Field Inventory - Do’s and Don’ts
Size of job (Quantities)
Actual counts of the items to be inventoried will be very usefid to vendors. If possible include
numbers for poles, UG locations and primary devices. Number of customers is useful along
with miles of primary conductor.
Sources - content and availability
Each source provided to the vendor should be evaluated and described relative to coverage,
content and accuracy. It would be usefil if the client mentioned the purpose for which the
source was provided. What is the vender expected to do with each source.
Given twenty years experience in the industry involving dozens of projects, source materials
have ALLWAYS been a problem. Not once have they been readily available consistently
throughout a project. The problem can have a devastating effect on an otherwise successful
project.
The two specific sources that are most useful for the inventory process are landbase and circuit
maps. Landbase is needed for organization of the graphics produced in the field. Circuit maps
are used to organize work.
Acquire vs. verify information
There is a school of thought that says it is easier to verify information in existing maps than it is
to collect new correct information from scratch. Consequently, the thinking continues, because
only verification is called for, the inventory should be quite inexpensive. This is true to a
limited extent. Specifically, only wire codes (wire size and material) are easier to verify than
inventory.
In ~ limited cases, entire distribution system maps maybe easier to verify, but the maps
need to almost perfectly describe field conditions. From an inventory standpoint, verification
means that all the information must be collected, but only that which was originally found to be
wrong needs to be recorded (or corrected). Since corrections are harder to make than original
input, only a few changes will quickly offset a lot of original input.
Timing
Knowledge of project timing requirements and the justification for the timing is important to
vendors. Timing may be a fimction of client budgetary considerations or internal resources.
Timing can greatly impact vendor prices and is a significant issue in determining needed
production capabilities. Discussions regarding these issues can be very useful in creating a
successful project.
Volume
Economies of scale effect field inventory markets as vendors evaluate projects based on size.
Larger inventory houses, who most often also provide conversion, only look for larger projects
as dictated by their organization structures and production methods. In the end fewer vendors
compete for these projects, which may not benefit smaller utilities. Occasionally clients
effectively downsize larger jobs by restricting the amount of work to be done in a year. This is
probably done for budgetary purposes but also causes the unintended effect of obtaining less
competitive pricing.
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