“I never settled. I am very proud of having coordinated more than 30 innovative projects here in Ceará just in the last five years. My team and I left the Brazilian countryside to conquer the Enel world. This proves that innovation knows no boundaries and we must encourage our team to find new ways of overcoming everyday challenges.”
“To innovate is to constantly develop”
The challenge proposed by the Infrastructure and Networks division during I&NNOVATION DAY consisted of developing an alternative that allowed real-time monitoring of teams to prevent accidents during field work. Eduardo was awarded with a project able to offer greater safety to workers who perform services on the energy distribution network:
“We proposed the use of augmented reality glasses with an attached camera that show instructions for operational and safety procedures, as well as allowing us to monitor, in real time, the task of recognising work structures. I had this idea after taking part in the National Innovation Award, when I understood better the digital transformation the world is undergoing.”
In addition to exposing the solution, Eduardo and his team presented the full viability calculations and the costs for implementation with 3,000 users. The goal now is to improve the project so it can be replicated across other Enel Group companies around the world.
When innovation isn’t necessarily linked with technology
As well as the augmented reality glasses, Eduardo has also participated in or was mentor of several simpler projects not based on technology, but on creativity and a closer relationship with the community.
In 2008, especially during the holiday period, the Maracanaú Service Centre faced many supply interruptions because of the large number of children and young people flying kites that became stuck on electrical cabling. Out of his own pocket, Eduardo had the idea to buy R$200 in toys (marbles, rubber balls and others) to exchange for the kites. The project was so successful that it generated major local media coverage:
“It was a hit! I never gave so many interviews. It was a simple, low-cost project that brought together the company and society and reduced disconnections by up to 80%.”
Eduardo continues, "here in Ceará, we don’t get easily rattled! A true innovator never gives up after the first failure. It is always important to look for new partners, an accelerator, a start-up that can advise you. To me, innovation is thinking about life in a different way, looking to improve processes. It is not settling for what’s there and to always have a distinctive gaze over what’s around us".
May the old, faithful leather hat stay firm on Eduardo’s head and of all the people from the Northeast who represent the energy of one of the most innovative and creative regions in Brazil.
