Brazilian innovation is recognized in a global event

Eduardo Nascimento was in Italy and had only 3 minutes to convince Enel Group officials and executives that his idea should be adopted by the company, both in Brazil and in other countries. His challenge was to present a work team safety and monitoring project, in just 3 slides written in English, a language that he understands but does not completely dominate. It seemed a difficult task, but for him it was not.

Eduardo breathed deeply, put on his white hat, and managed to charm the jurors of the I&NNOVATION DAY, a global event held by Enel’s Infrastructure and Networks Area. What the participants of the event never imagined is that, to get there, Eduardo had already overcome many greater challenges.

His parents did not finish primary school. His father, José María, was an independent salesman and his mother, Doña Josefa, was a housewife. During his childhood he went through some difficulties, but there was one thing that he never lacked: motivation to study. "I studied in public schools and although sometimes I didn’t have money to buy books, I always liked to learn, especially mathematics, physics, and chemistry."

His first job was as an electrician's assistant. At the age of 17 to 22 years old, Eduardo travelled through the inlands of his native Ceará, helping to bring electricity to villages that still did not have access to energy. "At first I was just drilling holes in the walls to pass the cables through, but, little by little, I learned to do electrical installations observing the work of my other colleagues.”

Since then many things have changed. Eduardo graduated in mechanical engineering and got a job as an electrician in the Ceará distributor, which would later be acquired by the Enel Group. Today, 21 years after joining the company, Eduardo specialized in Maintenance Engineering and Occupational Safety, holds an MBA in Business Management majoring in the electricity, and tireless as he is, is currently pursuing a career in Economics. In addition to coordinating the maintenance, technical, and commercial operations areas of 24 municipalities and managing about 300 direct and indirect employees, Eduardo was the big winner of the I&NNOVATION DAY. The reasons? His creative abilities, his power of synthesis and planning, and, above all, his passion for innovation:

“I am very proud to have coordinated more than 30 innovation projects here in Ceará, in the last 5 years. My team and I left the interior of Brazil to conquer the Enel world, which shows that innovation has no borders and that we need encourage our team to look for new ways to overcome the challenges of everyday life.”

– Eduardo Nascimento, Head of the Ceará Central-South Regional Enel Distribution Plant.

"Innovation is to constantly develop oneself"

The challenge proposed by the Infrastructure and Networks Area during the I&NNOVATION DAY consisted in the development of an alternative to accompany the team in real time to prevent accidents during field work. Eduardo was awarded for a project capable of offering greater safety to workers who provide services in the energy distribution network:

“We have proposed the use of augmented reality glasses, with a camera attached that shows instructions on operational procedures and safety, in addition to allowing workers to recognize work structures in real time." I had that idea after participating in the National Innovation Award, when I better understood the digital transformation that the world is going through.”

– Eduardo Nascimento, Head of the Ceará Central-South Regional Enel Distribution Plant

In addition to presenting the solution, Eduardo and his team presented all the feasibility calculations and the implementation costs for 3,000 users. The intention now is to improve the project so that it can be replicated in other Enel Group companies around the world.

When innovation is not necessarily linked to technology.

In addition to augmented reality glasses, Eduardo has also participated or been a mentor for simpler projects that do not rely on technology, but on creativity and a closer relationship with the community.

In 2008, especially during the holiday period, the Maracanaú Service Center faced many interruptions in the power supply caused by the large number of children and young people flying kites that got trapped in the electricity grid. From his own resources, Eduardo had the idea of buying toys (like marbles or balls) and exchanging them for kites. The project was so successful that it generated a great impact in the local media:

“It was a success! I had never given so many interviews, a simple, low-cost project that united the company and communities and reduced the blackouts by 80%”

– Eduardo Nascimento, Head of the Ceará Central-South Regional Enel Distribution Plant.

Eduardo continued, "Here in Ceará, people do not usually get discouraged! A true innovator never gives up in the face of the first failure. It is important to always look for new partners, an accelerator, a startup that can give you advice. For me, innovating is looking at life in a different way, seeking to perfect processes. One should not be complacent with the present and always look at everything that is around us from a different perspective.

May Eduardo keep that hat firmly on his head and all those who, like him, represent the energy of one of the most innovative and creative regions of Brazil.