Brett sparks project and powers success
Published on 30 October, 2008
CQUniversity graduate Brett Luck has been recognised for developing a computer software solution enabling Ergon Energy to track network faults and outages...
Brett conceived the software idea 10 years ago and started developing it from scratch without any formal IT training. He was recently named as Ergon Energy's Outstanding Achiever for 2008, during an awards ceremony in Townsville on September 18.
While he has since consolidated his skills with an Advanced Diploma in IT from CQUniversity, the initiative originated with 'bush hack' skills and field experience.
Brett now manages Ergon Energy's outage management system - FdrSTAT - and leads a team dedicated to meeting customer needs throughout Ergon Energy.
FdrSTAT enables users to manage a wide range of operational events in the electrical network. Numerous external reviews of Ergon Energy's network performance reporting have confirmed that FdrSTAT is world-class.
According to Ergon Energy, the system has been an outstanding success in enabling network operation in the face of storms, cyclones and constant extension, repair and upgrading.
However, Brett is never happy with the status quo and is always looking for ways to improve the system's existing functionality, improve his own skills, and to meet new customer needs in a consistent manner.
An example of Brett's commitment to success and quality is the Network Data response to Cyclone Larry. Brett travelled from his depot in Chinchilla to meet with managers and users from the Far North to learn from the experience. Changes to FdrSTAT functionality, documentation and training material have since been implemented.
Brett completed his CQUniversity studies in the quest for improvement both in the product, and his own skills.
Over its lifetime, FdrSTAT has been expanded from a simple outage identification and dispatch system to a sophisticated, world-class event management system and suite of applications that manages a wide range of events and user requirements.
Typically over 250 users are logged into FdrSTAT every day. These users are located at the North and South Operational Control Centres, the National Contact Centre, in Distribution Depots throughout Ergon Energy, and state-wide within Network Group for network performance reporting.
According to Ergon Energy, Brett's willingness to listen to users, to provide training and coaching when necessary, and the close fit of the FdrSTAT system to users' needs means that Brett is widely respected not just for the FdrSTAT product, but for the quality and wisdom of his advice.