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of line
design workload and subsequent lag time in design turnaround
and system updates. This led the co-op to change the parameters
of its initiative, looking for more innovative ways to fulfill
its distribution design needs while accommodating the accelerated
growth in the region.
In early
2006, HPC partnered with an outside consulting agency to look
more closely at its work order process from start to finish,
focusing on getting the most out of their core systems and
helping them leverage past experiences. The end result detailed
a "desired state" that required HPC to increase
efficiency by linking a fresh staking product to existing
internal systems. In early 2006, Hendricks sent out a request
for proposals and received five responses. Itron's Distribution
Design Studio (DDS), a powerful line design and utility process
automation toolset, emerged as the clear leader.
"Itron
approaches GIS and system integration differently and it showed,"
says Todd Lynch, GIS manager for Hendricks. "We were
impressed by the flexibility of the tool, particularly the
variety of available integrations and correlation with our
co-op specific processes and desired efficiencies."
Distribution
Design Studio consists of a base application, Distribution
Staker, and a series of available enhancement modules
that can be configured to meet a utility's individual integration
and design/staking needs. Utilities can purchase the entire
studio, or add modules over time as needs and objectives change.
Working toward its "desired state," Hendricks purchased
Distribution Staker, allowing designers to easily create deliverables
such as staking sheets, estimates and material lists in an
application specifically built for the end-user. The utility
also chose the WMS/MMS/CIS Integration Module to meet
its WMS and GIS integration goals. This also enables them
to automatically receive material, labor and work order updates
from NISC, its customer information system and seamlessly
upload design information back into NISC. Choosing the Mobile
Asset View (GIS Integration) Module aids the utility's
design process by natively making use of existing GIS data.
Providing GIS data automatically to HPC designers improves
their job efficiency while subsequent GIS updates result in
higher-quality infrastructure data.
Today,
Hendricks maintains its almost 2,000 miles of electric distribution
lines more efficiently than ever. Updates occur daily from
GIS to staking and, as work orders are completed, updates
occur automatically back to GIS helping to eliminate work
order backlog.
Says Amy
Watson, Director of Corporate Technology, "Our utility
systems containing asset, material and work order information
now stay in sync and up-to-date with our design process based
on our specific goals, not on the limitations of the design
application. The product lends the right technology for the
right end-use."
In terms
of the tool's ease-of-use, Lynch says, "Itron's drawing
tool is head and shoulders above other products on the market—
it's easy to tell DDS was created with the needs of a designer
in mind."
There
are also advantages beyond design— customers with attachment
requests previously experienced an appointment lag time of
2-3 weeks. Due to greater efficiency, it is now down to one
week. Materials and purchasing employees benefit from the
shared information between systems and elimination of duplicate
data entry. Additionally, for Hendricks, DDS has been configured
to consume the same data format as the utility's GIS, enabling
the co-op to leverage its existing systems and push information
throughout the enterprise. Previously, they maintained several
viewing licenses and have saved money by eliminating custom
map viewing software.
In the
future, Hendricks Power Cooperative will continue to explore
ways to improve its system and design efficiency, including
purchasing additional DDS enhancement modules, like GPS Integration
for further field efficiency and greater asset location detail.
"The
Itron team was able to give us a lot of confidence in terms
of their product and the concept of total integration. More
than anything, we see them as an integration company,"
says Watson. "They understand the technologies, processes
and systems being used in the industry and have truly created
an application that can leverage the particular strength of
each system while creating a design environment that has been
optimized for that purpose. It's a true best-of-breed approach
to utility integration."
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