

Customer
CenterPoint Energy
Location
Texas
Highlights
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41% Improvement in Panel Quality
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32% Reduction in Per-Unit Panel Costs
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Real-Time QA/QC Visibility Across Projects
How CenterPoint Energy Improved Field Quality and Reduced Costs Through QA/QC Innovation
The Challenge
- A rapidly increasing transmission and substation project workload
- An aging workforce with growing retirements
- The evolution of design standards that demanded higher precision and agility
- Deliver objective, real-time QA/QC data
- Establish measurable performance standards
- Close the loop between engineering and field teams
- Support continuous improvement through insights, not opinions
The Solution
- Mobile Field Data Collection: Substation inspectors from Think Power Solutions collected issues on-site using iPads, reporting them immediately via email and web-based dashboards.
- Objective Performance Criteria: Developed rating systems for drawing quality, fabrication accuracy, and materials handling based on historical trends and root cause analysis.
- Automated Reporting & Dashboards: Real-time visibility into field issues, trending reports, and engineer-specific feedback loops. Stakeholders could view metrics instantly and adjust designs accordingly.
- Polling & Constructability Input: Structured polling questions helped quantify field preferences and construction concerns. This reduced subjective friction and expedited the design change process.
Key Benefits
- Accelerated Design Feedback Loop: QA/QC data enabled engineers to react to field issues faster, reducing delay from back-and-forth debates.
- Increased Quality Confidence: Real-time scoring and trend tracking built accountability with vendors and field crews.
- Continuous Improvement Culture: Quarterly lessons-learned meetings and dashboards helped share what worked, what didn’t, and where to adapt.
- Vendor & Training Optimization: Aggregated data was used in vendor discussions and internal training, helping align performance to real-world results.
The Results
- 32% reduction in per-unit panel cost
- 41% increase in per-unit quality score over time
- QA/QC program scaled beyond the pilot to support broader project scopes
- Standardized reporting and trend analysis still influence CenterPoint Energy’s design and construction workflows.