EGUG 2004 Presentations

Presentations

EGUG 2004 Presentations

The 2004 EGUG Presentations is a compilation of professional papers delivered October 10–14, 2004, in Williamsburg, VA. Esri users contributed a fundamental part to the conference by submitting and presenting their presentations on a diverse collection of GIS applications. The proceeds promote GIS application by stimulating users to share their experiences and knowledge.

Plenary Session

Welcome to EGUG [PDF-542 KB, 26 pages]

Keynote [PDF-1.39 MB, 30 pages]
—Margaret E. "Lyn" McDermid, senior vice president, Information Technology, and Chief Information Officer, Dominion

Bridging the Vision and Technology [PDF-6.16 MB, 23 pages]
—Bill Meehan, Esri, Director, Utility Solutions

EGUG Hot Topics

Mobile Technology—Current Status and the Road Ahead [PDF-4.44 MB, 35 pages]
—Milosz Stasik, Product Manager, Mobile Technology
GIS/CAD Interoperability [PDF-277 KB, 15 pages]
—Don Kuehne, CAD Product Management

Technology Update [PDF-5.78 MB, 54 pages]
—Larry Young, Pat Dolan, Derrick Burke, and Rick Anderson

Paper Presentation Sessions

Show/Hide all presentation abstracts

A Field Server Approach to Managing Utility Field Crews View Presentation [PDF-1.64 MB, 37 pages] —Bill Elliot, har*GIS LLC

Making enterprise system data from systems such as ArcGIS, work management, outage management, document management, customer information, and SCADA, available to field crews is a challenge. A managed approach is necessary to get the multi-application data needed by field crews to their field units. This presentation will introduce a new, client/server approach for managing all field force automation across the enterprise. It will show how a field server provides the greatest degree of data validation, quality control, change management, and operational efficiency of field tasks.

Advanced Intranet Applications: The Dominion Storm Outage Management Solution View Presentation [PDF-1.29 MB, 28 pages] —David Reed, Dominion Power —Lowell Ballards, Timmons Group

During a storm event, it is critical to provide real-time access to important mapping and asset inventory information to restore outages as quickly as possible. Timmons Group worked with Dominion�s Storm Center/Distribution Operations group over the past year to implement a comprehensive viewing/printing application that blends features and functionality of Miner & Miner�s ArcFM�, Esri�s ArcIMS, and other integrated visualization tools in a fast, user friendly Intranet application. The discussion will incorporate both operational and development aspects of the implementation effort and introduce recent advances in Internet Map Server (IMS) development using Microsoft .NET technology.

Aerial (low-level) Three-Dimensional Mapping of Vegetation in Power Line Corridors (not currently available) —John Leahy, Optimal Geomatics, Inc.

This presentation will focus on helicopter-mounted video mapping technologies and how they can be applied to mapping vegetation in transmission ROWs. The presenter will discuss how real-time differential GPS coupled with inertial measurement can be used to extract three-dimensional measurements from high-resolution daylight and infrared video and how the results are stored in a geodatabase as a series of attributed points and polygons. The benefits of the technology will be compared to LIDAR surveys, and the cost/benefit of each will be explored.

Collaboration—Does it Really Work View Presentation [PDF-116 KB, 18 pages] —Randi Rich, Avista Utilities

This presentation describes the inter-agency data sharing goals for Avista Utilities, including their relationship with counties, cities, water and highway districts in their service territory. Learn about the cost savings available through collaboration.

After the Storm: Using GIS for Damage Assessment and Restoration View Presentation [PDF-976 KB, 24 pages] —Donovan Tulloch, BELCO, and Chris Cirillo, OneGIS

This presentation will highlight the efforts used by Bermuda Electric Light Company�s (BELCO) GIS team to assess hurricane damage in the wake of Fabian on September 5, 2003. The storm left 25,000 out of 32,000 customers served by BELCO without power. The BELCO GIS was used to report the assessment of damage and help direct restoration efforts. As a result of lessons learned, new work flows and systems have been implemented, including automated data entry and field data collection following a storm, as well as integration between the GIS, OMS, WMS, and Customer Information System.

An Automated Method for Geodatabase Configuration Management View Presentation [PDF-242 KB, 17 pages] —Chris Rix, Arizona Public Service —Matt McCain, Laurel Hill GIS

Arizona Public Service (APS) has six production geodatabases as well as view and application development geodatabases. Keeping all these geodatabases in sync is no simple task. APS realized that an automated tool for determining differences between geodatabases would be essential to its configuration management processes. APS contracted with Laurel Hill GIS, an Esri developer business partner, to develop this comparison tool. This presentation will discuss the cooperative development of the geodatabase comparison tool.

Artificial Intelligent Modeling: Having Data Work for You! View Presentation [PDF-103 KB, 10 pages] —Ian Fitzgerald, Truckee Donner Public Utility District

You have spent years compiling, piece by piece, an extensive collection of both spatial and descriptive attribute information. However, even after all that work and effort, all you really have is an expensive and expansive library of data. To obtain true value from your data, you need to put your data to work. Through complex and sophisticated database and GIS network modeling procedures, your data can come alive, allowing for real-time and/or forecast analysis. Outage management/operations and intelligent utility infrastructure designing are just two examples of how data is working for the Truckee Donner Public Utility District.

Developing an Enterprise GIS Strategy View Presentation [PDF-222 KB, 23 pages] —Danny Childs and Ervin Hancock, Southern Company

The presentation will discuss the Southern Company case study on its development and enterprise GIS strategy. Topics will include

The process used in developing an enterprise strategy
Southern Company�s past—Specific GIS application architectures
Southern Company�s enterprise GIS strategy
The business case for an enterprise GIS strategy

Extending GIS: Design Tools in the Field, an ROI Model View Presentation [PDF-341 KB, 25 pages] —Greg Wolven, WIN Energy REMC, and Jeff Baumer, MiniMax

WIN Energy REMC has spent the past few years transferring its paper systems to electronic for mapping, .ling, staking, and other areas including integration with CIS and outage management. See the results of an ROI study on the implementation along with principles of how to measure ROI for GIS in the .eld, the ROI model, and conclusions regarding the benefits of extending a GIS into the field using design tools. By extending a GIS into the field, companies can begin to reap short-term ROI for their efforts while building the long-term strategic power of GIS.

Extending GIS to the Field for Storm Damage Assessment View Presentation [PDF-338 KB, 30 pages] —Jerry Warren, Dominion Resource Services

Hurricane Isabel was the most devastating natural disaster in Dominion�s 100-year energy history. On September 18, 2003, 1.8 million of the company�s 2.2 million customers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina lost power. This presentation focuses on the role of mobile GIS data in performing damage assessment after the hurricane. Learn how GIS helped determine the priority in which to organize storm-related work and track progress. See the benefits of combining both spatial and tabular data to improve the collection, assessment, and prioritization of storm-related hazards. Hear Dominion�s future plans for applying this technology to storm responses.

Facilities Mapping and Management With GIS View Presentation [PDF-2.53 MB, 53 pages] —Timothy Miller, Shenandoah Gas and Frederick Gas, Divisions of Washington Gas

Managing the facility assets of a utility company is a daunting task. Shenandoah Gas has been developing and deploying a facilities management system for the past 10 years. It is providing a truly enterprisewide system by bringing users outside engineering online. Hear and see concepts including software selection, sequential implementation, multiple data source basemapping, pipe and appurtenance table development, data population, developing customized interfaces, network analysis, user deployment, and interfacing with other software applications.

Field Information System Improves Customer Service at a Colorado Utility (not currently available) —Jim Hargis, har*GIS LLC

When United Power, an electric distribution cooperative serving 45,000 customers in Colorado, moved from AutoCAD to ArcInfo^® and later to ArcFM, field crews were unable to view sketches and maps in the field, adversely affecting customer service. Meeting the utility�s service-level goals demanded a flexible field information system for field crews. This presentation will describe the successful implementation of a field information system to provide field crews with integrated viewing and querying of their GIS, customer information, transformer tables, facility identifiers, and independent CAD drawings (PMH details) in the field. The presentation will describe user needs, project implementation, and benefits achieved.

Focusing on Utilities� Customer Care Through GIS Solutions View Presentation [PDF-1.25 MB, 23 pages] —Gustavo Zárrate, Utilities Solutions

There is often a big gap between the technical division in charge of a distribution network and the customer division. These divisions work on the same geographic area, with the same group of clients, and inside the same company. Unfortunately, however, they have difficulties in sharing data, information, and knowledge. GIS solutions are frequently focused on the distribution division, but they do not involve customers. GIS, using LBS and Internet GIS founded on Web services, can offer alternatives to improve customer care. Subjects, such as semantic interoperability and service chains, promote high-quality service.

Give Away Your Measuring Wheel—GPS Rules Rural Line Design View Presentation [PDF-1.09 MB, 24 pages] —Carl Livingood, GeoSpatial Innovations, Inc.

Designing electric facilities in rural areas has changed very little since the days of Thomas Edison. We grab our tools—a measuring wheel or tape, hammer and stakes, and pencil and notebook (or, heaven forbid, a brush hook or chain saw)—and head into the field. That has all changed since professional grade GPS, combined with improvements to mobile devices, provides a new way of quickly laying out facilities in the field and transferring data to GIS or graphic design tools in the office. At this session, attendees will understand how advanced design solutions using GPS technology will reduce operating expenditures and improve customer service.

Mobile Advantages of ArcGIS 9.1 View Presentation [PDF-2.20 MB, 27 pages] —Larry Wilke, Burbank Water and Power

Learn what ArcGIS 9.1 has in store for distributing and replicating geodatabases. See how Burbank Water and Power plans to take advantage of the new features of 9.1. Witness the use of a distributed geodatabase in a live demonstration of Burbank�s field mapping and redlining solution based on an ArcGIS Engine application.

Mobile Design Tool/Pole Inspection Via GIS View Presentation [PDF-1.40 MB, 38 pages] —Michael Cleland and J. Mark Swindall, Alabama Power Company

Alabama Power Company (APCo) shares the results of two GIS projects.

While piloting Tablet PCs, APCo loaded a GIS with 44,500 square miles of area and facilities data along with a custom toolbar for drawing functions to do work order sketches in the field. See how the success of the tool was brought back in to the office and now supports all sizes of work order drawings for new construction, maintenance orders, and large budget item work.
Osmose, Inc., inspects APCo�s 1.6 million poles on an eight-year cycle, or 200,000 poles per year. Learn how APCo has shifted its work processes, aided by GIS data exchanges with Osmose, to get a 10 to 20 percent increase in weekly inspection counts while gaining greater confidence in the data.

Modeling High-Pressure Distribution for Integrity Management View Presentation [PDF-1.02 MB, 34 pages] —Cynthia Salas, CenterPoint Energy —Bill J. Meehan, Esri

The Pipeline Improvement Act of 2002 created a new demand for outstanding data management, reporting, and coordination of both natural gas transmission and high-pressure natural gas distribution. Pipeline and natural gas transmission operators have developed GIS data models and applications using linear referencing from station to station along the pipeline. Distribution systems are modeled using point-to-point references. Work flows, the data maintenance process, and reporting requirements differ between transmission and distribution departments. This paper presents the two different data models, organization issues, challenges, and some practical data modeling strategies.

Presenting Flow Direction in a Mobile GIS Environment View Presentation [PDF-198 KB, 9 pages] —Doug Krohn, AGL Resources

AGL Resources exports the Esri flow direction information for the Gas Geometric network as a layer to its mobile GIS product, which allows field personnel to view gas flow directions at a particular location in the gas network while disconnected. The presentation will discuss the assumptions used and how this was accomplished. In addition, the company will share how it solved a geometric network limitation of flow direction being incorrectly displayed as a two-way instead of a one-way feed around regulator stations with different inlet and outlet pressures. ArcObjects™ and the features of a version-managed geodatabase were used.

Redlining With ArcGIS Engine View Presentation [PDF-1.45 MB, 24 pages] —Carrie Turner and John Selkirk, Tadpole�Cartesia

The traditional method of correcting maps in the field has been to redline updates on paper. Although this process has been convenient for the field-worker, in practice there has been a high risk of failure. Teaching GIS editing skills and deploying GIS editing software can be prohibitive. Meanwhile, ad hoc software practices have crept into the enterprise, introducing problematic third party field systems. With ArcGIS 9, utilities can now deploy enterprise geodatabases into the field complete with easy-to-use redline tools. This presentation will discuss and demonstrate redline techniques derived from project work using ArcGIS Engine—a lightweight, customizable GIS software.

Revolutionize the Way Work Gets Done View Presentation [PDF-2.51 MB, 20 pages] —Randy White, MDSI Mobile Data Solutions

MDSI has worked with TXU to optimize automated work assignment to field personnel and minimize the back-office management effort. Learn how geospatial optimization can simplify the workforce automation effort, significantly improve performance, and reduce operational costs to the tune of more than one million vehicle miles in the first year.

Selling GIS Inside Your Organization View Presentation [PDF-6.64 MB, 33 pages] —Cynthia Salas, CenterPoint Energy —Gathen Garcia, Public Service Company of New Mexico —Roxanne Cox-Drake, Esri

GIS managers are charged with successful implementations of their GIS, but what happens to GIS after the initial project and data conversion efforts have been implemented? How do you expand the value delivered from this initial investment? This session helps jump-start your understanding of GIS possibilities and shares some methods for promoting the enterprisewide value available from GIS. Join the discussion to further develop tools for GIS managers.

South Kentucky RECC Putting GIS and AVL to Work Seamlessly View Presentation [PDF-25 KB, 5 pages] —Dallas Hopkins, South Kentucky RECC

With portions of 13 counties to cover in south central Kentucky, the management of crews and outage restoration efforts has traditionally been a cumbersome chore for managers and dispatchers at South Kentucky Rural Electric Corporation. But thanks to implementation of a cutting edge automated vehicle location system and GIS, all that has changed for the better. Learn about the assessment, tools, implementation, and integration efforts that now assist in quicker restoration and better customer service for south Kentucky.

Spatially Enable the Tx Enterprise View Presentation [PDF-4.11 MB, 74 pages] —Liza van der Merwe, Eskom Transmission

This presentation provides an overview of GIS direction at Eskom Transmission. Current initiatives contribute to the tactical and strategic intelligence of Eskom including

Active satellite fire watch
Real-time lightning information
Soil properties
System ownership and user empowerment through photos
Information integration with corporate systems
- Plant information
- Maintenance schedule
- Audit findings
- Outage scheduling

The presentation continues with a critical look at the strategic direction for the future including a discussion on what can be done to get there.

Structural Analysis in the Next Generation GIS View Presentation [PDF-204 KB, 24 pages] —Chris Kelly, Origin GeoSystems —Darby McKee, Itron

Through advances in GIS, existing facility and electric system network data can be used to generate highly accurate, three-dimensional models of conductors and poles for structural and clearance analysis. This information along with standard RUS construction specification units, used in a finite element analysis engine, enables utility planners and engineers to assess the structural and ground clearance impact of proposed communications attachments on an existing overhead line or the structural integrity of a proposed line extension. Benefits include better information for making pole line design decisions and improving the reliability and safety of the overhead plant.

Understanding and Managing Geodatabase Conflicts View Presentation [PDF-161 KB, 51 pages] —David Reed, Dominion —Chris Cushenbery and Tom Brown, Esri

Managing and resolving conflicts during the reconciliation process is a key aspect of automated utility engineering design in ArcGIS. By understanding why conflicts occur, automated solutions can be developed to help alleviate the number of conflicts and maintain optimal geodatabase performance. Learn from Dominion�s experience about how to reduce the amount of effort required for conflict management.

Using GIS Aware EPM Tools to Improve Asset Optimization View Presentation [PDF-265 KB, 21 pages] —Adam Tonkin, Enspiria Solutions, Inc.

This presentation provides an architectural footprint for integrating GIS—along with outage management, inspection/maintenance, and mobile field applications—with an Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system to lower maintenance costs while improving distribution reliability. A key factor that separates success and failure of EPM is the integration of application systems to provide data for the analytics automatically and consistently. This is particularly important for power distribution applications in which data volume is huge and data varies geographically. The presentation includes a case study in which pole inspection/treatment data is analyzed geospatially with outage and weather data, illustrating EPM implementation and business benefits.

Using GIS to Enhance Municipal Electric Operations and Meet the Requirements of GASB 34 View Presentation [PDF-400 KB, 32 pages] —Brian Frantz, City of Painesville, Ohio —Monica Day, Metcalf Eddy —Howard Luxhoj, TRANSMAP

This presentation outlines how the City of Painesville used GIS to quantify and value the municipal electric fixed assets for compliance with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement Number 34 (GASB 34). Learn the steps to develop a successful data management system that is compatible with the city�s GIS and accounting practices. Understand the relationship between asset management and capital planning for infrastructure maintenance. Discuss the future electric utility mapping projects in the city along with a short discussion related to the use of GIS utility data on the Internet.

Utilizing the Enhanced Functionality of ArcGIS for Electric Transmission Asset Management View Presentation [PDF-483 KB, 16 pages] —Ted Kircher, Public Service Company of New Mexico

Seven years ago, Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) began development and implementation in the .eld of an electric transmission GIS application (TAMIS). This application was developed using Esri�s ArcView� 3.x technology. Recently, the application was migrated to the ArcGIS 8.3 platform. By accomplishing this migration, ease of use has been increased for field personnel, right-of-way management, environmental management, and work analysis. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a brief discussion of how the migration has further streamlined PNM�s business practices with GIS.

Web-Based Outage Reporting Tool View Presentation [PDF-343 KB, 18 pages] —Conn McAnally, KGIS

A medium-sized electric utility of 180,000 customers developed a Web-based tool for reporting outages by community. The electric outage reporting tool imports data every 15 minutes in ArcSDE^® from the OMS. Data is brought in from a text .le using Safe Software FME, and the ZIP Code is determined dynamically. A summary table by ZIP Code is populated, and a map can be displayed with graduated symbols and zoom capabilities. ArcIMS is presently used to publish the map to the Web for internal use. The Web site is planned to be rolled out to the public in fall 2004 to help with media communication.