We have been doing quite a bit of work with utility companies over the past several years. We love the challenges that accompany many of these projects which may often be referred to, without exaggeration, as “digital transformations.” We are working side by side with many customers as they move their field, back office, and emergency response workflows from analog to digital.
We recently kicked off a two-year project, during which time, we will be providing Seattle City Light - the electric utility in Seattle – with ongoing GIS support. We have teamed up with our friends at FLO Analytics in order to provide SCL with the best possible service.
The first phase of the project will involve a needs assessment where our team will meet with stakeholders in order to determine their needs and capabilities. The needs assessment will help guide a strategic plan that SCL will use to move forward with their planning for future needs and budgets.
I addition to the needs assessment and strategic plan, we will be proving SCL with “boots on the ground” GIS analysts to provide immediate practical assistance. The goal, at the end of the project, will be to provide the folks at SCL with the proper plan and know-how to move forward successfully on their own.
Please contact us if you’d like to find out more about how we can help your organization realize it’s full potential.
We’ve recently completed Phase 1 of a project with Pike Energy to build a mobile asset management tool.
Phase 1 saw us develop an app for the iPad that allows workers in the field to enter asset information related to the utility poles that they are responsible for. In the past, these workers collected the information on a paper form, and then, upon returning to their office, would enter the information into spreadsheets which lacked any integrated map view of field assets. Once this project is complete, field crew members will use iPads to directly record their observations and sync them to a centralized database we’re hosting for Pike. In addition to capturing details about the condition and attributes of assets, field workers will even have the ability to take and attach photographs to each pole’s record. Of course, all collected data will be map-based, so there will be strong support for an efficient QA process in which office personnel may easily navigate to particular project areas and features and review, correct, flag, or approve the data submitted from the field while viewing it in its spatial context.
Phase 2 of the the project is now well under way and expected to be complete within the month. In this phase we are configuring web-based data management tools that will allow project directors to see the information that the field workers are collecting as well as to define and assign project areas and related assets to individual members of the field team. This administrative application will allow managers to quickly develop map “packets” that the field workers will sync to their iPads based on their login credentials. Each “packet” contains a map of the area the worker will be operating in, as well as all of the assets they will be collecting information on. Storing project data locally allows field crews to access and edit data with or without WiFi connectivity. Once the information has been collected, the “packets” are synced to the administrative application so that management can see, review, and share that information.
This tool will help Pike complete field assessment work with a new level of efficiency and accuracy and it is providing a valuable means to integrate and standardize asset data in support of both internal and customer needs. We are pleased to be a partner in helping Pike realize these major operational improvements and new competitive advantages.
