. We make our own custom forms and make them universal to be able to hide and show different tests. Most customers hate “blank” fields. So if we aren’t performing a test, we don’t even show it.
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Short answer is no. Some of the largest testing firms still use excel forms or handwrite.
PowerDB is good if you have someone familiar with SQL databases and custom form design. Out of the box, it is not very intuitive and very buggy. You need someone at your company to quarterback database management and form design.
It is the best program I’ve worked with for generating large reports. Being able to sync data with other technicians is critical. It can also interface with several different test instruments, either directly or by file import.
Some companies have lots of success, while others struggle. What kind of issues are you having? I have been part of several PowerDB user groups and have worked with databases at several different companies, including form design. Maybe I can give some insight.
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At my organization (Electric Utility) we are seeking to transition from excel and hard copies to a solution such as PowerDB. I haven’t seen any solution that covers such a wide range of substation MV/HV equipment. Doble, Omicron, SD Myers seem to focus on transformers alone. Albeit possibly in more detail. Am I right here in this guess?
Curious to know any issues anyone has had or any advice you may have. As Secondgen mentioned experience with SQL and form design, our IT team are pretty good at that, so we believe this is a good option.
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PowerDB has the most versatility and widest selection of test forms. I was able to manage a database for a testing company with 40+ techs and a small office staff on my own as a NETA 3 with strong IT experience. In that full-time role, I was responsible for everything, including user management, address book management, form design, user feedback, training, and database structure.
When I moved to a nationwide testing firm, I was part of a large users group that discussed form design and feedback from the field techs. The IT department was responsible for managing the user accounts and database files for each office. Each office was responsible for managing its own address book and jobs. Custom forms were developed in the user group, but it took a lot of time to get them finalized in the database.
Now I am working with a small testing company where most of the techs have a lot of experience working with PowerDB. We have developed some pretty slick forms with advanced functions. The database is very clean, and everyone works together to keep making it better and better. We also host our own sync server. It’s a near-perfect implementation.
For an electric utility, having an IT department will be very helpful with administration, but you will need someone with field experience to handle form design and setting up a consistent method for creating jobs. Knowing how to properly pull in the history from previous jobs for trending is critical.
The biggest takeaway is to have someone with field experience involved in administration. For a large firm, this is pretty much a full-time job, so factor that into the cost of switching over.
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Appreciate all the advice, definitely will keep it in mind. Many thanks.
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