Disaster Recovery in Puerto Rico with Power Query

When Ken was at the Microsoft Business Applications Summit a few weeks ago, he met Mr. J.A. Garcia who has been doing some amazing work with Power Query. We wanted to share his story about how he has been using Power Query in helping with disaster recovery efforts in Puerto Rico:

"[In] my line of work there's been two defining moments that have changed the way we look at our tools. The first one was the Zika outbreak and the second one was Hurricane Maria.

The first time I saw Power Query was [as part of] Power BI during the Zika outbreak [in 2016]. One of our clients needed up-to-date information of the Zika outbreak and its effect on healthcare. With the help of a consultant, we started using Power BI and Power Query.

I began taking courses during that time, and one of them was about Excel. That's when I learned about Get & Transform in Excel 2016.

Any new job that I received, I tried to use Power Query. I taught myself SQL so I could understand better the process of extracting data and how to integrate it into Power Query.

Our job was changing. We could give the tools to our clients that would let them refresh when they needed it the most. No more waiting [on] our area for a data refresh!

Then Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico [in September/October 2017]. It was a harsh two weeks of no communication. As soon as I came back from work, I noticed the change in attitude. As a healthcare company, we began doing Public Health.

My main job was identifying members with certain serious conditions. I used Power Query and Excel to create processes that obtain information from the assessment done to keep track of the efforts of the company. The clients could refresh the data and see who was missing, fix any data entry errors and more.

I'm very proud of my work, and Power Query in Excel and Power BI has been a large part of my growth. In the present, we have created a tool that refreshes constantly to help identify members with serious conditions. Now in case of any emergency, we'll know who to attend."

~ J.A. Garcia

We were very inspired how Mr. Garcia began is Power Query journey as part of the disaster recovery efforts after these emergencies, and that he and his team continue to leverage this powerful tool in both Excel and Power BI. Power Query really can help save lives!

Do you have an story to share about your Power Query journey? Maybe it hasn't saved your life literally, but perhaps it has saved you hours of time and effort, a significant amount of money, or even your sanity! Let us know in the comments below or contact us through the Excelguru site.