Mobile Mapping and Enterprisewide Field Computing

Mobile Mapping
As was stated previously, the primary focus of the Mobile Computing Program was work management. Initially, we viewed mobile GIS in a fairly narrow way. I was clear after talking to our users, however, that getting a mapping system out to the field had to become a priority. Any paper maps in existence at that time were not being updated and the new Smallworld GIS did not have the capability to generate paper maps for field crews. A mobile mapping system would be more than a replacement for paper maps, of course; it would also provide the ability to access facilities data at the job-site or quickly find an object or location. Still, mapping would be a stand-alone application without any connection to outage management or mobile work management.

A potential stumbling block to implementing mobile mapping was data size. Although Allegheny Power is divided into service centers, the mobile team felt strongly that facilities data for the entire service territory should be loaded on each pen computer. Since Allegheny Power’s service territory is contiguous, there would be times when it would be extremely helpful to have access to data through the entire 29,000 square mile area. In its native Smallworld format, though, the Allegheny Power facilities database is approximately 27 Gigabytes -- obviously much larger than any mobile computer can handle.

One solution would have been to simplify the format, but we wanted to maintain the full information content of the mobile GIS with access to graphics and attribute data. Simplifying would mean turning the information into a “picture only” format.

To solve this problem, MapFrame compressed the GIS data using a variety of compact data representation techniques. The result is a 450 Megabyte database that resides in MapFrame’s FieldSmart Viewer and can be quickly accessed on the Hammerhead.

The mapping system was deployed in the spring of 1999. Prior to this, it took about eight months working closely with MapFrame to customize the software. The result is a highly flexible system that provides multiple ways to quickly find a location or an object. For example, field crews can:

Enter a structure or pole number and the system will zoom to the object;
Display a circuit by selecting from a pulldown list of circuit names;
Select a substation from a list and then display all circuits associated with that substation;
Enter a street address; the map will zoom to it.
Enter a customer account number, the system will locate the customer on the map;
Select a city or town name from a list; the system then displays a map centered on that location.

Other useful features include the ability to display a detailed map of a selected area showing structures and their attributes (with compatible unit code, phasing information, etc.) This lets field crews evaluate the relationship of structures to one another, a helpful tool in maintenance and repair activities.

The application’s prime source of landbase and facilities data is Allegheny Power’s Smallworld GIS. But, since the company also wanted address-matching capabilities in the field, MapFrame integrated a commercial street database (Geographic Data Technology) with the existing data. MapFrame’s Mobile Geographic Workspace handles the flow of data between the office and the pen computers. Approximately five hundred crews are using the system.

Field personnel like mobile mapping because it gives them access to task-specific information in a form that is easy to use. In addition to pulldown lists, FieldSmart Viewer features “gestures” – simple marks you make directly on the pen computer screen. For example, you can zoom in on a map by drawing a circle around the area of interest. And you zoom out by writing a “Z” on the screen. It’s easy to retrieve attribute data by tapping on a map symbol.