Time Telekom's Network Inventory System: AM/FM/GIS in the big Durian
The Network Inventory System
Geographic information systems offer numerous benefits for telecommunications
company decision making. - The benefits of TIME Telekom’s Network Inventory System
(NIS) maybe categorized in as follows:
- graphic product generation, modification and maintenance
- report generation
- system engineering
- interfaces to other data bases created or used by TIME Telekom
Graphic Products
The system is capable of producing, storing and reproducing plant location records
produced at any scale. To simplify the plotting process, the system offers the option of
plotting at predefine scales, with predefine sheet sizes. Users have the option to
select variable scale output as well. The system supports production, storage and
reproduction of aerial plant, buried plant and underground plant (conduit) records and
miscellaneous detail drawings (for example, manhole details, floor plans and rack face
diagrams).
The system suppotts rapid modification of maps and drawings. Construction plans can
be produced in digital form, saving time in revision. After construction is complete,
these plans can be converted into final as-built plant location records more rapidly than
in the past. The system supports maintenance of a consistent set of graphic elements
and text.
The system incorporates a coherent, network-wide geographic reference system. The
system supports graphical searches by operating region or for the company as a whole.
Examples of such searches include locating individual customer sites using a system of
site codes and locating items of plant using work order numbers. In future, it is planned
to incorporate field location notes and access to reference location maps. The
company is evaluating the potential benefits of satellite imagery of the areas in which
construction is taking place. The system has been designed to incorporate such data if
the evaluation is favorable.
The system supports storage and display of multiple layers of information. These
layers are independent, permitting production of maps using any combination of
information. This organization of data permits production of custom purpose maps and
reports for a variety of end users, In other words, the system supports production of
hard copy maps, with user-definable content, on an as-needed basis.
The only theoretical limit to the number and variety of reports (statistical summaries of
information) in the system is the number of variables stored in the computer data base.
The TIME Telekom data base framework defines types of objects and activities, termed
entities, that serve as organization guides. An example of an entity is the item of plant
category “duct.” Each entity has characteristics, called attributes. An example of an
attribute for a section of duct is “diameter.” The system should generate reports based
on the entity and attribute structure defined in the system’s data base structure.
The system supports the generation of reports, in summary form by operating district
and for the company as a whole. For example, TIME Telekom is subject to a variety of
accounting requirements. The system supports reporting of the depreciation and
amortization status of all facilities. The system supports analysis of placement and
maintenance costs and of ownership records. The system constitutes a basis of a
continuing property record for accounting.
The system supports cost and capital expenditure analyses and generates reports of
those analyses. The reports may contain information on the costs of placement, cost of
materials and types of facility. Such reports typically would be tabulated or cross--
referenced by project, year of placement, or other variable(s). Although terrain and
physical environment are major factors in the total cost of a project, the methods used
by a particular contractor or engineer may be more cost-effective than other methods.
Such efficiencies may be identified and incorporated in standard procedures.
The system generates summary reports of the attributes of facilities. These attributes
include, for example, engineering contractor, location, account code, a unique
identification number, cross-references to detail drawings, date of placement, and
ownership codes.
To a limited, but growing extent, the system can identify internal data errors and
inconsistencies. Although some anomalies between numbers are appropriate, many
other types of discrepancies can be adjusted automatically or flagged for human
decision. The system incorporates methods of automatically converting data values
between measurement systems. This is a functionality that may be enhanced as new
mensuration issues arise.
The system supports tracking of “state” changes and the status of all items of plant in
each project. An example of this capability is the ability to distinguish between planned,
pre-posted facilities (“as-designed”) and constructed, final-posted facilities (“as-built”)
Other states might include future expansion designs and “what-if” scenarios. An audit
trail of the state changes would permit maintenance of more accurate continuing
property records,
Predefine reports satisfy approximately 80% of all current queries. During the next
stage of development, direct ad hoc queries will be supped with a suite of customized
reporting tools. Implementation of these direct data base queries will expand the utility
of the system while minimizing capital expenditures for relatively more expensive
graphics workstations.
Engineering
The system supports fiber optic and copper cable connectivity checking. The TIME
Telekom network does not employ copper cables in its main trunk systems at present.
In future, however, the system may be adapted to suppotl such fundamental copper
system engineering activities as cable throws and loop make-ups. The system
generates a bill of materials and a summary of work units to support construction
bidding.
The system supports route tracing and reporting. Among the functions scheduled for
future implementation is a “trace” capability that will include tests for attenuation, by
fiber, for fiber systems. The system is being integrated with another TIME Telekom
system that is responsible for fiber circuit construction and management, which will
facilitate complete end-to-end circuit identification and monitoring. The system
supports on-going testing of outside plant facilities, as well as maintenance and
restoration activities.
The system is being integrated with various software tools and related sub-systems to
allow TIME Telekom engineers to set-up and monitor project schedules. Depending on
the as-built submission schedules, the system could report weekly or monthly
construction progress and costs incurred. Ultimately, this could be accomplished by
direct data transmission from field staff supplied with portable computers, a technology
currently under investigation at TIME Quantum Technology.
Among the functions currently being designed and added is the ability to provide TIME
Telekom engineering personnel with access to historical cost information to support
cost estimating. For example, an application is being designed now to calculate and
update a broadgauge cost-estimating tool for different work operations (work units).
The broadgauge is being assembled by geographic area, providing the engineer with
current, area-specific information to estimate the costs of new projects. This application
will assist the engineering and construction staff in analyzing potential cost overruns
and generating variance reports.
Different levels of access have been established to maintain data security. The access
defines not only who can access files, but also what portions of those files are
accessible. Furthermore, the system defines the nature of the access.
688?For example, a member of the marketing staff can view the entire network, but cannot
perform any changes to the network. An outside plant (OSP) engineer can design a
system addition. However, the OSP supervisor’s approval is required before the design
can be posted to the master data base. Outside plant engineers do not have access to
marketing department prospect lists.
Outside plant engineers can see portions of the inside plant and transmission
equipment, but cannot modify these features. Similarly, inside plant equipment
engineers can read and modify inside plant, but their access to the outside plant is
“read-only.”. This level of security is defined for classes of users defined by a system
design committee,
Interfaces to Other Svstems
Mirroring the communication network’s SDH technology architecture, the information
system’s technology architecture is distributed and resilient. The system incorporates
the concept of distributed access and both Wide Area Networks (WANS) and Local
Area Networks (LANs) that use both standard communications lines and the company’s
high bandwidth fiber circuits. The system is built around a server and workstation
configuration that distributes data and processing loads to a hierarchy of servers.
Enterprise Servers -- support corporate-wide customer, network and business
applications and databases that are managed centrally (excluding certain
applications interfaces with selected SDH network elements)
Regional Servers -- support customer, network and business applications and
databases that are operated and managed most appropriately at regional
headquarters and other remote offices
Network Operations Servers -- support real-time network applications and
databases with interfaces to the network elements
Development and Staging Servers -- support software development and staging
environments, respectively; located in proximity to development teams
Business Operations Workstations -- standard microcomputers for users of
customer, business and non-real-time network systems
Network Operations Workstation -- high performance, high display resolution
workstations used to support network applications.
Developer and Staging Workstations -- workstations configured with appropriate
development tools
This arrangement permits connection of remote terminal sites at multiple operating
region offices. Engineers at these offices have access to the system in real time for
engineering design and data review. The same terminals used for the GIS can be used
for access to other systems, either through direct log-in or terminal emulation.
In the near future, the system will interact with an automated trouble ticket system
developed independently. Toward that end, the NIS already has been linked to an
alarm management system. An extension of this concept -- real-time cable monitoring --
is under evaluation. For this functionality, we anticipate incorporating third party fiber
monitoring software.
There are many other external data bases and external data sources whose integration
is of interest to TIME Telekom. The system has been designed to support access to
such data. Through time, as user sophistication increases, we anticipate requests for
enhancements primarily in the area of multi-system interaction.
For example, through the technique of polygon processing, specific corporate markets
may be identified and serviced more effectively using a GIS. This process could
include, for example, identification of service availability by geographic area, in
conjunction with demographic data from the marketing department. The system should
interface with a standard choroplethic or thematic mapping software package to support
marketing efforts. To support these functions, the NIS has been designed to interact
with marketing prospect data bases and to provide certain functions related to planning
network extensions.
Outside plant information for cable television companies, power companies, and foreign
telephone company also can be tracked. In the case of direct pole attachment, for
example, this information is stored in TIME Telekom’s data bases. This information will
be used to ensure accurate billing for pole and structure rentals. In other cases, the
information could be stored in other data bases for analysis, resale, or maintenance for
a foreign utility, as appropriate.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The benefits of GIS for the decision making process are substantial. The process of
implementation at TIME Telekom is taking place in several stages. The first stage --
definition of hardware and software requirements -- was completed during the second
quarter of 1995. The second stage -- definition and acquisition of land base information
-- also was completed during the second quarter of 1995. The third stage --
customization of software to provide TIME Telekom-specific applications -- took place
over a period of seven months. The first group of applications was released during the
third quarter of 1995, while the second group of applications was released in the first
quarter of 1996. Other applications will be developed over the life of the project.
The fourth stage -- conversion of existing records to digital form -- began during the
second quarter of 1995. This stage will continue until such time as all existing
documents are converted and all engineering design work is performed using the
system. We estimate that the first part of this task will require approximately two years,
while design work using the system already is underway. The benefits of automated
record management being realized at Time Telekom are substantial and growing.
