Digging for Treasure
Alida Cameron
EPCOR
10065 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 3B1 Canada
Abstract
GIS implementation projects are often embarked upon as a solution for many of the
utility’s problems. Technology is able to automate and improve many processes, but
without the proper planning and understanding of what the issues really are, a system can
be put into place that does not solve even half of those same issues. In 1999, EPCOR
Water Services began evaluating its current GIS and the new technology available. One
of the findings was that the design of the current system was not able to meet everyone’s
needs and that data quality controls were not as stringent as they should be. Solely
implementing new GIS software would not solve these issues. A thorough investigation
into the user requirements and the current business processes was needed. In the fall of
2000, the digging began. Information was documented in various forms, and through
various venues. The information was overwhelming. A software tool was found that
could aid in the organization and analysis of the information. What risks, problems, and
issues were found during this process? Were process improvements possible? Was the
information a treasure? These questions and more will be answered in this seminar.
Background
EPCOR Water Services is a business unit within the Canadian based utility EPCOR –
also a supplier of power and gas. In 1999, EPCOR Water Services began evaluating its
current GIS (1994 technology) as well as the new technology available. This evaluation
was done through interviews with users, analysis of the current GIS data, and obtaining
consultant information about new technology. It was discovered that not everyone’s
needs were being met and that not all the data was structured in a way that other
applications could use it. When looking at the results of the evaluation, it became evident
that replacing the current GIS with a new system was not going to solve all the issues
either. For Example, the data in the current GIS did not have the appropriate
relationships to enable an automatic load into the Hydraulic Model. Instead, the
Hydraulic Model update required weeks of data scrubbing. Also, many “work arounds”
had been implemented to support the business (i.e. assets could not be recorded as they
were in reality to accommodate a calculation or representation). Replacing the current
GIS with a new GIS would only solve certain issues, such as allowing for a relational
database. On its own, it would not be able to meet the business needs. It was decided
that a more thorough investigation was needed to ensure that the new system would be
able to meet both today’s needs and future needs. Hence, EPCOR Water Services
embarked on a GIS 2 nd Generation Program.
GIS 2 nd Generation Program
With the advances that have been made in technology, it was decided that the GIS
Program would need to take on more of an enterprise approach. The scope of the GIS
Program became all data and business functions associated with EPCOR Water Services’
distribution assets. Therefore, it also included the modification or replacement of any
information systems that contained distributed asset information.
The main objective of the GIS 2 nd Generation Program was and still is to provide simple
access to information, and enterprise-wide access to data through viewing, query and
analysis tools. This implies a common data structure and open architecture.
Getting Started – The Excavation
To begin the GIS 2 nd Generation Program, the first step was to determine the main
business processes in Water Distribution. Each process was described in terms of its:
- background - why and how it is done
- findings - any information about improvements over the years or in answer to specific
questions
- questions and issues - any issues with the way things are done or questions about how
things are done
- people involved - a list of those who are involved in the process
- action items - a list of any action items that could be done immediately to either
answer a question or resolve an issue
The business processes were grouped mainly around capital programs or assets. In this
way, the processes often ended up encompassing cross-functional areas. The first draft of
these documents were completed by the project team and some subject area experts. As
the business process descriptions were from only one or two individuals’ viewpoint, all
the descriptions were sent out to the employees in Water Distribution. They were also
posted on the Intranet and a common shared directory was set up in order to allow edits
and comments. Many of the office staff responded and made corrections to the
documents to help the project team understand the business processes. The response
from the field staff was not as favorable. This was determined to be acceptable, as the
next stage of the project would demand their involvement.
Through the documentation of the business process and issues, some action items or
“quick wins” could be implemented. Certain modifications have been made to the
current system to improve user access and searching capabilities. In addition, some data
was identified as needing cleanup and what data cleanup could be done in the current
system is underway.
