ph: (480) 709-2710
info
The Passage of (Diverse) Resources:
Utilities represent classic geography - how to get stuff from HERE to THERE. While utilities are a diverse group, the basic mission to move resources from source to destination efficiently, safely, and cost effectively stays the same. Whether it's natural gas, electricity, water, steam, telecommunication, fiber optics, broadband internet or even sewage, each resource has its own unique characteristics that need to be considered. Quality geospatial mapping and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can play a critical role in planning, installation, maintenance and workflow monitoring of these diverse utility sources creating a foundation of awareness supporting effective decision-making, preventative maintenance and cost-effective management practices.
Utility Planning:
Like most planning efforts, building and installing utility infrastructure is not simply a technical process. It also involves negotiating real world 3D landscapes - on the surface, subterranean and even in the air (with consideration to telecommunication infrastructure). This creates a significant amount of demand on geographic awareness. Fortunately, there are various geospatial acquisition methods available for data capture, processing and integration available - please review our Services Section (including Mobile LIDAR) and our Case Studies Section for project narratives.
Once all this updated mapping information is generated, GIS is great resource for pulling things together and putting it to work and a strong foundation for Smart City integration. All source data can be maintained and cross-referenced within the same GIS baseline, creating a useful resource for effective communication and awareness during the planning phase. A solid GIS foundation can help avoid conflicts between designs and existing infrastructure, while maintaining a clear line of communication and awareness between departments and stakeholders.
Geo-Prototype Generation & Modeling:
Just as you would craft scale model of a widget for industrial applications, GIS can also offer powerful and useful project prototype for modeling capabilities and uncovering potential issues through system testing while communicating plans to diverse stakeholders.
The same GIS prototype can also serve as a useful field reference between planning concept and reality. Deployed technicians can use mobile apps or even VR Solutions to visualize utility plans in the real world, documenting potential conflicts and risks.
Utility Infrastructure Installation:
When the planning phase is complete and the dirt moving begins, reliable mapping and GIS can help guide and support a successful installation process. On-going construction progress monitoring and reporting, creating a current understanding of a project's status, is a valuable resource. Once again, aerial imaging and LiDAR scanning can be a powerful tool in project progress documentation, confirming tasks, benchmarks and phase goals along with precision BIM structural reporting assuring that contracted specifications are being executed. Using mobile apps, current site images collected by field teams and even live camera feeds of active construction sites can be incorporated directly into a GIS environment, providing an up-to-date and accurate perspective for progress reporting. Altogether, integrated GIS monitoring and documentation capabilities can go a long way towards ensuring timelines are being satisfied, that potential delays are being addressed and mitigated effectively. Moreover, this information can also be a valuable resource for communicating progress to associated departments, contractors, customer service base and general public.
Utility Operations Management:
Once the infrastructure installation is complete and the utility system ready for operation, having a solid geospatial baseline creates a whole new set of opportunities for effective management practices. GIS excels at is communicating clearly between departments, field teams and the service base by offering a single operational baseline, a useful component for effective utility management. Because GIS is capable of maintaining and visualizing diverse sources and relationships within geospatial information, it offers an ideal structure for encouraging an accessible and useful resource for sharing information effectively. From ensuring smooth operational workflows to predicting outages and assessing standards compliance, GIS provides a useful means of integrating all necessary stakeholders into the equation. Moreover, a well-designed GIS environment also means having access to real-time information. Whether it is standard daily operations or managing emergency events, having this degree of awareness through live network feeds is key for effective decision-making. Moreover, GIS offers an ideal solution for continuously capturing historical data - organizing, visualizing, and monitoring on-going operations for continuing long-term process pattern analysis. Having a standardized process for collecting historical data and making it easily available for analytics can lead to more productive, safety conscious and cost-effective operations. In a nutshell having a solid geospatial baseline can serve as an effective resource for sustainable utility management practices. Creating a reliable and useful GIS environment where information is easily collected, organized, analyzed, visualized and communicated with the necessary team members is a powerful resource.
(Preventative) Utility Maintenance:
Putting the bottom line first, one of the greatest returns on geospatial mapping and GIS integration is preventative maintenance and integral component of Smart City Programming. Getting ahead of maintenance issues before they escalate into pervasive and costly interruptions to your service base and damage to infrastructure assets is a presents significant benefits. Depending on utility type, there are various geospatial tools available to create an effective process for monitoring, issue identification, and correction. For instance, regular assessment vegetation encroachment and foreign contact audits using Color-Infrared (CIR) aerial mapping or Mobile LiDAR systems. Or, regularly scheduled multi-spectral and thermal mapping of utility systems has a broad range of applications from identifying system leaks to detecting electrical overloads and inefficiencies. Moreover, a well-organized GIS system can clearly indicate how old systems are and performance lifecycle specifications that can help prioritize system monitoring and detection workflows more efficiently. In this regard, GIS can offer an effective tool for preventative maintenance response and documentation. A field team armed with mobile apps integrated with the GIS can take images of the problem, associate them to the infrastructure issue, allowing the maintenance team to preliminarily review the problem before responding to the repair location. Not only does this workflow allow clear maintenance reporting that improves response times but also provides a greater awareness of the problem history, helping enhance process understanding and approach. Overall, having a GIS driven preventative maintenance program can offer significant returns for any utility operation to looking to get ahead of the curve and avoid costly system failures.
Utility Geospatial Training:
From UAV acquisitions to thermal imaging, having your team trained and ready to use the latest geospatial technology in the field and office place is a valuable asset in certain instances. Depending on your needs, this can involve a highly niche training/certification process, or a very broad based training program. Having team members educated and aware of advanced field technologies can benefit the management and maintenance process. Our team of certified and licensed experts can get your team trained in 'best practices' to address the challenges particular to your utility operation.
Putting Us to Work:
Access Geographic is one of the few fully integrated geospatial firms in North America, leveraging comprehensive geospatial strategies that provide focused and effective data acquisition and GIS solutions. Our history of supporting utility programs has shown that having an integrated solution that incorporates data acquisition, GIS integration, and continuing training offers the most powerful environment for success. We definitely look forward to building a geospatial solution to meet your expanding needs, so please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions and equally feel free to provide us with an overview of the challenges facing your program.
Copyright 2023 Access Geographic, LLC. All rights reserved.
ph: (480) 709-2710
info