Surveylab Case Study

Electra saves 34% of its field data capture costs with ikeGPS205 mobile data collection solution

Extensive fieldwork requires reliable data collection methods

Industry: Industrial - UtilitiesUser: Electra, New Zealand

Electra is the 8th largest electricity company in New Zealand. The company owns and operates power lines and distribution assets for 40,000 users in New Zealand. To ensure quality and reliable service is delivered to its customers, Electra is dedicated to maintain, monitor and manage its infrastructure in a professional manner. Electra uses ikeGPS mobile solution to record location and condition of all network assets, verifies high quality data is captured by field contractors, record the before and after condition of repairs to check contractors work and monitor tree growth over time to plan cost effective pruning programs. Electra is also certain its contractors are performing their duties as expected and collecting verifiable data, while remaining safe at all times. By using Surveylab’s mobile field solution, Electra saved 34% percent of its data capture costs and completely eliminated back-end data entry.

ikeGPS is used in the field to monitor contractor’s work performance and locate network assets. By using Surveylab’s mobile field solution, Electra’s contractors collect verifiable data, while remaining safe at all times.

Managing and monitoring power lines and related infrastructures involve considerable fieldwork. Before using ikeGPS mobile data capture solutions, Electra used multiple devices such as a camera and surveying equipment for contractors to record location of assets and photograph their condition.

Post-processing and data synchronization was required at the completion of fieldwork. It was very time-consuming and a 4-month delay between data capture and population of Electra’s Geographic Information System (GIS) database was sometimes experienced. Transcription errors due to illegible handwriting generated mistakes and discrepancies between contractor’s assessment of an asset’s condition and Electra’s own assessment of the same asset. Electra also estimated a 20% mismatch between photos taken by contractors, pole numbers and related paper records. Fixing these errors required additional fieldwork and subsequent data entry, incurring additional costs of 5-10% above the initial NZ$180,000 annual inspection budget.

ikeGPS website - CS Electra Final Ex Comments 1|3 January 2011

Furthermore, natural disasters such as floods and slips regularly affect the region where Electra works. They can cause power cuts, damage to power lines and network, extensive flooding and road closures. In these circumstances, access to sites for data collection can be difficult or impossible and lead to inaccurate recording of the assets damaged.

As Electra outsources both surveying and data entry work, a device allowing verifiable, safe and efficient field data capture was sought to replace Electra’s current field workflow. Capabilities to assess infrastructure condition from a remote location were also desirable. ikeGPS mobile data solutions fitted the bill perfectly and Electra chose Surveylab ikeGPS or their field data capture needs. They haven’t looked back.

Validating field contractors fieldwork data capture quality and integrity

To assist Electra with the validation of all field data captured by its outsourcing contractors, Surveylab designed an ikeGPS user-specific ArcPad compatible application mirroring Electra’s existing paper based methods, while allowing additional checks to be put in place.

For example, each power pole has a serial number followed by a digital verification number. In the past, these numbers were used to verify exactly which pole had been inspected. If a mistake in the numbers’ transcription was present, it was impossible for the data entry staff to verify which pole was checked. The new Surveylab ikeGPS application now forces contractors to enter valid pole serial and verification numbers and ensures the infrastructure being assessed is the correct one. The application also forces the contractor to answer a series of questions about the assets condition and up to six (6) photos can be recorded to justify the assessment.

Georeferenced and time-stamped photographs, attributeand location data captured in the field by ikeGPS meet Electra’s corporate needs and can be uploaded to their corporate ArcGIS database. All data can be cross-checked with previous records, is verifiable and allow close monitoring of contractors work performance. This provides Electra a proof of pole inspection by the contractor, and it is useful in case of legal challenge. ikeGPS operator training is simple and facilitated by the easy-to-use Electra’s purpose-built data capture application.

The data can subsequently, instantaneously and easily be transferred into the corporate database back at the office, immediately eliminating data entry time lags, saving on data entry costs, potential rework and additional surveying costs.

Electra saved 34% percent of its data capture and survey costs using ikeGPS field capture solutions. The use of ikeGPS in the field improved contractor’s work performance, eliminated rework and back-end data entry costs.

Surveylab Case Study

ikeGPS website - CS Electra Final Ex Comments 2|3 January 2011

Safety first

Electra saves 34% of its data capture costs with ikeGPS

AT A GLANCE

Electra also benefits from ikeGPS remote data collection capabilities. The laser-range finder allows Electra’s contractors to capture asset location and condition from a remote location up to 1000 meters away. This is very useful when the access to the asset is obstructed, dangerous or non-existent (e.g. power pole located across a flooded river) and keeps the user safe at all times. ikeGPS real-time DGPS processing allow for a sub-meter accuracy of the target location.

Electra considerably streamlined its field data capture process by exploiting ikeGPS powerful mobile data collection capabilities. Data capture with ikeGPS is straightforward, verifiable, comprehensive, efficient and safe. ikeGPS significantly reduced Electra’s field surveys deployment time, shortened data capture and post-processing time by eliminating mistakes, thus reducing overall operational timelines and cost. Electra saved NZ$64,000 from their original NZ$193,000 data collection costs by using ikeGPS, which equates to a 34% overall cost saving.

Key reasons Electra selected ikeGPS

• Fast data collection system increasing efficiency, eliminating data entry errors and enabling simple operator training

• Laser range finder ensures safe data capture from a distance, while still guaranteeing the quality and verifiability of data collected

• Compatibility with ESRI’s ArcGIS, ArcPad and Electra’s corporate database

• Knowledgeable staff and expert support

Key benefits for Electra

• Electra saved 34% of its data collection costs using ikeGPS

• Increase efficiency of data capture process and remove errors, rework and additional costs from field work data collection

• Verifiable data capture to quickly cross-check information and measure contractor’s performance

Technology used

• ikeGPS series GPS data collection unit from Surveylab

• ESRI ArcGIS

• ArcPad Mobile GIS software

Surveylab Case Study

ikeGPS website - CS Electra Final Ex Comments 3|3 January 2011