Con Edison operates and maintains one of the world’s largest energy delivery systems. Founded in 1823 as the New York Gas Light company, their electric, gas, and steam service now provides energy for the 10 million people who live in New York City and Westchester County.
14,000+ Full-time Employees
10+ Million Customers
Keeping a City Safe
Leading the design of a 0-to-1 public hazard reporting product.
Team
Nawang Jimba
Product Owner
Grace Lee
Alana Hamm
Product Analysts
Mzati Kapalamula
Scrum Master
My Role
Design Lead
Deliverables
Product Strategy
User Experience
Prototypes
Marketing
Design QA
Babu Chellathurai
Wilson Rivera
Tech Leads
Arnob Hridoy
Prasad Vemula
Keith Zane
Front End Developers
Rajaprakash Ramanathan
Back End Developer
Context
Con Edison employees are responsible for reporting public hazards—such as manhole fires and downed electrical wires—both during work hours and off-the-clock within the company’s service territories.
These reports are critical to maintaining public safety and operational integrity.
The Problem
The existing hazard reporting process, reliant on a toll-free number, often involved wait times of up to three hours or more.
This inefficiency discouraged reporting, leading to unaddressed hazards.
Unresolved hazards connected to Con Edison assets posed substantial risks to both employees and the public. These hazards also carried the potential for costly litigation, with a minimum associated expense of $250,000 per incident.
Goal
Create a product from scratch that empowers all Con Edison employees to easily report public safety hazards, along with a tool to track and triage those reports.
Key Success Metrics
Increase Reporting Rates
More frequent and timely hazard reporting, improves public safety and operational response.
Efficiency in Admin Operations
Enhance workflow efficiency, transparency, and accountability, ensuring that hazards are resolved quickly and effectively.
Cost Mitigation
Reduction in public hazard-related litagation, with a minimum saving of $250,000 per hazard.
Solution
Dynamic Workflow
Tailored to user roles and device types, the app fosters seamless collaboration, enabling both non-admin and admin users to contribute effectively to safety management.
Non-Admin Workflow
The new Public Hazards app is readily accessible on both company and personal mobile and tablet devices for all Con Edison non-admin users. Upon logging in, they can quickly enable their location, capture a hazard photo, and submit a report in under 40 seconds.
If a non-admin user attempts to access the app via a desktop device, they are directed to a screen prompting them to log in on a mobile device to report a hazard.
Admin Workflow
Unlike previous efforts, Admin users now have access to and can manage reported hazards across mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. This enables supervisors to efficiently triage reports while in the field at any time, rather than being limited to a desk in the office.
Furthermore, we've extended functionality to allow admins to report hazards via their mobile devices, a capability previously unavailable. This empowers all Con Edison employees to contribute to the safety of the company’s service territories.
Non-Admin Workflow
Capture a hazard photo, and submit a report in under 40 seconds.
Admin Workflow
Enables supervisors to efficiently triage reports while in the field at any time, rather than being limited to a desk in the office.
Research
Working closely with stakeholders from various operational groups within Con Edison and utilizing design thinking workshops and discovery sessions, we identified core pain points and crafted solutions that addressed the diverse operational needs of the company.
Partnering with Stakeholders
We collaborated closely with key stakeholders from Central Operation Groups, including Gas, Electric, Steam, and Construction, to ensure that the app addressed diverse operational needs.
Design Thinking Workshops
Through collaborative workshops, we engaged stakeholders to empathize with users, ideate solutions, and define key problems, fostering a sense of ownership and alignment.
Define
We defined core problems to solve such as: Inaccurate Hazard Location, Lack of Notifications, App availability restricted to company iPhones, and Admin’s inability to report hazards.
Testing
Continuous feedback loops ensured that stakeholders were actively involved in testing and refining the app's functionality, promoting a culture of collaboration and accountability.
Navigating Stakeholder Roadblocks
Admin Settings
During the design process, stakeholders faced a significant roadblock regarding role management and determining admin user access.
The debate centered on whether to implement complex role management with "super users" or simplify access to ensure equitable oversight. Hazards often spanned multiple operational groups, creating potential for inefficiencies and mismanagement without clear access guidelines.
To address this, I facilitated collaborative workshops, gathering insights from all groups to align on a solution. We introduced a dashboard customization feature that allowed admins to tailor their view to specific operational groups and boroughs while enabling a toggle to access all hazards across the service territory.
This approach provided flexibility, ensured transparency across groups, and minimized friction. Stakeholders ultimately approved this solution, recognizing its balance between operational autonomy and collaborative oversight.
Marketing
Collaborated with the Product team and Con Edison’s Corporate Affairs (DCX) department to develop marketing strategies aimed at raising awareness and driving adoption. Leveraging elevator screens and informative one-sheets, we promoted product adoption across the organization.
Impact
The introduction of the Public Hazard App has made significant strides in promoting safety and operational efficiency:
Tripled report rates
versus reporting public hazards via toll-free number
Helped mitigate public hazard-related fines by a minimum of
$250,000
per safety hazard
Robust Admin Tool empowers Control Centers to
Track & Triage Public Safety Hazards
Product Status
The MVP of the Public Hazard Reporting App was soft-released in early March 2024, with ongoing efforts to enhance its functionality and usability.
Next Steps
Collaboration continues to drive the evolution of the Public Hazard Reporting App. As the Product Design Lead on this product, I collaborated with the Product Owner, Tech Lead, and Key Stakeholders on ways to improve the product for future releases. Here are some ideas we are currently exploring:
AI Enhancements
Utilize Machine Learning and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies within the hazard reporting workflow. This approach aims to automate hazard type identification, eliminating the manual selection process. By doing so, it accelerates the reporting process, enhances reporter safety, and minimizes the potential for human error.
Explore the development of a VUI to aide hazard reporting.
Future Enhancements
Integrate with the Control Center’s STAR system which would automatically assign a B-ticket and appear on their station work board.
Develop a customer-facing version to enable Con Edison's customers to report public safety hazards.
Enhance adoption rates by implementing an incentive plan that rewards top-performing hazard reporters within the organization.