Emergency & Operations Representative

Responsibilities

• Assigns, dispatches and monitors after-hours emergency, trouble and routine work and provides a wide range of detailed job information to crews, customers, other utilities and government agencies, which includes:
  • expediting field resources, tools, equipment and services required to support field activities
  • receiving and responding to utility, municipal and government agency inquiries
  • using technical knowledge and understanding of operations policies and procedures to respond to complex inquiries
  • monitoring and modifying resource availability and safety while working alone for field staff resources.
• Receives or initiates reports of system damages to other services such as sewer damage, street lighting damage and pavement cuts and maintains related records. Follows Fortis BC emergency procedures to notify area managers, fire/police departments and municipalities via e-mail, telephone, Gas Event Messaging System; maintains related emergency records.  
• Receives a variety of after-hours emergency and trouble calls and assigns and dispatches field staff resources to investigate and rectify gas-related problems and complaints.
• Receives reports of gas service faults or complaints throughout the Province from FortisBC Contact Centre, fire, police or municipal offices or others, which includes:
  • questioning reporting source to assess and establish the probable cause, urgency, and location of reported problems
  • initiating emergency and trouble orders for calls received by completing appropriate system entry and documentation and indicating action priority
  • maintaining records, reporting on field staff resources disposition and contact times, field staff resources arrival on site, one-man crew activity, trouble calls received, and orders issued, planned service interruptions, service disconnects/reconnects, and actions taken by others
  • advising manager when workload trends indicate immediate needs for temporary addition EOC staff
• Participates in activities to coordinate total response to service outages/emergencies and performs a variety of duties while assigning and dispatching field staff resources to investigate and rectify reported system service faults, including:
  • Referring to area call-out listings to identify and contact first available crew by telephone or radio, and/or contacting supervisor to arrange additional crew assignments
  • Coordinating gas service information such as service area covered, service addresses, precise location of service, status of main, valves, stations, and gas line feeds
  • Interprets drawings, plate maps and sketches for comparison to available data to ensure gas information corresponds to request
  • Informing others such as Communications department, safety trainers, and area managers of the nature, cause, and location of major outages 
  • Advising special customers affected (including commercial, industrial, institutional, and medical customers) of service outage cause, expected duration and subsequently confirming service restoration
  • Assist various parties (ex.  billing department, field technicians) with FortisBC procedures, priorities and processes.
• Answers complex and routine inquiries regarding meter identification, requests for field resources, equipment, and job status from Operations managers, planning and design staff and field staff resources. Maintains contact with field staff resources regarding scheduled and ongoing work. Respond to enquiries regarding job status and emergency work. Initiates action after hours when security alarm response required. Maintains knowledge of changing procedures and safety regulations pertaining to the field operations environment.

• Assists Emergency Support Manager with activities related to emergency preparation by:
  • Becoming and remaining knowledgeable with the Corporate and Distribution Emergency Response Plans
  • Activating appropriate levels of emergency response based on FortisBC emergency plans
  • Recognizing, and performing all aspects of, the changing nature of the EOR role, as incidents escalate
  • Assisting in creating, reviewing, and maintaining emergency support documentation (ex. EOC evacuation plan, flow charts and decision trees, data information system) and any other documentation contained in EOC
  • Assisting in creating, maintaining, and upgrading emergency backup musters for FortisBC as required
  • Answering and responds to all EOC corporate emergency phone lines, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week as required
  • Liaising with internal and external agencies as required with respect to levels of escalation due to internal or external emergency incidents
  • Ensuring, as directed, that the readiness of the Emergency Operations Centre is maintained through organizing the room and materials, testing equipment (including phones and/or video machines), and inputting data and maintaining records; and
  • Participating in other emergency support functions as requested.
• Re-arranges appointments with customers, assigning and scheduling resources as required.
• Operates a computer terminal to access, update, extract, interpret and communicate a variety of information requests to support the operations group.
• Prepares and processes work orders and notifications, enters and/or corrects field collection data and follow up work requirements. Ensures all information required to process job is complete and monitors the progress of the job through completion.
• May be required to provide relief coverage for EOC staff when necessary due to workload or staffing requirements.
• Provides clerical and administrative support including intercepting and processing inquiries, monitoring work order status and integrity of field completion data, supporting variance analysis and reporting.
• Performs duties of a minor nature related to the above duties, which do not affect the rating of the job.

Requirements

• Education: High School Graduation including courses in business communications and office practices.
• Experience: Three (3) years recent directly related experience.
• Knowledge of Customer Service, Construction & Maintenance and System Operations processes and procedures.
• Working knowledge of computer systems operations, environment and peripherals and various applications software in use in the department including various software applications and dispatch/radio equipment (ex. Clevest Click, IC-Web, SAP, AM/FM, DCRS). Typing speed of 60 WPM.
• Ability to distribute and monitor field work.
• Ability to analyze workload against available staff and determine appropriate course of action.
• Ability to organize and prioritize work, multitask and work under pressure during emergency/peak workload situations.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others in both a courteous and professional manner.
• Ability to interpret data from a variety of sources, analyze information and make sound judgments/decisions.

Additional Information

• This position has restricted holiday availability based on operational requirements.
• Work activities are intense and could result in a highly stressful work environment.
• There is a 24/7 shift requirement.
• Must respond to emergency call out at anytime day or night, as workload and system requires.