Tablet app for digital operations management

For more than a decade, HST Systemtechnik had offered KANiO, an established operations management system for water supply, including a Windows application for mobile use. These tools served well for a long time, but the requirements for field work at water supply and wastewater companies had changed.

Devices were to be cheaper and easier to manage, operation faster, synchronisation more reliable. The vision was clear: a modern tablet app that takes KANiO mobil to the next generation and makes operations management possible even where previous solutions reached their limits.

The existing Windows app only ran on expensive, rugged notebooks that had to withstand the harsh conditions of field work. After all, devices do get dropped in a sewer or during plant maintenance.

On top of that, the Windows version looked outdated and required special Windows tablets for field use. Together, this created a high entry barrier for towns, municipalities and utilities that wanted to roll out KANiO widely.

What was needed was a tool that works reliably in the field, fits into modern IT landscapes and keeps investment costs within reasonable limits.

A modern replacement had to meet several conditions at once. The new solution was to run on standard tablets, which are much cheaper to buy than rugged industrial notebooks, and be easy to manage via Mobile Device Management (MDM), which has long been standard at municipalities and larger utilities.

It was to work offline and bring its own map functions, yet do without a heavyweight GIS system. And it had to fit into the existing KANiO world so that users could continue to map their familiar processes without creating new breaks between office and field.

Together with HST, Werkdigital designed and developed a tablet app tailored precisely to field work in water supply. Maintenance and inspection orders can be retrieved, processed and documented directly in the field. Damage is recorded on site, ad hoc orders are created and follow-up work is triggered without detours.

The app works offline throughout: orders, data and maps are available even without a connection, and synchronisation runs automatically as soon as there is a network again. Instead of a classic GIS, the solution relies on a lean, preloaded map component that delivers exactly what is needed in the field every day: orientation, location and documentation.

Via MDM, the app can be rolled out, configured and secured centrally. For IT managers at municipalities and utilities, this means less administrative effort, clear security policies and a clean place in the existing device set-up.

With the new tablet app, HST Systemtechnik replaces the original Windows solution after more than 14 years and takes KANiO into a new generation. Water supply and wastewater companies can now equip their field teams with much cheaper hardware without compromising on robustness or functionality.

Acceptance in the field is rising because operation is fast, clear and tailored to everyday work. Offline capability, map integration and MDM support combine into a coherent whole that meets the requirements of modern municipalities and utilities.

The combination of the central KANiO system and the mobile app creates end-to-end digital operations management. For HST Systemtechnik, this creates a platform on which KANiO can be developed further in the coming years without being held back by the hardware of the past.