GEB photography contest. Photo by our employee José Camilo Cubides Domínguez
GEB photography contest. Photo by our employee José Camilo Cubides Domínguez
With the constant changes in our environment and amidst the deep uncertainty that took hold in 2020, operating excellence has acquired even greater relevance for the Group in order to maintain and increase our competitive advantage.
This led us to identify, manage and control, in a rigorous manner, the risks of the electricity and gas businesses in which we participate and that affect the established corporate strategies, as well as our long-term vision.
We have a strengthened human capital and a cultural change process in which all employees have the competencies, training and motivation to execute the organization’s strategy in the different business areas in an efficient and profitable manner. This is demonstrated in the deployment and coordination with our subsidiaries of the various guidelines, models, policies and world-class standards we have designed.
In the operations and maintenance process, we work on adequate management of the transmission assets to fulfill the promise of service availability, as well as to ensure the Company’s revenues by maintaining the value chain, since we operate and maintain the system in accordance with the highest standards. The operation is managed from Bogotá in real time, complemented with local operations, to ensure that the asset cycle remains within the parameters we have committed to in the transmission and transportation of electric energy.
The Processes Department also provides support that is essential to guarantee operating excellence, because it provides guidance on the materialization and development of the strategies. It also enables us to achieve our goals, certifications and new recognitions, as well as ensure compliance with audits. In this manner, we ensure that all our businesses, areas and affiliates work towards such operating excellence.
Our management in 2020 focused on the adoption and implementation of different mechanisms aimed and contributing to and strengthening operating excellence, which materializes and is incorporated throughout the organization through policies, processes and procedures, as well as the promotion and adoption of best practices to generate operating and business efficiencies, and to drive the corporate strategy.
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To a large extent, our efforts were aligned with the strategies designed to counteract the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in aspects such as occupational safety and health, without neglecting other strategic matters of top priority for the Company, and always putting the lives of our employees above all else.
Areas such as Operations and Maintenance, prepared to quickly respond to emergencies and to ensure power delivery, also faced major challenges and had to request exceptional measures to allow them to continue performing maintenance to the electrical system, always abiding by national regulations to face the health emergency.
We also redesigned personnel shifts and reviewed and implemented biosafety measures in order to maintain our value proposition and maintain low accident rates.
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We strengthened the quality of performance indicators and the conditions of the transmission assets, which enables improved technical and financial management.
(Own) We fulfilled 100 % of the scheduled maintenance plan, despite the health emergency.
Our asset management reached a maturity level of 2.29, which was above the target set for 2020, and thereby follows the path established in the implementation project.
(Own) (EU4) The power transmission lines in our Colombian operations increased to 1,655 kilometers. Our substations also increased from 27 to 30.
We created the Reservoirs Department, with long-term management strategies for the Tominé Reservoir, associated with a beekeeping project of great shared value, included in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
We successfully incorporated the assets in Betania and Tuluní.
In our close-out with CND we had zero activities pending performance in our transmission assets; this indicator is for activities derived from reported events in the National Transmission System that produce significant failures and compromises safety.
We consolidated and matured the methodology of root cause analysis, to the point that the firm The Woodhouse Partnership Ltd. (TWPL), which assists in the implementation of GEB’s Asset Management System, indicated that it is one of the best root cause analysis systems in companies in the energy and gas industry.
We completed our internal auditing program of the Integrated Management System (IMS) and the Annual Audit Plan: internal audit and Equipares external audit, internal audit of asset management and IMS audits.
We adopted a series of practices of proven effectiveness to reach the highest quality standards, including certifications in ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 55001:2014, ISO 31001:2018, good strategic procurement practices granted by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), corporate governance standards, audit, control architecture, sustainability and cybersecurity. See Annex on Standards and Quality.
Our linemen assured 100% of our operations
Our challenge for 2021 is to consolidate the transformation of the business strategy at the Group level.
Actively participate in the implementation of the SAP S4Hana project to assure the current operating model and to coordinate management of its impact on the management systems of GEB and its affiliates.
Move forward in training the team and prepare to continue throughout all assets on topics related to processes, certifications, efficiency, teams and knowledge.
Create a backup control center in the event of crisis for the transmission operations independently from the main Control Center, which implies new physical and technological facilities, with the aim of filling operations management gaps.
Design a long-term management strategy for the Tominé Reservoir.