Non-communicating smart meter (NCM) resolution, from HES list to closed job

The NCM backlog

A smart meter that doesn't talk to the head-end system (HES) is an expensive ordinary meter. It can't be read remotely, can't run prepaid, and doesn't count as a working installation. Every rollout ends up with a share of them, and the share grows if nobody chases it.

The causes are mostly mundane: a SIM that never activated, weak signal in a basement meter room, an antenna knocked off, a meter configured wrong at installation, a damaged or tampered unit. The HES can tell you which meters are silent. It can't tell you why, and it can't send anyone to find out.

Most teams handle this with a spreadsheet exported from the HES, split by area and passed to supervisors. By the time a technician gets there, half the list is stale and nobody records what was actually wrong, so the same meters come back next month.

How PIEBENCH runs NCM resolution

1. Bring the list in. Connectorly pulls non-communicating meters from the HES into PIEBENCH as work orders, on a schedule (for example, every morning) or as the HES pushes them by webhook. Filters can limit it to one division or one category. See HES and MDM integration.
2. Assign by area. Each NCM is tied to its service point, so supervisors can group visits by location and give them to the nearest crew.
3. Visit and diagnose, offline. The technician opens the job in Scout, records what they found (for example signal, SIM, antenna, configuration or damage), what they did, and takes evidence photos. It all saves on the phone, which matters because NCMs cluster exactly where signal is worst.
4. Review. A supervisor approves the visit or rejects it with a note.
5. Close the loop. Approved results go back to the HES through Connectorly, so the HES team sees what was done at each meter. If the HES can confirm the meter is reading again, its reply to that webhook can close the exception automatically. Set up this way, an NCM is closed by the meter actually reporting, not just by a technician's say-so.

Build the NCM form your way

There is no single right NCM form, because every HES and DISCOM categorises faults differently. In PIEBENCH you build it in the workflow builder: a dropdown for the fault category, another for the action taken, a text field for notes, required photos, a GPS fix. If your field data shows a new cause turning up often, add it to the dropdown the same day, without a developer.

What the fault data tells you

Recording why a meter went silent turns NCM work from firefighting into something you can plan. If one area shows mostly signal problems, that is a conversation with the communication provider, not more truck rolls. If one area keeps showing configuration faults, look at how those meters were installed. Smart Views make these cuts easy to save and revisit, such as NCM visits by cause or by area.

Accountability on every visit

NCM visits are easy to fake from a desk, because the fix often looks like "checked, no fault found". PIEBENCH attaches evidence to each one: timestamped photos, a GPS fix with its accuracy, and the technician's attendance record for the day. Supervisors can reject a visit that doesn't hold up, with a note, and the technician sees it in the app.

What you need

NCM work orders can be created in any plan, including from a CSV export of your HES list. Pulling the list from the HES automatically, and sending results back, uses Connectorly, which is part of Pro ($499 a month) and Enterprise. Custom NCM forms use the workflow builder, also part of Pro. See pricing.