The operations -based GIS implementation
3.7 Pipeline integrity
- For Lakehead each year, approximately 5-6 pipe segments are targeted for inline
inspection. The preparation for these runs averages 40 hours for each segment. This
work is essentially redone every time the segment is inspected (approximately every 5
years). This work could be minimized if the information were available in the GIS and up
to date. This would provide savings of approximately 240 hours or $10,000 annually.
- Since the above work is redone for each inspection, the information prepared is not
complete. It is estimated that at least 5 redundant excavations per year are made due to
lack of information maintained on previous excavations of defects. As an example of
this, it was found this year that one defect had been excavated and inspected 3 times
over the last 10 years. The reason the defect couldn’t be found with normal measures
was because it was external corrosion that didn’t require a sleeve; just recoating that
didn’t show up on later runs or on alignment sheets. The GIS system will have records
of defect investigations based on stationing that wouldn’t normally be required for
regulatory reasons. At $15,000 per defect, this represents savings of $75,000 per year.
3.8 Locating sites for PLM excavation
- The use of inline inspections that provide GPS readings tied to the inspection data
produced from the run is becoming more common. The GPS coordinates produced by
the inspection run can be located accurately in the GIS system to provide detailed
information regarding the site, such as what facilities are in the area, the environment
and right-of-way attributes at the exact site as well as in the surrounding area, etc. All
personnel involved can use a detailed map printed from the GIS system for the
excavation site. It is expected that the expensive GPS option on inspection runs will be
done only once. Thereafter, the GIS System can help to provide the GPS coordinates
for an excavation location. It is also possible that the GIS System could make it
unnecessary to collect the GPS coordinates from inline inspection since this information
is available in the GIS. This application of GIS has not yet been utilized by Lakehead
but a test of the system located a site within the Chicago area with sub-meter accuracy
that did not have any new survey data just the smart centerline location by M.J. Harden.
- It is estimated that 1 day was saved for each excavation during an investigation on Line
5 utilizing GPS location information. In this example alone, for 46 excavations, the
savings would be $244,000. Lakehead does, on average, approximately 125
excavations per year. We estimate using the GIS System and GPS to locate these digs
would conservatively save one half day per excavation. This amounts to a saving of
$331,250 by using the GIS system to provide GPS coordinates and other information
about the excavation site.
3.9 Third-party excavation – “One-call”
Lakehead has a One-Call system in place that helps to locate crossing sites and then tracks
responses until the calls are completed and signed off. Since implementation of the GIS
System, the Crossing Coordinators have used the GIS System to assist them in this process in
a number of ways.
The GIS System often gives them general help in locating the site addressed in a One-Call. It
can orient them as to where the property is in relation to the pipeline, how close the dig might be
to the line, etc. Aerial photography can often provide more information than they have ever had
available before. One Crossing Coordinator in Chicago estimates he uses the system
approximately 4 hours per week in order to eliminate the need for personal inspection at least
12 times per week within the greater Chicago area. This translates to a net saving of
approximately 14 hours per week [ (12 * 1.5 hours / site inspection) – 4 hours computer time ]
eliminated for site inspections and joint meetings over crossings. In addition to this is the cost of
the Company vehicle. A conservative extrapolation to the entire Lakehead system would bring
this to 50 inspections saved each week. This would total to an average saving of $58 per
inspection or $157,000 annually.
3.10 Right-of-way management
The GIS System provides an excellent toolset to help with the maintenance of information and
to provide access to the Right-of-Way Department as well as to Operations. In this way,
maintenance of the information can be done on a regular basis and managed so it is only done
once. The GIS System ties directly to the Lakehead Landowners Lotus Notes database. The
processes are in place for the tract information in the GIS System to be updated at the same
time the landowner information is updated in the Landowners database.
One key area of concern for Operations and the Right-of-Way Department is the increasing
reliance on a metes and bounds definition of the right-of-way. In the past, the right-of-way was
often defined as, for example, from 20-feet east of the pipeline to 40-feet west of the pipeline.
This made it easy to determine exactly where the right-of-way was by simply locating the line.
Under the metes and bounds method, the right-of-way is defined based on measurements from
property lines, etc. The right-of-way must then be defined before construction by these
measurements, which means that the right-of-way must be surveyed and marked and the
construction of the line must stay within the those bounds. The potential problem lies in the fact
that this initial construction survey is “lost” for practical purposes if it is not translated into a GIS
System. If a landowner comes back 1 year after construction of the pipeline and asks where the
right-of-way boundary is so he can construct a garage (or if he would just like to know), a survey
crew should be hired. Crossing coordinators and PLM crews are generally unaware of where
the right-of-way tracts are that are defined in this manner.
The construction survey that defines the right-of-way could be accurately placed into the GIS
System so that a Crossing Coordinator or PLM personnel could provide this information easily
to the landowner without the need to re-survey. If it is not, the tracts must be re-surveyed each
time a boundary request is made. We are estimating on average that 25 landowners will be
requesting right-of-way delineation by Lakehead for their property annually. A survey costs on
average $1,000. This would provide cost savings to Lakehead of $25,000 annually.
4. Benefits Summary
With an increasing pressure on Operations to maximize efficiency, it seems essential for them
to have increasingly more accurate information and support in order to accomplish the goals
being set for them. The progress made within the GIS industry in general, the excellent results
of Phase I of the Lakehead GIS Project, and the current status of the data contained on
alignment sheets all seem to provide justification for proceeding with GIS implementation.
When considering the value of a GIS system, it should be kept in mind that the changes
required and the benefits offered by a properly constructed GIS system are far reaching. The
processes used by Engineering, Engineering Services (Drafting), Operations and Environment
and Right-of-Way will all be changed in numerous ways as the GIS System is implemented
throughout the system. The investment in technology and the changes in processes will, in all
cases, lead to far better information being available much more quickly than ever before.
Operations have recognized the need for this change and have endorsed the GIS System
Phase I as the right product to deliver it.
