El Paso Energy's - Field force automation project
J. Stephen Ellis El Paso Energy, P.O. BOX 2511 HoustoL Texas 77252-2511 Abstract This paper will review the former Tenneco Energy’s (now a susidiary of El Paso Energy) mobile computing and field force automation initiative which is essential to distributing its innovative World Class Operations technologies for in-field use along a 12,000 mile corridor stretching fi-om the Gulf Of Mexico to New England. This initiative covers Tennessee Gas Pipeline, East Tennessee Natural Gas, and Midwestern Natural Gas, collectively known as Tennessee. Tennessee is in the deployment phase of a three year World Class Operations (WCO) effort aimed at re-engineering its core engineering, constructio~ operations and maintenance processes with an emphasis on maintaining operating cost leadership and sustaining high system reliability. The redesigned, end-to-end business processes associated with the WCO Project require the implementation of new technology and the integration of multiple applications spanning the Tennessee enterprise. WCO initiatives include AM/FM/GIS, Document Management, Work Management and Project Planning and Control. Key points of discussion will include Tenneco Energy’s connected and disconnected mobile computing applicatio~ its supporting architecture and “in-field laptop and penbased hardware, application middleware requirements, communications support and the integration of GPS technology with specialty pipeline data recording applications. Project History Whh the advent of Order 636, Tennessee was faced with the biggest challenge in its fifty year history - transforming a traditional, regulated company with a fixed-rate-of-return mentalhy into a world class service provider in a highly competitive, deregulated, global marketplace. The company had already been confronted with the hard reality of the economic scissors curve: rising operations costs on its fifty year old pipeline system and lower revenues fi-om the sale of gas transportation services. Steps had been taken to control costs and improve customer service, but by early 1994 it was clear that ii.uther measures would be necessruy. A three-year re-engineering project, which we call World Class Operations (WCO), was initiated shortly thereafter to firther streamline our operations and maintenance processes. In the late fall of 1996, Tenneco Energy was merged with El Paso Energy Company. The merger did not significantly impact the project in that the project was completed as designed, however, the actual implementation was transfemed to the line organization to ensure alignment with the new company strategies. The WCO vision is to provide real-time operating data throughout the company to ensure higher quality, lower cost, and more timely product and semice delivery. We are moving away flom disconnected databases that can’t share information across the company towards a technology solution that will enable employees to enter data at the source where the work is taking place and distribute that data seamlessly across the organization. Previous technical solutions had been more departmentally focused and created small islands of information within the company. This in turn placed additional administrative burdens on the field worldorce to supply duplicate data to the 728?difkmt departments via the fragmented systems. The result was higher operating costs, less timely data availability and inefficient use o~ and access to, company resources. We expect the WCO project to correct these problems, and enhance Tennessee’s ability to make and meet customer commitments through improved management of our gas facilities, and the associated records, maps, scheduling and human resource activities. This will be accomplished through re-engineered work processes, automated where appropriate, and use of off-the-shelf technology enablers to modernize and standardize our operations business approaches. The project will implement SAROS Document Management (DM) solutio~ PSDI’SMaximo Work Management (WM) systeq Primavera’s Project Planning and Control @P&C) package, and Intergraph’s Automated Mapping/Facility Management/Geographic Information System (AIWFIWGIS). A key component of the AM/FM/GIS initiative was tooling the field operations personnel with a mobile computing solution to capture our facility data dkectly at the source. Mobile Computing and the AM/FM. IGIS Solution Our strategy in deploying the AM/FM/GIS technology within the WCO project included capitalizing on the knowledge of our field personnel and providing the tools they needed to accurately record itiormation about the location and composition of our facilities. This concept formed the foundation of the mobile computing, or worlciiorce automatio~ portion of AIVUHWGIS.The intent of workforce automation was to develop a field system that was easy to use and wouldn’t place additional work on operations personnel. We decided on a mobile computing solution combined with global positioning system (GPS) technology as a means to correct our alignment sheets and maps. This process was also utilized to capture critical facility data. Members of our pipeline crew were included as part of the team developing the system and defining the look and feel of the mobile AMiFM/GIS field applications. In order to select a crew, we needed to narrow our choices to a location on the pipeline that would reasonably represent the Tennessee syste~ which includes over 17,000 miles of pipeline stretching from Texas to Canada. The location needed to have a good operating history and we had to have a group of people who believed in the project. We finally settled on a district location on our East Tennessee Natural Gas system located in Ooltewfi Tennessee. During workshops conducted at the Ooltewah office, participants agreed on four major categories of work to be included as part of the project. These included Preliminary SurvV, As-Built Constructioxq Final Survey and Operations& Maintenance. After agreeing on these four categories, we put our software developers side by side with the pipeline crew to arrive at the best solution for capturing data associated with each work process and then verified the data for source locations. A review of all the currently used paper forms was also conducted to ensure that our design would provide the information required by all areas of the organization. Based on information gathered during the workshops and associated prototype sessions, we developed a detailed design document detlning each new process. Equipment options were matched to the work performed, and the crew members evaluated a variety of mobile computing units before selecting the unit they felt best matched their needs and environment. Applications were then developed for the selected hardware. As might be expected, many technical challenges arose during development of the worl&orce automation solution. One of the largest issues related to moving large design data sets across the 729?company’s wide area network which eventually was resolved by cutting C D‘s of data sets from the main AM/FM/GIS system and shipping them to field locations. Smaller amounts of data could be passed through a message server which acts as a request manager between the mobile computing agent and the AM/FM/GIS server. This approach lessened the demand on the main system and the need to put high end software on each mobile unit. Additionally, to meet the challenge of managing a number of applications on the unit, we settled on a single viewing software package that allows the end user to view a variety of document formats. By limiting ourselves to this one viewing applicatio~ employees don’t have to become experts on the AMA?IWGIS,work management or document management systems and we reduce the transition period for end-users to adapt to the new system. Everything is delivered through the single viewing application that has been tailored to fit their work process. Information to be sent to a user is placed in an in-box on the message server. The next time the user connects to the system the data is automatically delivered. If they have information to send back to the main system it is removed from their out-box and delivered to the server and later passed into the main AM/FM/GIS server for processing. In planning the way to capture information for the four work processes, we tried to mirror the current work flow processes as much as possible while eliminating non-value added activities. For example, in the current paradigm the crew members report to work in the morning to receive their assignments. They gather up the tools, materials and documentation needed for the work to be performed each day and then drive to the facility site, often quite a long distance from the office. In the evening, they drive back to the office and give any forms they completed that day to the administrative person for data entry. They also advise the superintendent or foreman of any conditions they noticed while they were out that need to be scheduled for follow-up, such as the right-of way requiring mowing or other minor repairs. Using mobile computing, we will follow a similar work flow, but streamline the process. The employee logs into the system in the morning to get the latest information and assignment for the coming day, including necessary documentation and tools required for the job. During the day, the employee will update and record information related to their assignments on the laptop, eliminating the need to keep up with paper copies of forms, maps or procedures. The~ at the end of the day, the employee will log back into the system and upload the day’s information onto the network. During the night, the system processes the informatio~ dhibuting to various departments as needed, and places the next day’s work in the system mail box. Further efficiencies can be gained in the process by having the information available to the employee from the office, on the road, or at home. In this way the employee can head straight to the worksite in the morning. The WCO Approach to applying Mobile computing As mentioned previously, we separated our work processes into four major categories consisting of Preliminary Survey; As-Built Construction, Final Survey; and Operations & Maintenance. Let’s take a look at how workforce computing will be applied within each of these areas. Preliminary Sumev - Tennessee traditionally outsources survey worlq so we wanted a technical solution that could easily be used by contract survey and engineering companies. In the past, we had not utilized the data gathered by our contractors during preliminary surveys to populate our tradhional facility management application. However, in the new world, we wanted to capture information regarding our proposed routes from the very beginning and prevent employees from spending time on duplicative data entry tasks. Our deployment of an AM/FM/GIS product that could operate independent of the server greatly enhanced our ability to gather and manage this survey data from the early planning stages right through to construction and ongoing operations. The first step of our process was to create a proposed route on scanned USGS quadrangle maps. The scanned images were georeferenced to our selected map projection. For this project we selected Alberse Equal Area projection based on the WGS84 ellipsoid. This projection was chosen because it allows us to maintain a seamless coordinate base over the entire extents of the pipeline system. The selection of the map projection was a critical step in the inital design of our AM/FM/GIS system to ensure that all subsequent information gathered and entered into the system is spatially correct. We included these projection and DATUM standards as part of all our survey and aerial photography standards. The establishment of these standards will vary depending on where your facilities are located throughout the world and how you want to map these facilities, but the importance of making this decision during the design stages of your GIS project can’t be emphasized enough. There have been many books written on various aspects of establishing these standards, but we found that seeking the advice of a recognized expert consultant in this field provided the best results, saving both time and money over the long run. Next, we selected a survey engineering contractor who understood our specifications and would work with us on designing the automated process to gather our data in the most cost effective manner. We determined that it would be best to use a smaller, less costly data recorder with an integrated GPS (Geographic Positioning System) interfkce. Since GPS seems to be one of those loosely defined technologies floating around the industry, we again wanted to be ve~ specific in defining our contract specifications. This is another area where a reputable consultant can help you set realistic expectations regarding accuracy and costs. The GPS technology is changing daily, so it is important to become well educated on the subject if you intend to include it in any of your work processes. As-Built Construction - The second business process we tackled, As-Built Constructio~ comprises a group of data gathering tasks usually pefiormed by one of our inspectors or field engineers before the pipe is lowered into the ditch. During this process, the field crew records a variety of information about the facilities under constructio~ primarily on paper-based forms. In the fiture, much of the process will be automated. For example, when we establish stationing for the line we currently use the slope chaining method, which means a chaining crew takes measurements after the pipe is welded and before it’s lowered into the ditch. Although the survey method for collecting the information will remain the same, slope stationing with a steal tape, the medium onto which the data is collected will be automated. Using the new data collection scdbvare, an inspector can walk the pipeline recording all of the attributes associated with the pipeline including bends, PI’s material and coatings. Certain cultural features such as roads, streams, fence lines, etc. are also recorded. After the data is entered into the data recorder, it is transported to a larger computer which is in the construction control center. This is the main assembly point and a more extensive data validation is performed. If errors are noted, the individual does a quick re-verification in the field and enters the correction back in the computer. Selecting rugged computers designed for field work makes it easier to take the units to the site to make the final corrections. As part of the overall design requirements, we made sure that all components were developed according to Microsoft’s ODBC and COM standards. This allows for the free flow of data between all applications. Final Survev - The third component of workforce automation is the Final Survey. This activity occurs tier the pipe has been lowered into the ground and covered. At this point, we can locate the pipe and associated facilities accurately using GPS technologies. Using pipe locators integrated with our ruggedmd computers and GPS receivers, we can accurately locate major horizontal and vertical PI’s. Through a series of algorithms in our pipeline data collection software, we can combine this coordinate information from the GPS, with the stationing data collected during the construction survey. With the horizonal and vertical PI’s located we can calculate coordinates for all other station information from the construction survey. By using this two survey approach our field inspectors do not have to get into the ditch to locate the pipe, and the construction survey crews are not delaying the process of lowering in and back filling the pipe. Prior to our final survey load, we segxegate this information in a disconnected AM/FM/GIS which is running on our construction computer. We cycle changes between the data recorder process and a simulated upload. The reason that we keep the data in this mode is for the flexibility to change any data components. After it is committed to the primary system we have designed our business rules to make it more difficult to change any feature. Since much of this work has been outsourced we also needed the ability to operate in a disconnected mode. Operations and Maintenance - Once the construction and survey tiormation is loaded into the main AM/FM/GIS systeq we are ready to address the final piece of the project, Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Applying the mobile computing product to ongoing O&M work was of primary interest since O&M activities represents the most significant area of day to day work for our field personnel. One of the first O&M processes addressed was monthly motor patrols, and we learned some interesting lessons about using our technology during initial pilot activities. During this process, a member of the pipeline crew drives the area along our pipeline corridor. They observe Conditions at every road crossing throughout their district. We determined this would be an excellent way to take GPS readings to correct our pipeline corridor information in the ANUFIWGIS system. We installed a ruggedized computer and the associated GPS equipment in one of our pipeline crew trucks. The field employee approached the first road crossing and turned to drive up the right-of-way. We caught up with him and explained that we needed him to stay on the road, just lie he did each month when he pdormed the motor patrol. After explaining ourselves a little better we were able to perform the first test of the new work process. It worked pretty well. The problem we encountered, however, was that the icons on the screen were to small to see in the truck. Then the employee hit us with the next problem - whereto place the truck so that we can collect the GPS reading. It’s one thing to straddle a curb out in the country someplace, but most residential areas would not look kindly on us driving through their yards! In just a few minutes, we could clearly see the importance of developing these types of applications in the field itself We’d have never thought of this problem in an office environment. Our solution here, working with the so~are developer and our GPS consultant, was to design a touch screen application that allows the crew to perform the complete task without leaving the vehicle. Our pipeline has pipeline markers on each side of the road at every road crossing. The driver simply pulls to the 732?side of the ro@ stops the truck in limewith the markers, and touches the “receive GPS” icon on the screen. Within about 30 seconds the computer emits a tone, and the employee uses a pen-based tool to select crossing conditions, vehicle locatio~ and enters notes and comments as necessary. An area map is displayed showing the road network for the area they are working in with the pipeline route displayed. The system continually positions the map to the area being observed. We have our pipeline broken into grids which represents the geographic information stored on a CD. As the driver crosses into a new CD grid the system beeps to tiorm them to load the CD covering the new area.This grid approach helps us control file updates and reduces the number of CD’screated during the year. We use this process to track updates to our landbase fmtures which have been outsourced to a landbase information provider and data integrator. We also developed an application to record new streets and roads. When the driver notices a new road, he simply selects “record new road” which begins recording the path of the truck using the GPS unit and the truck-mounted computer. The GPS unit gathers points every few seconds and the computer displays the new road route. The crew enters attribute information regarding the new road and de-activates the GPS tracking at the end of the new road. The new road continues to show as a redline layer until it is loaded into the landbase portion of our system and a new CD is created. Other O & M processes which we have included are: encroachment and surveillance reporting; regulator and relief value inspections; gas leak and failure reporting; repair and replacement reporting; meter installation and odorant testing; and the annual house count. We have also included support for our right-of -way (ROW) agents. These agents are assigned to our division offices but spend most of their time gathering and updating parcel Mormation along the pipeline. Working closely with our field agents and representatives from our Houston right-of-way office, the development team designed an application which allows for the recording of pertinent ROW information. Through this application the agents can access the associated documents which have been scanned and stored in the document management system. These documents are downloaded to CD’s using the same grid control process described earlier. This process is helping reduce the number of right-of-way files being maintained throughout our division and district offices, and makes them more accessible in the field at the point where they’re most needed. In addition to our right-of-way files, we have also protided access to detail design drawings and various operating manuals which are stored in the document management system. Relying on the viewing capabilities of our field MWI?M/GIS applications we are able to provide our worldorce with access to the documents they need to perilorm their daily work assignments, This design keeps things simple for our field forces by giving them a consistent look and f=l for all of their field processes. Final Thoughts In summary, there are a few points which need to be stressed when approaching a workforce automation project:
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