June 26, 2014

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative Selects Futura

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative Selects FuturaGIS and FuturaStake

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, located in Clovis, NM, adds FuturaStake to its GIS system.

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative modernizes engineering workflow in every facet, from the field to the office with the addition of FuturaStake and Futura GIS. Transitioning to Futura was a simple decision due to the ease of integration and the services offered by the current CIS provider, SEDC. The combination offers a stability and resilience that is exactly what the cooperative was looking for to stay ahead in its customer offering, and the choice gives Farmers’ EC members customer service potential above and beyond the norm.

“Our decision to go with Futura was the result of evaluating several vendors. There were numerous key considerations.  Among them, we wanted a core Esri solution, robust tools for analyzing data, and making mass data changes while remaining easy to use. We wanted full compatibility with WindMil, our preferred engineering analysis software,“ explains Michael McCord, Coordinator of Engineering Services for Farmers’ EC. “Converting to Futura was very reasonable and lower in cost than our previous vendor’s cost to upgrade. We also have a lower annual cost which helps us keep power affordable for our members. We are very happy we made the change.”

The Futura suite, consisting of GIS/Mapping, FuturaStake and FuturaMobile, serves Farmers’ engineering purposes quite well. The dynamic GIS/Mapping solution is an extension of Esri software with user friendly mapping, asset and data management tools. FuturaStake contains intuitive options to aid front end validation, posting the job directly into the system from the field. Add FuturaMobile’s high performance map viewing tool to allow remote access and Farmers’ now has the most complete system available to operators in the field. While the Futura array is powerful in its own right, couple it with the SEDC system and work flow of the cooperative will integrate seamlessly. Billing, Customer Service, Accounting, Engineering and other departments can communicate brilliantly, in real time, through a single point of data entry.

Cooperatives are geared toward working smarter, with less resources, in an effort to use members’ assets wisely. Farmers’ has given itself the power to offer its members truly spectacular service in every aspect, while also increasing efficiency and streamlining operations, proving once again that local leadership can set the standard for excellence on a global scale.

About Farmers’ Electric Cooperative

Farmers’ Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Clovis, New Mexico, began in 1937 when a group of area farmers banded together in an effort to improve life in their rural community. Today, Farmers’ Electric serves over 12,000 meters and maintains over 4,000 miles of energized lines. Learn more at: www.fecnm.org.