Summary

The Export Meter Information window is used to export meter reading information from the Springbrook application to the handheld meter read devices before the meters are read. The exported information will vary depending on the format, but will generally contain the meter route, meter sequence and prior reading information. After the meter information has been imported into the handheld devices and the meter readings have been entered into the handheld devices, the readings are imported into the Springbrook application using the Meter Readings Import window (UB> Meter Management> Readings Import).

If meter sequences should be padded or split into new meter read routes (UB> Utilities> Pad Meter Sequences), make sure you have done this before the meter information is exported to the handheld devices.

The Export Meter Information window will generate an export file at a specific path. The format of the export file generated by this process will vary depending on the format of the handheld devise you are using (Badger, Datamatic, MV-RS, etc.).

Step by Step

1     Open the Export Meter Information window (UB> Meter Management> Readings Export).

2     Complete the Export Settings section. 

• Select the meter read routes that should be included in the export in the Routes field.
  • Press CTRL+A to highlight all of the routes. Press SPACE to check or uncheck all of the highlighted toggles.
• The Configuration drop-down menu is used to select a user-configured export file or to select Non-Configurable if your organization uses a third-party meter layout.
  • User-configured export files are created and maintained on the Export Configuration Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Export Configuration).
• If your organization does not use user-configured export files, select the format of the export file generated by the Export Meter Information window in the Layout drop-down menu. The selection in this window may change the fields that are enabled in the window. Your selection may also add a tab to the window. For example, if you select MV-RS 1.0, an MV-RS tab will be added to the Export Meter Information window.
  • Click the Display Report Layout icon   at the top of the window to display the format of the file that will be created. This will open a window that displays the fields included in the export file, the length of each field and the position of the field on the export file.
  • If you are creating an MV-RS export file, make sure to complete the information on the MV-RS tab.
• When meter readings are being entered on the handheld devices, most handheld devices have a feature that will warn a user that the entered meter reading may be incorrect. The handheld device determines that the meter reading could be incorrect based on a prior meter reading and a user-defined variance percentage. The Low % and High % fields are used to enter variance percentages, and the History Month and History Year fields are used to enter the read period of the prior reading that will be used to calculate the warning.
  • Enter the meter read period and year of the meter reading you would like to compare to the new meter readings in the History Month and History Year fields.
  • Enter the lowest percentage value the consumption on the new meter reading can be before the warning is triggered in the Low % field.
    • For example, if you enter 50% in this field, the misread warning message will display if the new reading results in consumption that is less than half of what it was during the meter reading selected in the History Month and History Year field.
  • Enter the highest percentage value the new reading can be before the warning will be triggered in the High % field.
    • For example, if you enter 200% in this field, the misread warning message will only display if the new reading results in consumption that is twice as large as the consumption on the meter reading selected in the History Month and History Year field.
  • Here is another example. Enter 120 in the High% field, 80 in the Low % field, and assume the consumption on the selected meter reading is 9. The high and low values of the new meter read are calculated by applying the high and low variance to the consumption amount, and then rounding the calculated amount. 120% of the selected consumption is 11 (1.2*9=10.8 and then rounded to 11) and 80% is 7 (.8*9=7.2 and then rounded to 7). The rounded high and low variance amounts are then applied to the new reading on the meter. If the new meter reading is 11 units greater than the previous reading, or less than 7 units greater, the handheld device will display the warning message.
• Select the status of the customer accounts you would like to include in the export file in the Account Status field. Only the meters attached to customer accounts of the selected statuses will be included on the export file. Meters attached to inactive lots will not be included in the exported meter information (Lot icon> Open a lot> Lot tab> Status drop-down menu).
• Enter a Radio and Tone Frequency. These fields are only active if an MV-RS Layout is selected above.
• Check the Export Unread Meters Only toggle to exclude meters with unbilled meter readings from the export file.
  • For example, if a read device service request is performed on a meter on a selected route, that meter will be excluded from the export file if that reading has not been billed. (Meter readings are unbilled until they have been billed in a New Billing batch.)
• Check the Include Inactive Meters toggle if you would like to include meters with an inactive status in the export file.
  • The status of a meter displays in the Status field on the Device Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Device> Meter tab> Device section> Status drop-down menu).
  • This toggle will not be enabled on all export formats.
• Check the Include MXU ID toggle if you would like to include the MXU ID attached to the meters in the export file.
  • The MXU ID of a meter can be viewed on the Device Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Device> Meter tab> Device section> MXU ID field).
• Check the Send 0s for Read Sequence toggle if your agency does not send any values in the Read Sequence field on meter readings.
  • This toggle will only be enabled on the Neptune 360 export format.
• Click the Confirm icon   when complete to generate the export file immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Confirm icon to schedule the export file to generate at a later time. You can view the progress of the export on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
• Once the export has finished processing, the Export Settings window will open. This window is used to specify the export path for the file.
  • Check the Open toggle if you would like to open the exported file after it is saved locally.
  • Enter the export path location and click the Save icon to export the file to the local path.