The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (BJWSA) — which provides drinking water to more than 150,000 residents in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina — upgraded about 350 radios at pump station terminals to 4G within just a few days, avoiding any communication issues that might have occurred with the AT&T 3G shutdown. The effort required strong interdepartmental coordination.
Impact
BJWSA has 357 legacy radios that would have been unable to communicate with their towers if they had not been converted to 4G in time. The radios represented roughly 77% of the district’s radios. The upgrade team was able to do the job with no impact to operations.
Advice
The district says any team with similar infrastructure can easily duplicate this plan by following these steps:
- Create standard operations procedures for the project, including the necessity for the project, goals for the outcome and a checklist to guide the process.
- Ensure that deadlines and other expectations are clear.
- Enlist any efficiencies from the company that provides the equipment. Make the company part of the process.
- Recruit the appropriate colleagues to assist in executing the work.
- Have regular follow-ups for a smooth workflow.
- Take photos and record milestones.
- Remember to thank those who have worked outside their normal scope for their contribution to the project.
