Florida Utility Streamlines Accurate Field Data Updates with ArcFM™ Mobile GIS Solution
Crews at Fort Pierce Utilities Authority use GIS in the field to help optimize asset network investment
Telvent (NASDAQ: TLVT), the IT company for a sustainable and secure world, announced that Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA) is implementing Telvent’s ArcFM™ GIS Solution mobile technology for streamlined electric facilities maintenance. Equipped with ArcFM Viewer with Redliner and Telvent’s Geodatabase Replication, FPUA’s electric field crew can access the most recent enterprise data, easily mark map features, and send their updates back to the geodatabase quickly and accurately.
Community-owned FPUA provides electric, water, wastewater, and natural gas services to a combined 29,000 customers in the City of Fort Pierce and portions of St. Lucie County on the eastern coast of Florida. In 2004, multiple hurricanes inflicted extensive damage to the utility’s electric infrastructure; during the process of rebuilding assets, the utility realized it would benefit greatly from a streamlined means of updating field data. It was then that FPUA considered adding ArcFM Mobile tools to the ArcFM enterprise GIS (Geographic Information System) it had been using since 2002.
Now, FPUA linemen and other field personnel are equipped with ArcFM Viewer to search, query, and view multiple stored displays - without requiring the assistance of engineering technicians in the office. Utilizing the Geodatabase Replication built by Telvent, the field user receives only changes that have occurred since the previous update, resulting in a quick synchronization process. Using Redliner, field personnel not only can place elements as graphics on a map but also can make simple yet comprehensive markups and reconcile those field notes directly with the geodatabase back in the office. The ease of use of ArcFM Viewer facilitated deployment, according to Tim Battle, GIS Analyst for FPUA.
“We have a lot of knowledgeable employees, with a lot of information in their heads,” explained Battle. “These mobile GIS tools move us away from handwritten field notes and make the asset update process more accurate. In the future, we will more quickly assess storm damage and, as we continually upgrade our asset specifications, make network improvement more efficient.”
FPUA anticipates adding ArcFM Viewer with Inspector in the near future to give mobile clients the ability to edit existing feature attributes and manage related objects to support workflows. Along with ArcFM Mobile that allows full-feature edits in the field, the utility expects 15 or more users will be applying all or part of the full ArcFM mobile solution.
Battle added, “I’ve worked with many utilities around the country, and so many of them need practical availability of current field information. In the short time we’ve been using ArcFM Mobile, we are confident it will help our system be all that it can be.”
FPUA also is in the process of integrating Telvent’s Designer and Fiber Manager applications with its ArcFM GIS.
Telvent (NASDAQ: TLVT) is a unique global company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and a component of the CleanTech IndexTM -the first, and only, stock market index of leading clean technology ("cleantech") companies.
Telvent, the IT Company for a sustainable and secure world, specializes in high-value-added products, services and integrated solutions in the Energy, Transportation, Environmental and Public Administration industry segments, as well as Global Services. Its innovative technology and proven experience help ensure secure and efficient management of the operating and business processes of the world's leading companies. www.telvent.com/.
Fort Pierce Utilities is a municipal utility whose mission is “to provide our customers with economical, reliable and friendly service in a continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in our community.” Fort Pierce is one of more than 2,000 communities in the United States served by a community-owned electric utility, and one of very few that also provide water, wastewater, natural gas, and Internet services. Public utility systems are owned by the people they serve; all benefits from the locally controlled utility remain in the community. Additional information is available at www.fpua.com.
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