AM/FM Project cost justification achieved with applications
Linda L. Oliveira Cook-Hurlbert, hlC., 9111 Jollyville Road Suite 105, Austin, Texas 78759 Abstract The issue of justifying AM/FM project expenditures while providing benefits to users has always been a difficult issue for project managers to resolve. Converting data alone does not Justify the potentially huge costs involved. Using the converteddata provides costjustification for most projects by improving productivity, customersatisfactionand plant efficiency. By implementingapplicationsearly into the project, information entered into the system can be accessedand distributed efficientlyand easily. Cost reductions for current procedures and operations can be evidenced by several factors including increased speed of informationinput and delivery, reductionof data duplication,improvedoutput formats, and use of resources. Introduction More and more utilities are deciding that AM/FM projects are necessary to compete in today’s ever changing market. The fact that this direction is necessary does not always provide the means by which governing bodies can allocate the required fimds. Identifying the components of the intended AM/FM project that can be leveraged to provide the most benefits is essential whenjustifying its expense. How departmentsjustify these projects is the focus of this paper. Competition Deregulation. Consolidation. Divestiture, These watch worda have been the wakeup call for utilities over the past few years. Where previously the generally accepted idea was “build it and they will come”, now utilities are forced to respond to the watch words of today by improving the management of their core businesses. The core business of utilities is providing service to customers, be it generation, transmission or distribution, this service is being scrutinized and compared to other available sources. Therefore this improvement is for one reason only - survival. Only those utilities who have the most efficient operations, that is lower costs of operation compared to higher levels of customersatisfactionwill be viable, healthy companies. The rest will either be bought out, consolidatedwiti other utilities, or find themselveslacking in customexsand burdenedwith heavy expensesfrom maintaininglarge networks that serve an ever decreasing customerbase. Project Components Hardware and software components are always at the forefront of any project. These are diverae in nature and dependent upon several factors, among them personal preferences of management and technical staff. Hardware processing speeds increase every few months, and the software that runs on it is also speeding along the development highway. Then you must take into consideration the data that will support the system, the users who will access it and the applications they require to do their jobs. Understanding that the hardwareand softwareare individual choices, I will leave these for another discussion, and concentrateinstead on the commonelementsof AM/FM projects. Data conversionis the first elementmost people think of when planning a new AM/FM implementation. This process can be the longeat in duration, the costliest single componentand the greatestsourceof discussionamongproject teams. Convertingfrom paper sourcesto a digital format is generallyacceptedas a basic requirementfor any successfulAM/FM project. But, what do you get for the time, money and lengthy discussions? First of all you get a data source that is compatiblewith your new system. This maybe attained through data translation, scanningand raster manipulationof hard copy sources, digitizing from original maps, field 338?surveys to collect and veri~ plant in the field, or some combination of these methods. The point is, it has to be done at some level, before any benefit can be realized. Data conversion alone does not justify an AM/FM project. Don’t get me wrong, it does have benefits. First it automates the data creation and maintenance process, which saves time and labor while creating more standard, readable map products. It also allows for in-house or reduced out-sourcing of the production of map products, i.e. map books, wrdl maps,... More and more utilities are taking these tasks upon themselves and in doing so save money, and time while maintaining control of their &ta, and its production schedule. Application Influences But data conversion is also the largest component cost of any project. Data supports applications, and it is the applications that provide the greatest benefit and justification for implementing AM/FM projects. Applications that are implemented early in the project’s life cycle provide visual, hard dollar returns on the project’s investment. Designers can have access to current inventory and material costing information which can mean the difference between designing a job that requires special order or out of stock materials versus a job design which uses available stock. Applications that enable you to analyze alternatives using in-stock versus out-of-stock material, may have a dramatic impact on planning, construction scheduk, and cash flow. Plotting applications can also be put to use early in the project. These applications allow map production to be done to a large extent in-house. Customized templates, bulklbatch plotting functions, and specialized map products can be quickly produced using raster data or areas containing completed vector conversion data. Providing crews with current map information reduces the times required to locate and consequently make repairs. Map books can be updated page-by-page as needed rather than on an annual basis when the data is out-sourced to be printed. Work orders can be entered into the system and plotted as necessary instead of waiting for the next (possibly annual) map book update. By implementing work design applications early in the project, the work designs can be prepared within the AM/FM system. Plots of the design can be directed to remote sites decreasing the amount of routing time from engineering to construction. Construction crews can see work designs (as designed or as-built) on their work request. Schedules can be prepared allowing jobs to be combined, or timed such that crew assignments are better used efficiently. When the job has been built, the as-built changes can then be updated into the system facilitating quicker close-out, realizing faster accounting benefits. Equipment sizing can also be quickly and easily determined utilizing applications integrated into AIWFM systems. These applications allow designers to have on-screen access to tools that determine if the equipment they have specified will support the load they’ve anticipated. Furthermore, the designer can use the system to suggest the proper equipment size based on the overall design, leaving much of the guess-work out of the equation. This minimizes expensive over building while maximizing the use of installed equipment, saving hard dollars on each installation. By implementing applications similar to these, utilities can gain an advantage by providing a higher quality of service, improving system reliability, reducing inventory, and reducing excess labor charges. Putting AM/FM systems on user’s dwks quickly demonstrate the pay back in soft benefita as well. For instance, designers can have access to current technology, allowing them to develop new skills. Repetitive tasks can all but be avoided, leaving more time for alternative design scenarios, more accurate costing estimates can be generated in less time and graphic depiction of designs can aid in the requirements understanding. Users of all levels should see an improvement in the time necessary to complete daily tasks as a result of automation. Routing of designs can be done through the system, alleviating the task of manually moving the file iiom approval level to approval level. The number of individual data bases users maintain to provide the information and reporting fimctions they require can be reduced to a single corporate solution. This reduces the amount of resources needed to update and maintain the information, while giving users access to data they need and restricting access to secure information.. Current systems can be analyzed to determine where preventive maintenance is needed before problems arise. This is accomplished by analyzing the network for the ability to handle normal or peak capacity. Potential trouble spota are quickly identified within the system alltwing planners to prepare work requests to improve the noted condition, before the next season of heavy use. This type of application lends itself to connecting to or integrating outage analysis applications that can provide further cost savings to the utility, by identifying the affected device and dispatching crews to more precise locations, iriqx-oving response times to outage/trouble calls. Both these applications require data that is relatively accurate and complete, but provide some of the greatest benefits to users and customers alike. Direct users of the system are not the only people to see benefits. Utility customers also reap a host of benefita due to the rapid implementation of applications. For example, customer service representatives can have quick access to information regarding job status, providing customers with anticipated times of completion, and estimated costs. This information provides a high quality of customer service simply by having information available and accessible. When a customer calls in to report a problem, utility representatives can provide information regarding the problem. If other callers have reported the same problem, the customer representative may tell the caller the utility is aware of the problem, when the crew was (or will be) dispatched, and an anticipated time of completion. Once the repair is made, reports can be automatically generated with customer name and phone numbers to call and verify the repair. Defining Costs and Benefits But how can these costs be measured? For any cost benefit analysis, costs for the proposed project are compared to the benefits to be gained from the implementation of the project. For AM/FM projects the costs fall into six main categories:
Software costs are costs associated with the acquisition of the proposed AM/FM software platform. Operating systems, core and modular software would all fall into this catego~. Training for the system does not belong in this category as it is an on-going cost and therefore belongs in system maintenance. System Maintenance costs include annual software maintenance fees, training, and user support. Resource costs are direct labor charges for supporting the system. If new staff are required their salaries and benefits would be applied to this category. Existing staff whose job functions will shift to the AM/FM project should also have their salaries and benefita included in order to gain a full picture of the project costs. Data Conversion costs are those costs directly associated with converting existing data into the proposed system. This may be a phased cost; the first phase completing a raster conversion, the second vector. This may be done in-house, or by a vendor specializing in data conversion or a combination of the two. Application costs are usually phased in over a period of time. A priority list of desired applications should be made after which estimated costs can be applied. As with data conversion, these applications maybe purchased from a third party, developed in-house or by a vendor specializing in the development of applications on the selected platform. Often the simpler applications are done in-house as training projects 340?while the more complex are left to vendors who have a great deal more experience working in the selected environment. Measurable benefits then must be identified. These are benefits that can be measured by either the amount of dollars saved (as a comparison to the dollars spent for the same activity pre-AM/FM ) or the amount backlog work that can be removed. Benefits can fall into several categories, a few of which are outlined below:
System reliability benefits stem from the utility’s improved network reliability. Leas down time due to faults in the system equate to fewer customer calls, and leas overtime for emergency repairs. Outage benefits are seen as quicker repair times, reduction in unexpected outages due to better system design tools, and advance notification of sensitive areas such as high and low voltage points. Another benefit that can be measured is the reduction of scheduled maintenance jobs. Typically these jobs must wait until other work such as outage and new builds, is completed. Improving the amount of lead time construction departments receive before work is required allows them to better schedule crews, thereby providing higher manpower efficiencies, and reduced outage times. If a utility is required to maintain paper maps or truck map books, many times this task is sent to vendom. These vendors must maintain hard copies which they update with information forwarded by the utility often monthly or yearly. These updates are then photographed and copied into the desired format. By updating the map information within the AM/FM system, utilities can have up-to-date maps produced in much leas time. There is no longer a large amount of updates to perform. Current information can either be sent out digitally for reproduction, or in-house resources can develop original maps that can be sent out for duplications. This saves many utilities thousands of dollars within the first reprint alone. Safety benefits are tied to having information about the current state of the system. Many repair crews rely on current truck maps for locating devices. Dispatchers can also alert crews to scheduled and emergency outages, the current status of operating devices such as switches, disconnects and reclosers, and the energized/de-energized status of lines. The specific value of any benefit must be carefully calculated and will be dictated by individual situations. But one thing is clear, traditional cost benefit analysis requires applications if it is to be applied to AM/FM systems. Applications allow utilities to compete for customers which are the life blood of any viable organization. Without customers, the chances for survival are minimal. only with a strong customer base will individual utilities continue to prosper. | ||
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