Northern Water was established in 1937 and partners with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to manage the Colorado-Big Thompson Project. This project captures water on the West Slope and transports it to the East Slope through a 13-mile tunnel beneath Rocky Mountain National Park, supporting parts of eight counties across 615,000 acres of irrigated land. Today, Northern Water also provides drinking water to more than 1 million people.
To protect and maintain this critical water infrastructure, Northern Water turned to Accruent’s Maintenance Connection (MC) solution. With an extensive network of pipelines, reservoirs, and dams—plus a unique cost-reimbursement model shared among multiple participants—Northern Water needed a single, dependable system for:
- Organized Record-Keeping
- Accurate, Efficient Reimbursements
- Regulatory Compliance & Reporting
- Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
Below, Doug Morter, EAM System Administrator at Northern Water, shares how Maintenance Connection helps unify their processes, bolster collaboration, and streamline financial structures to support critical infrastructure and safety for the communities they serve.
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Q: Why did you get Maintenance Connection?
A (Doug Morter):
In 2013, there were some big floods in Colorado that damaged a lot of infrastructure, and my company was positioned to assist FEMA with rehabilitation work. At the time, we had organizational issues matching up records. Having siloed information led to challenges with federal reimbursement. Maintenance Connection gave us a clear, organized structure to work effectively with the federal government and better tell the story of what work we performed.
Q: How did you resolve those issues with Maintenance Connection?
A (Doug Morter):
Now we have a single source where our technicians can add assets to the facilities we work on and show precisely what tasks we perform. It really increased our collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation and made it easier to show FEMA the records needed for reimbursement. Maintenance Connection allowed us to tell a complete story of our work history—something that has continued to help with other collaborative projects.
Q: What do you use Maintenance Connection for today?
A (Doug Morter):
Maintenance Connection drives a large part of our business, covering everything from simple preventive maintenance—like on a lawnmower—to managing the largest dam built in the United States in 30 years. When the new dam goes online, we will need to perform many daily inspections for state reporting, so integrating it with Maintenance Connection was a top priority.
Q: How does Maintenance Connection support your financial structure within asset management?
A (Doug Morter):
We have a complicated financial structure at Northern Water. Maintenance Connection offered solutions that other systems did not. For instance, we treat vehicles almost like labor when they perform work on assets, and multiple participants can reimburse us depending on which portion of a pipeline is being serviced. MC lets us add these “vehicle assets” to work orders and ensures the correct participant is billed. This process is seamless for our technicians—they only focus on the asset and log time, mileage, or even expenses like lunches, while Maintenance Connection handles the coding behind the scenes. It simplifies reimbursements and ensures each participant pays their fair share.
Q: How was Maintenance Connection adoption among technicians?
A (Doug Morter):
We started with a “carrot” approach: using MC to improve time entry. Our HR system for logging hours was cumbersome, so when we showed technicians that MC makes time entry easier, it built trust quickly. Over time, we have implemented more preventive and predictive maintenance features, and now Maintenance Connection is our platform for maintaining our entire infrastructure.
Q: How does Maintenance Connection assist with your Hazardous Energy Control Program?
A (Doug Morter):
We recently integrated a hazardous energy control program into Maintenance Connection, moving from paper documentation to a digital process. Now, our technicians can access up-to-date lockout/tagout procedures from any job site. This shift helps us maintain accurate records in real time, improving both safety and efficiency.
Highlights & Key Takeaways
1. Disaster Recovery & Reimbursement
- Maintenance Connection centralizes maintenance data and asset histories, ensuring Northern Water can document work orders for FEMA reimbursement and other collaborative projects.
2. Preventive & Predictive Maintenance
- From routine lawnmower upkeep to the largest U.S. dam construction in decades, MC empowers Northern Water to schedule and complete maintenance on time, avoid downtime, and meet strict reporting requirements.
3. Streamlined Financial Structure
- MC accommodates Northern Water’s unique reimbursement model, automating mileage and labor cost tracking. Technicians focus on their work, and the system handles billing and coding.
4. Easy Adoption & Technician Buy-In
- User-friendly time-entry features encouraged rapid uptake. Over time, MC has grown into a core tool for daily maintenance, lockout/tagout procedures, and hazard control.
5. Improved Collaboration
- Maintenance Connection fosters stronger partnerships with federal agencies such as FEMA and the Bureau of Reclamation by consolidating records and making documentation accessible.
Unify Your Built Environment
At Accruent, we believe in empowering customers to unlock the full potential of their built environment, from water projects to multi-site facilities. Maintenance Connection is designed to streamline operations, automate critical workflows, and help you make data-driven decisions—so you can focus on delivering vital services to the communities you serve.
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