Digital Tree Management Platform Streamlines Field Operations for Power Distribution Utility

Tohoku Electric Power Network manages electricity distribution across six prefectures in Japan's Tohoku region and Niigata Prefecture, overseeing approximately 600,000 kilometers of distribution lines and 3.1 million utility poles. The company faced significant operational challenges in managing tree felling operations—a critical maintenance function to prevent power outages and ensure grid safety. Historically, each prefectural office managed tree and facility information using paper maps, ledgers, and Excel spreadsheets, making it difficult to identify tree hazards quickly, respond to emergencies, or apply consistent management practices across the organization. When Japan's revenue cap system launched in fiscal year 2023, the company faced an urgent mandate to standardize tree logging methods company-wide and provide objective justification for tree felling expenditures. To address these challenges, Tohoku Electric Power Network partnered with IBM to develop a unified, mobile-compatible tree logging management system built on a platform integrating Salesforce for customer information management and ArcGIS for geographic information systems.

Transformation

The solution leveraged Salesforce's low-code development capabilities and ArcGIS's mapping infrastructure to centrally manage facility, tree, and damage data on a single geographic interface. This phased approach allowed the company to continuously integrate power distribution operations and data while maintaining business continuity. Field workers gained the ability to access and update information directly from smartphones, enabling real-time documentation and instruction delivery. IBM's agile methodology accelerated development cycles—sample screens were created and refined rapidly, allowing employees at different regional sites to review prototypes and provide feedback within the same meeting. The platform linked maps directly to operational tasks, creating a seamless workflow that eliminated the need to shuttle information between field surveys and office-based documentation.

Outcomes

The tree logging management system transformed operational efficiency by automating the entire field-to-office workflow. Field teams can now specify tree locations through a smartphone app, complete required documentation, and send work instructions with a single tap, eliminating the manual form creation that previously occurred in the office after each survey. The system flags trees requiring felling action based on objective data—including field survey observations and growth forecasts—enabling more cost-effective budget allocation and reducing instances of unnecessary tree cutting. The company is moving toward a fully paperless operation and plans to extend system access to external logging contractors, creating an end-to-end digital workflow from work orders through completion and acceptance inspections.