Doing more with less: Leveraging your spatial asset data
Error Correction
With any approach to correcting errors, if procedures are not put in place to keep the data
correct, then the effort will be in vain as the data will quickly become incorrect and thus
limit the expected return on investment for the data correction effort. One approach
involves performing a complete field audit. This approach is the most effective way to
gain an accurate representation of network assets as they exist in the field. Though laborintensive,
it can also be the most cost-effective approach.
Another approach is to detect errors in the target system and go back to the respective
sources in an iterative manner and make corrections. This approach is very labor
intensive and does not always produce the best results.
Another approach involves the implementation of advanced data gateways to limit the
amount of field verification required. Advanced data gateways detect errors,
automatically correct many of the errors, provide reports on what was fixed, and provide
the tools for highlighting and fixing the remaining errors that cannot be automatically
corrected. This approach allows the utility to target the areas that need to be fieldsurveyed,
thus reducing the overall expense.
Probably the best approach is a combination of the field audit and the advanced data
gateway. This approach delivers the most accurate data possible.
Data/application integration strategies
Dashed lines indicate communications that may or may not be necessary depending on data
integration requirements.
Three strategies for integrating applications come immediately to mind: Point-to-point,
bus, and hub-and-spoke architectures. Point-to-point interfaces are common throughout
the industry. They can be set up in either a batch or a transaction-based mode. They can
be implemented as custom interfaces, gateways, by embedding components using COM
technology, or by a combination of these technologies. There are a variety of
information-bus technologies on the market from TIBCO, Vitria, IBM and others. They
offer an excellent means to transport data from one application to another if you assume
the data is accurate to start with. Bus architectures hide the messaging. Technology from
SISCO takes the bus architecture for utilities one step further by utilizing a Common
Information Model (CIM) that has been defined for transmission and is well on its way
for distribution asset information. However, data validation for the target systems cannot
be completely addressed by this approach. Many utilities are finding their source system
data is not accurate enough to support their operations support systems and have turned to
advanced gateway technology to maximize the performance of their applications.
Each approach has advantages and disadvantages. I will not debate the merits of these
architectures. Instead, I will focus on the need for accurate data regardless of the
transport mechanism or integration architecture. For each architecture alternative, an
interface or adapter is required. This interface or adapter can be either a simple
translation mechanism or an advanced data gateway.
A gateway, configured to do more than simply transport data, is a unique technology that
offers several advantages over an application interface. Advanced gateways focus on the
data content needed by target applications. They provide not only a mechanism to fix
data ambiguities and deliver the correct data in the exact format needed by the target
application, but also the ability to return corrected information back to the data source or
sources. Gateways for operations support system applications can also have an intuitive
geospatial data viewing and editing environment, advanced data modeling to handle any
target application and standard representations like the CIM, and pre-configured data
exports including a direct link to message bus data transport technologies. They are
compatible with virtually any geospatial source as well as non-geospatial sources.
Sophisticated gateways provide a means to integrate data from a variety of source
systems for delivery to specific target systems. Source systems contain data needed by
your target system. However, typically, the data is not in the form or of the high quality
required by the target system to operate at its full potential. Gateways provide automated
routines (mini-applications) that not only indicate where the problems are, but also
correct many of the problems automatically. This technology also automatically
integrates, constructs, and validates the data attributes and relationships needed by
specific target systems. In addition to the automated features, a high-performance
graphical user interface for data viewing and editing is included to ensure fast and easy
correction of any problems requiring operator attention. Making the process “fast and
easy” requires an extensive set of flexible tools. For example, when a “verify” routine
has been executed, a list of discrepancies is displayed. When the user selects one of the
discrepancies, the user interface automatically navigates to the highlighted object in
question, provides a description of what is wrong and opens the tool needed to fix the
problem. Once the simple operation to correct the situation is performed, a re-verify can
be executed to make sure the problem has been corrected.
For the specific integration task at hand, the gateway provides:
- access to any geospatial data source
- linkage between GIS Model and Network Element Tags (monitoring points)
- validation and verification of network data against model requirements
- identification and correction of data discrepancies
Gateway Technology
