How Oklahoma City’s Water Utility Modernized Field Data Collection with LabWare MOBILE

Serving 1.5 million customers across the greater metropolitan area, the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust plays a critical role in protecting public health. With daily operations that include treating an average of 100 million gallons of water, their lab team needed a faster, more reliable way to manage field data and regulatory compliance.

To modernize their operations, the utility adopted LabWare MOBILE, streamlining how field data is captured, validated, and integrated with the lab. Two water quality experts from Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, Daniel Fleury and Emily Curry, shared their journey with LabWare at the 2025 North America Customer Education Conference (CEC), highlighting their specific needs and the benefits LabWare provides.

A Dual-Focus Laboratory with a Mission

The utility’s laboratory serves both drinking water and industrial wastewater needs, with a primary focus on drinking water quality. Each month, technicians visit over 260 sample sites, testing five key parameters at each location. This rigorous sampling schedule ensures that water quality remains consistently high and compliant with regulatory standards.

Why LabWare MOBILE?

Before adopting LabWare MOBILE, the utility relied on paper-based processes that were time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to manage, especially when it came to resampling and legacy data tracking. The shift to LabWare MOBILE was driven by several key needs:

Reducing human error through digital data entry

Streamlining resampling workflows

Supporting legacy data systems

Improving overall efficiency and traceability

LabWare MOBILE in Action

LabWare MOBILE empowers field technicians with a suite of features that enhance data collection and reporting:

Connected mode for real-time data access

GPS tracking for precise location documentation

Photo documentation to support visual verification

Pre-scheduled projects for organized workflows

Label and barcode generation for sample tracking

Chain of custody reports with in-field recovery calculations

These capabilities have transformed how the utility manages its sampling runs, ensuring that data is accurate, timely, and easily accessible.

Industrial Wastewater Testing

In addition to drinking water, the utility’s Instrumentation Laboratory conducts specialized testing for industrial wastewater, including:

Anions

Disinfection byproducts

Pesticides

Heavy metals and copper

LabWare MOBILE supports these complex testing protocols by enabling seamless data capture and integration with lab systems, resulting in efficiency, accuracy, and confidence. Since implementing LabWare MOBILE, the Oklahoma City water utility has seen:

Reduced transcription errors

Improved traceability and compliance

Faster decision-making through real-time data

Smooth implementation across teams

By modernizing its field operations, the utility continues to uphold its commitment to public health while embracing innovation.

Conclusion

Oklahoma City’s Water Utility Trust is a model of how technology can enhance public service. With LabWare MOBILE, they’ve not only improved operational efficiency but also strengthened their ability to deliver safe, clean water to over 1.5 million residents, every single day.