How do engineering design tools fit in with AM/FM/GIS?
Ed Hedges
Kansas City Power & Light Company
4400 East Front Street
Kansas City, MO 64120-1039
Kelley D. Grant, P.E.
Intergraph Corporation
MS: LR23A1
Huntsville, AL 35894
Changes in business rules have driven the need for design
tools in AM/FM/GIS
AM/FM/GIS applications have been greatly impacted by technological changes
that have propelled more and more facets of the utility business process into automation.
As systems have become more open, utilities have found more opportunities for
integration and new ways to take the greatest advantage of their data. This commonly
involves bringing more users into the automated world.
This paper discusses distribution designers, users who often spend as much time
in the field as in the office. They work with customers, customer representatives,
mapping, property accounting, field crews, and standards engineers. Distribution
designers have a variety of backgrounds; typically, they are not engineers, but come from
the mapping or drafting departments and are trained in design. These designers
contribute greatly to the maintenance of the AM/FM/GIS data by creating their designs
directly in the system. They also benefit from the existing data when planning and
designing new jobs or reworking older circuit sections.
One of the key tools needed by these designers is the ability to do some amount of
electrical and structural design analysis within their AM/FM/GIS jobs. Though many of
their jobs follow company standards, these tools allow them to examine special
circumstances to be sure their designs fall within the desired limits. The next issue is to
determine what tools are needed by the designers. Available packages range from very
simple to highly complex, and the trick is to meet the designers' needs, but not slow them
down with too many details.
What are the design tool requirements?
What is the business process?
We will first examine the business process that KCPL is implementing. Their
designers often work directly with the customer, visiting the site and creating the designs.
They draw the designs directly in the AM/FM/GIS application, using the existing
electrical and landbase data, then review them with the customer and make changes as
needed. Once the design is approved, it is ready to be scheduled. The design now goes
to the crews to be constructed and then to the mapping department for as-built updates
and any necessary update processes.
Our reason for describing the business process is to define the role of the
designers. They are expected to provide a quick turnaround of jobs, provide instructions
to the crews, and generate accurate materials lists. To accomplish these tasks, they
concentrate on creating the initial design and reviewing it once to make as-built updates.
The designers must populate only the attributes and relationships required for initial
design. The mappers complete the as-built changes and assure relationships and data for
on-going operations prior to posting.
