Fast-Track Electric Utility Inventory- A Case Study
Field Office Setup
One of our first tasks was to determine the best locations to establish our local field ofilces for
processing the GPS pole data, managing the local work force, and providing a GPS Correction
Base Station. Allegheny Power has many “Service Centers” geographically spaced throughout
their territory which provide efficient coverage to their customers. We chose 5 of those locations
(Mercersburg, PA; Morgantown, Elkins, Gassaway, and Parkersburg) to serve as our local base
of operations.
Each of our local offices needed to provide differential corrections for the GPS field collectors in
a 60-100 mile radius. The base stations operate a continuous GPS receiver which store daily
files of correction factors used to remove the effects of Selective Availability from the roving
field GPS receivers. We selected and rented a suitable house in each area, with a somewhat
unique request to the realtors, “an unobstructed, full view of the sky”, since the inherently weak
GPS signals are easily blocked and distorted by trees, walls, and buildings. Once the antennas
were secured to the roofs, and the hardware & software was in place, we needed to obtain the
precise coordinate of the antenna by reverse GPS surveying from a local 1st Order control
monument.
Each office was then outfitted with all the necessary modern equipment to perform our work
including desktop GIS computers, copiers, fax machines, and software such as ArcView,
Postpoint, GeoLink, MS Office, and FTP/Internet suites.
Recruiting
After we established the physical properties of each office, it was time to place the personnel that
had been recruited during a parallel process. We were very fortunate to have several former
Allegheny Power employees available to work for us during this project. Most had Design,
Engineering, and Line experience and were invaluable to us as collectors, auditors, trainers, and
supervisors. They also knew many of the unique characteristics and coverage areas of many of
the circuits we would map. Additionally, these former Allegheny employees knew of other
friends and colleagues we could draw upon for future staffing. Many also had strong
professional connections all over the state as a result of long careers with the Power Co. in
working with contractors and the public. Our requirements (“desires” really) of new Field Data
Collectors for this task were pretty stiffi experience with personal computers, GPS,
cartography/GIS, electrical systems, and perhaps most importantly, the ability and desire to work
alone every day walking from pole to pole through the hills and hollows of West Virginia.
Our recruiting efforts included advertisements in local and major newspapers in West Virginia,
university newspapers and bulletin boards, the Geography and Engineering departments of
several schools, and state employment agencies. Our initial crews included 6 former Allegheny
Power staff, and several geographers, foresters, and engineering graduates.
None had experience in each aspect we desired (of course, not many would), but all had at least
one important aspect well covered, and with good training and teaming, all became productive
and accurate in a relatively short time.
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