Implementing Mapping Systems in Distribution Cooperatives

Automated mapping systems, sometimes known as automated mapping/facilities management (AM/FM) systems or geographic information systems (GIS), have been used by electric utilities since the early 1970s. Often these expensive tools ate used to do little more than automate manual drafting functions despite the fact that they ate designed to do much more. Many co-ops have invested large sums in purchasing and deploying mapping systems and, in some cases, those systems are still not completely operational, even after a decade of effort. Many factors have caused these shortcomings in implementation. Rarely has a lack of technology been to blame; rather the fault often lies in a lack of defined goals, failure to sustain support of senior executives, lack of a clear understanding of the scope of the project, or poor management of deployment. This article presents some of the findings from a recent Cooperative Research Network (CRN) project, Deployment of Mapping Systems in Distribution Cooperatives are here. This project investigated the potential for use of mapping systems, presented guidelines for management and implementation, and recommended means to integrate mapping with other company-wide databases. One of the key deliverables was a project management framework to enhance the probability of successful implementation of mapping systems. The Changing Role of Mapping Mapping systems have long been used by cooperatives to automate the production of paper maps for use by field crews of office personnel. Although this is still important, by itself automated mapping rarely yields enough benefits to pay for the full costs of deploying a GIS. The true benefits of a mapping system can only be gained if the staff members look outside of the drafting room at such companywide processes as work order processing, maintenance scheduling, outage handling, system planning and marketing. Each of these functions relies on geographic data; ideally all of these functions should share a common geospatial database. Each process that is streamlined using the mapping system yields cost savings and employee efficiencies that would not be possible if the co-op had not already invested in the mapping system. The key challenge for coops is to ensure that the mapping system is a strategic asset, not merely an engineering department tool. The CRN manual, Deployment of Mapping Systems in Distribution Cooperatives, (McNaughton, 1999) outlines nearly thirty potential uses for co-op mapping systems in addition to the automation of paper map production. Six fictitious case studies are presented here to illustrate a few of those opportunities. Case Study 1 - Automating Work Order Processes Tri-County Cooperative has recently completed integration of its AM/FM/GIS and automated staking software with its inventory management, work order accounting, and work order tracking applications. Previously, the co-op used a paper-based approach to design and track the progress of line extensions and maintenance work orders. There was no way to know the status or priority of a specific job, which led to customer and staff frustration. Loss of paper documentation would often stall a job. Furthermore, the staking engineer was required to hand draw a job sketch, calculate the material take-offs, and manually complete the material ticket. The work order clerk was required to manually enter into the work order accounting program the items from the material ticket - a time-consuming and error-prone process. After the integration, the process flow is more efficient: * The work order is entered into the work order tracking program and assigned to a staker. * Each staker receives his work electronically and can download from the mapping system enough background information to form the basis of the job sketch. * After the construction units are staked using a global positioning system receiver to locate the proposed units, i) the material pick list is automatically generated, ii) material is committed from inventory and charged to the work order account, iii) the job sketch is posted to the mapping system on a proposed facilities layer and iv) all of the required paperwork is automatically printed at the network-connected printers closest to where the resulting paperwork is to be used - all without further effort on the part of the staker. …