BluEarth
Renewables
BluEarth Renewables (BluEarth) is a fast-growing renewable energy company based in Calgary, Alberta which owns and operates wind, solar, and run-of-river hydro facilities across North America.
Dozens of Sites – Numerous Contractors – Thousands of Engineering Records
With dozens of sites in operation and development, its engineering team maintains thousands of engineering records which are used for the safe operation and maintenance of its facilities. ICI Innovations (ICI) has worked with BluEarth since 2019 to support its use of SharePoint Online for the management of engineering records.
The Challenge:
The BluEarth team had thousands of existing engineering records stored within a traditional folder/file system. The company needed to create a robust, single source- of- truth for all engineering records that could be accessed by the team securely from anywhere. In addition to existing records, files were frequently delivered by contractors as part of new construction projects. These needed to go through a review and approval process managed internally by the BluEarth engineering team.
The Solution:
Working with the BluEarth team, ICI established a metadata design to catalogue each file and uploaded thousands of drawings and documents into the newly established records management system. This records system continues to support uploading documents by the engineering team with an easy-to-use, spreadsheet-like interface while enforcing metadata and file governance. The BluEarth team can access engineering records at their fingertips through an intuitive search interface.
To support construction projects, ICI implemented an additional submissions module where contractors submit files along with the required metadata. These files are internally reviewed by BluEarth where a review/re-submit cycle can be created. Final, approved documents are automatically copied to the engineering records system where they are accessible by the BluEarth team.
By establishing a well-designed record library in SharePoint Online and developing an application that ensures document accuracy and ease of access, BluEarth now manages thousands of engineering records annually without the need for a dedicated document management team.
About Bluearth
BluEarth Renewables brings together extraordinary people with the power to change the future™ by delivering renewable energy to the power grid every day. We are a leading independent power producer that acquires, develops, builds, owns and operates wind, hydro, solar and storage facilities across North America. Our portfolio includes over 780 MWAC (gross) in operation, under construction, or with a power purchase agreement and over 7 GW of high-quality development projects that are actively being advanced. In addition, we provide third-party operating support for over 300 MW of wind and solar across North America.
ICI Innovations
Better information flow so customers achieve goals faster
Its ReportViz application is part of the larger RIVAS solution for project information management. It provides access to sophisticated data and reports so project information can be managed and communicated more effectively.
ReportViz is a complete digital EIA and interactive data visualization solution that is tightly integrated with Microsoft 365’s SharePoint Online platform. ICI Innovations has a solid reputation for providing easy to use, yet powerful solutions that support various natural resource-based industries, including energy.
“Working with BluEarth Renewables to create an engineering records management solution that minimizes the time engineers need to find the drawings or documents they need with certainty has been a rewarding process that has helped to maintain their efficient operations, while increasing ICI’s expertise in record management using SharePoint Online. I see it as a real win-win relationship.”