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Uniting The Enterprise
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Managing the grey area with enterprise integration
GRM Components
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The Trouble Reporting component collects the trouble calls that indicate a
network outage. The calls come from customer call centers, the Customer
Information System (CIS), the voice response unit (VRU), real-time network
statusing equipment (SCADA), automatic meter reading equipment (AMR), and
the Internet. The trouble calls are processed and sent to the outage analysis
application. |
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The outage analysis engine assimilates the trouble calls, providing the ability to
automatically determine outage devices, perform switching orders, feeder
lockouts, call grouping, and maintain real-time network status. An OMS is the
major application used in the service restoration process. For many utility
customers, this is the most significant responsibility of the utility.getting the
power back online. The electrical network model used in the OMS is maintained
and created with the GIS. Tight integration between the OMS and the GIS is a
must for efficient operations. |
GIS/OMS Integration Approach
Many GIS vendors have enhanced their product offerings to include outage and dispatch systems preintegrated
with their GIS product.
By providing the pre-integration, GIS vendors have resolved several complex issues:
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The development of custom interfaces that are difficult to create and maintain.
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The management of multiple vendors, a difficult and expensive process.
Vendors offering primarily OMS solutions with "best of breed products" are no longer the preferred
solution. Utilities are putting greater importance on pre-integrated enterprise solutions offered by GIS
vendors, which simplifies implementation and lowers the cost of ownership.
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Dispatch software provides for the dispatching of field crews and service
restoration. The major functions supported by dispatch applications should
include: crew dispatch, call grouping, callback lists, scheduling, and best crew
recommendation. Specific interfaces to dispatching software, such as mobile
computing, global positioning system (GPS), and automatic vehicle location
(AVL) systems are integral mechanisms within a GRM environment.
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Decision support and service analysis is supported today via spatial analysis tools.
Market analysis, spatial query, spatial analysis, and the generation of maps and
reports is the primary functionality required by these users.
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Implementing a work management system (WMS) supports better management of
the workload in the distribution areas through timely and accurate knowledge of
current and future workloads. Tight integration of a WMS with GIS improves the
crews' productivity, resulting in significant labor costs savings, and providing
better utilization of both company crews and outside-contractor crews.
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Operations and maintenance require the capability to view and edit facilities data
in the field through a viewer application. Enterprise access to GIS facility
information is used to perform inspections, record changes, and feed information
back to the office.
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Integrating engineering network analysis functionality with GIS provides a
standard, cost-effective way to bridge the gap between design and mapping, with
pre-built data models, rulebase functionality and design analysis tools. Using a
common compatible units database and providing interfaces to work management
and ERP technology, a focus on standards usage and code compliance provides
construction cost savings and cycle time reduction. |
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