Entegrus Training and Certification Management Portal

The Client

Entegrus operates and maintains electricity distribution systems in 17 communities and for over 60 000 customers in Southwestern Ontario. Entegrus is owned by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, the City of St. Thomas, and Corix utilities, and is made up of four divisions, each with a role in providing the best possible value and service for their customers. Entegrus Powerlines Inc. ("EPI") provides safe, sustainable and reliable power to customers. Entegrus Services Inc. (“ESI”), provides resilient broadband communication and data hosting services. Entegrus Transmission Inc. ("ETI”) is dedicated to the development and connection of renewable energy generation in Ontario and improving the overall reliability, safety and cost-effectiveness of electrical transmission in the province. Entegrus Renewable Energy Inc. (“EREI”) was incorporated to make investments in wind developments in southwestern Ontario on behalf of its shareholders.

The Challenge

Entegrus employees are required to maintain certifications, depending on their role within the company. When an employee obtains or renews a certification it must be tracked for compliance. Likewise, the ability to report on and plan for employees whose certifications are approaching their expiry is a must.

Similarly, adherence to company Policies and Procedures is a necessity. Employees are required to review policies on a regular basis and answer a few short questions about each policy to demonstrate their understanding.

A third-party SQL-based solution was being used to track and report on employee progress and compliance; however, this software was dated, difficult to customize, and ultimately had reached end-of-support.

A new solution was sought, preferably one that would leverage the company’s existing investment in Microsoft 365 (M365), be simpler to operate, and allow for in-house maintenance and support.

The Solution

The solution Envision IT developed for Entegrus utilizes four main components of M365: SharePoint Online, Power BI, Microsoft Forms, and Power Automate.

SharePoint Online stands as the main data repository. A series of lists were created to track certification designations, a record of completed exams, and job requirements (as they pertain to each certification). All existing data was exported from the old solution and imported into SharePoint Online. Going forward, the Certification Administrator can easily maintain new and existing certifications, people and groups, as well as update exam results as they come in. A list was also created to track and acknowledge each employee’s review of company Policies and Procedures.

In order to validate comprehension of each Policy, a small quiz (of three questions) was created in Microsoft Forms. Upon completion of each quiz, a Flow (Power Automate) is executed and compares the responses to an answer key in the SharePoint list entry for that Policy. If successful, a record is created in the Reviewed Policies list acknowledging that employee for that policy on that date.

Power BI is used for reporting on employee compliance as well as to track when certifications need to be renewed or Policy checks need to be updated.

The Results

The new solution provides Entegrus with an updated platform for capturing and reporting on employee training and certifications, and will ensure that the organization maintains compliance around the health and safety of employees.