Leveraged existing mobile maps technology to save lives and millions of dollars during wildfires and shutdowns
Company
Pacific Gas & Electric Co
Team
1 PM, 2 ENG teams
Stakeholders
20+ within 3 business units
TL;DR We shifted from a planned web app for ground inspections to enhancing our existing Maps+ app with safe offline, aerial inspection features—cutting inspection times by 60% during wildfire shutdowns and restoring power faster for PG&E's customers.
INTRODUCTION
Maps+ is a mobile mapping tool that empowers PG&E supervisors and inspectors to quickly locate, identify, and report on power lines and other electric and gas assets from the field.
Our innovative crossing buffer feature enhances safety by enabling inspectors to efficiently plan, search, and execute emergency inspections—crucial during wildfires and power shutdowns.
PRODUCT THINKING
Challenge
During wildfire season, shutting off power was key to safety—but restoring it took too long because of inefficient inspections. Our goal was to streamline the process, cutting down outages and getting power back to communities faster.
Context
The business initially tasked us with creating Inspect—a web app for managing ground inspections during wildfire shutdowns. But when inspectors told us they needed offline, aerial capabilities to stay safe and work more efficiently, we pivoted to improve our existing Maps+ app. This shift cuts inspection times by 60%, restoring power faster and keeping communities safer.
Solution
We enhanced our mobile maps app, Maps+, by adding smart search, planning, reporting, and safety features to enable aerial inspections. This upgrade cut inspection times by 60% during wildfire shutdowns, helping restore power faster and keep communities safe.
Value to the business
We delivered real value by leveraging our existing Maps technology—skipping the costly web app that emergency inspectors didn't need and instead enhancing aerial inspections. This approach saved millions of dollars by speeding up power restoration and reducing the risk of lawsuits, all while cutting unnecessary expenses.
Value to the user
We listened to inspectors on the front lines and enhanced our system to work with their established workflows. The new features make it easier and safer for them to search, plan, and identify power lines—even in extreme weather and high-pressure situations—reducing stress and preventing fatal accidents.
Value to the end customer
We streamlined the inspection process so PG&E can safely restore power 60% faster—often in hours or days instead of weeks. This means families, businesses, and vulnerable individuals get back to normal much sooner.
DISCOVERY
Approach
I took a step back from the initial business ask to develop a web app and connected with key stakeholders and decision makers to uncover constraints, needs, goals, and opportunities. This approach helped us build a solution that really fit the users' workflow and delivered real value. Key activities:
- Stakeholder interviews
- Risk mapping
- Assumption mapping
- Prioritization workshops
PG&E inspectors mapping the patrol journey for the first time during a workshop.
Key takeaways
Given the urgency and pressure to deliver, I proposed using an all-hands meeting to quickly map out the current journey and clarify the project’s goals and needs. While initially challenging, it proved so effective that we later organized a dedicated workshop to develop a full service blueprint.
Our deep dive uncovered several key insights:
- Complex Stakeholder Landscape: We identified a diverse group of stakeholders spread across three different company units.
- Undefined Crisis Processes: As a new initiative in crisis and emergency situations, there was minimal alignment and few defined processes for power shutdowns.
- Connectivity Challenges: Remote shutdown areas face little to no cellular reception.
- Established User Workflows: Despite the challenges, inspectors had already developed an effective offline workflow for searching, planning, reporting, and restoring power.
Streamlined Emergency Inspection Service Blueprint from the workshop
True alignment didn’t happen until we brought all key stakeholders and decision-makers into the same room to map out the inspection journey during emergency shutdowns. By creating a service blueprint, we identified the supporting processes behind each step and uncovered duplicated efforts across 60% of the journey. This clarity allowed us to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and accelerate power restoration when it mattered most.
RESEARCH
User interviews
Talking directly to our users was our north star during this high-pressure project. By sharing mockups and discussing emergency inspections, we uncovered real pain points and sparked fresh ideas that guided us through uncertainty—and helped secure key business buy-in.
- Developed research plan
- Recruited participants
- Moderated interviews
- 12 participants
Key takeaways
Talking with users, we discovered that our original web app plan just wouldn’t cut it in a fast-paced, low-connectivity world. Key learnings include:
- Limited to no cellular reception during power shutdowns.
- Excessive handoffs between teams for dividing, assigning, and inspecting work.
- Ground inspectors often arriving after helicopter patrols had already completed their inspections and reported back.
- Communication gaps between teams leading to duplicated efforts.
- These inefficiencies significantly delaying the reenergizing process.
- Inspectors were already streamlining part of the process with Maps+, an offline mobile mapping app that’s highly adopted in low-reception areas.
Rationale
Based on user research and key stakeholder interviews, we built a compelling case to pause the original web app and shift our focus to helicopter inspections through Maps+. By enhancing our mobile mapping app, we streamlined the inspector's workflow during shutdowns, delivering faster, more efficient power restorations and real value to the business.
Proposed flow
We shifted to helicopter inspections—cutting handoffs, streamlining roles, and reducing inspection times by 60%. By refining an already effective process discovered by aerial inspectors, we empowered our teams and refocused our strategy from ground to aerial inspections. The proposed flow minimized handoffs, optimized existing processes, and empowered the most efficient inspection methods.
Flow showing the efficiency of the proposed flow, which helped build the case for the strategy pivot
Cross-functional collaboration
Although it was challenging at times to prioritize the design process and conduct user research, involving users and stakeholders early on paid off. By integrating cross-functional teams early and ensuring we understood their needs, goals, and motivations, we secured buy-in and minimized pushback. This collaborative approach actually accelerated the process, as everyone was aligned and invested in the new strategy from the start.
Define
Meet Alex, an inspector tasked with covering vast areas under extreme conditions, often with poor visibility and no cellular reception. Despite these challenges, he relies on a trusted mobile mapping app to navigate and mark assets. To support him better, we enhanced the app with features like hazard marking, a crossing buffer layer, and circuit highlighting—streamlining his workflow, improving safety, and helping him work more confidently under pressure.
Ride-alongs
We took our design prototypes on helicopter ride-alongs for real-world testing and quickly discovered a critical need: a map layer that highlights power lines. With factors like weather, sun glare, and clouds affecting visibility—and with two helicopter crashes occurring in just two weeks—this feature became absolutely critical for inspector safety.
Inspector pointing out the lack of visibility of some power lines due to low contrast
Visibility challenges with power lines
Key takeaways
Our testing and conversations uncovered several key insights—especially after two fatal accidents over the past two weeks during aerial inspections, both linked to visibility: challenges.
- Hazard Identification: Inspectors need to reliably identify hazards, static lines on towers, and third-party assets on the map.
- Visibility Challenges: In low-contrast situations, power lines can nearly disappear, making them hard to spot.
- Safety Risks: Relying solely on word-of-mouth and personal experience poses significant safety risks.
- Collaborative Tools: Users require the ability to mark hazards on the map and share that information with fellow inspectors to boost safety and efficiency.
These insights drove us to prioritize a dedicated map layer feature to keep our teams safer and more effective during inspections.
Design Explorations
Evolution of the crossing buffer based on user feedback
Our research revealed that aerial inspection teams operate under extreme conditions and need precise tools to navigate safely and efficiently. To ensure success, we empowered them to seamlessly highlight circuits for flight planning, efficiently track safety-critical zones, and access a crossing lines layer visible up to two miles for enhanced power line detection.
Principles
DESIGN
Key screens
We developed key screens tailored to streamline inspections, prioritize safety, and accelerate the reenergizing process. Each design focused on helping inspectors work efficiently under challenging conditions, with features like hazard marking, circuit highlighting, and the crossing buffer layer. We also ensured compliance with existing design systems and made new components scalable, aligning with both immediate needs and long-term goals.
Seamless Integration
Based on user feedback, we added the crossing buffer to the existing layers panel instead of creating a separate section. This keeps inspectors’ workflows familiar and efficient during emergency and aerial inspections.
Ensuring Safety and Compliance
To prioritize user safety and meet legal requirements, we added a disclaimer and acknowledgment modal when activating the crossing buffer layer. This ensures inspectors understand the risks and responsibilities, creating a safer and more compliant workflow.
Zooming Out to Save Lives
A big "aha" moment came when we realized aerial inspectors needed a 2-mile map view instead of the 800 ft default used by ground teams. Making this change was crucial for their safety and efficiency, and it became a key feature in their workflow.
Balancing Urgency, Visibility, and Constraints
Creating the crossing buffer layer meant balancing urgency and usability. We chose a color that conveyed importance, stood out from other layers, and adapted across map views and zoom levels. We also considered backend constraints, colorblind accessibility, and real-world brightness to ensure a clear and inclusive design.
Designing for Instinct and Efficiency
When designing the architecture and flow of this feature, we prioritized aligning it with inspectors' existing behaviors. Our goal was to ensure the tool felt intuitive and familiar, allowing inspectors to rely on muscle memory during emergency situations. By minimizing the introduction of new behaviors, we increased the likelihood of adoption and made the tool more effective in high-pressure scenarios.
Compatibility across map views
We made sure the crossing buffer worked smoothly across all map views, like satellite and topographic. By optimizing contrast and preserving asset visibility, we ensured clarity and usability in any viewing mode.
Designing the crossing buffer layer meant solving for both urgency and usability. We had to ensure it worked across different conditions while remaining clear, accessible, and technically feasible. Key considerations included:
- Color & Visibility: Choosing a color that conveyed urgency, stood out from other layers, and was compatible with multiple map views.
- Zoom & Scaling: Defining the right buffer width at different zoom levels for maximum safety.
- Technical Feasibility: Working within backend constraints to ensure smooth offline-first performance.
- Accessibility & Environment: Accounting for colorblind users (1 in 12 men) and optimizing for bright sunlight and glare on devices.
This careful balance ensured inspectors could rely on the crossing buffer in high-stakes situations.
Helicopter Mode: Crossing Buffer
IMPACT
This effort resulted in reducing inspection patrol time by 60% and eliminating duplicate efforts, allowing the San Francisco Bay Area to be reenergized safely and efficiently. It not only saved lives but also saved millions of dollars for the business and customers. Additionally, the success of this initiative helped secure additional budget to build new web and mobile apps for non-emergency scenarios.