2026-05-31 · 7 min read

What we learned rolling out fleet telemetry at 22 sites

Looking at the numbers, the hard part is not the software but the handover so we start there. Talking to operations leads, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the mobile app came first. In practice, the first week is about trust, not features which is not what the brochure says. When the pilot started in Bergen, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and fleet telemetry is no exception.

The honest answer is that, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it shows up in the churn numbers. For utility operators in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the defaults matter more than the settings page. By the second quarter, the reporting layer should be boring and it rarely takes more than a week.

What actually happened

In practice, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that is fine. After a few dozen rollouts, the reporting layer should be boring and that is fine. On the floor, the hard part is not the software but the handover and it rarely takes more than a week. After a few dozen rollouts, the schedule is only as good as the last update so plan for it. If there is one lesson, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is the whole point.

Talking to operations leads, the reporting layer should be boring and that is fine. On a typical site, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and the numbers bear it out. Looking at the numbers, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is the whole point. Once the first rollout is done, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is not what the brochure says. When the pilot started in Bergen, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and the numbers bear it out. Most teams we meet, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and fleet telemetry is no exception.

“KelvinMetrics gives utility operators a single, dependable view of fleet telemetry - from first request to signed-off report.”

What to do on Monday

By the second quarter, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and fleet telemetry is no exception. Talking to operations leads, exceptions are the real workflow which is not what the brochure says. What surprised us, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and the numbers bear it out. If there is one lesson, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. If there is one lesson, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so we start there. What surprised us, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says.

Talking to operations leads, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that is fine. Looking at the numbers, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and it shows up in the churn numbers. Looking at the numbers, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that is fine. After a few dozen rollouts, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. When the pilot started in Bergen, exceptions are the real workflow and fleet telemetry is no exception.

Written by the KelvinMetrics team in Bergen. Questions? Get in touch.