Ajwaliya, R.J. and Patel, S., 2014. Design and Development of GIS Based Utility Management System at DOS Housing Colony, Vikramnager, Ahmedabad. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 4(9), 56-73.
Ajwaliya and Patel present a conceptual model of GIS for utility management. The Construction & Maintenance Group of SAC was able to utilize the geo-referencing ability of GIS to generate data results in different formats and models for a variety of planning and operations activities. The purpose of the research was to develop a software for the Civil, Electrical and Horticultural wing of the Construction & Maintenance Group to use to improve their planning, maintenance, and information standards. The software converted physical/spatial information into digital formats that could be used in GIS to develop different layers to represent the utility structures. The intent was to provide a “house” for their records where they were instantly accessible to planners that are working on the physical system. The data used in the project ranged from water supply to power distribution creating a complex network and symbology. There was also a lack of linkage between spatial and non-spatial data leading to reference tables to materialize a connection.
Balut, Alicja, 2018. Application of Information Technology Solution for Early Warning Systems at Water Utilities. E3S Web Conferences, 30(2018), 01001. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20183001001
Along with GIS implementation projects, IT solutions can be used in water utilities. In Poland, deployment of IT solutions has ability to be used to identify contamination of a water supply, damage of the infrastructure, and intentional threats. The variability of water distribution networks creates challenges for water supply plant operations and sewage plant operations especially in the realm of water security. Modeling with GIS enables users to address concerns related to water quality such as water sources, water transport, temperature, and contamination. IT tools such as SCADA and InfoWater use GIS modeling capabilities to produce real-time data to assess actual threats in the field.
Brewer, Justin; Ames, Daniel P.; Solan, David; Lee, Randy; and Calisle, Juliet, 2015. Using GIS analytics and social preference data to evaluate utility-scale solar power site suitability. Renewable Energy, 81(1), 825. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.04.017
Using GIS, Brewer et al. creates a multi-faceted approach to determining economical viable locations for utility-scale solar projects. Large-scale solar projects are costly and dependent on a variety of technical, environmental, economic, and social factors. The study area is the southwestern United States where there is a unique social preference component as the area leans to being more politically conservative. The team discovered that adding the social preferences to the model significantly reduced the amount of suitable area for the solar projects. The goal of the model is to help stakeholders reduce the amount of time, money, and resources allocated to finding suitable land for large solar power projects.
Cannistra, J., 1999. Converting utility data for a GIS. Journal of the American Water Works Association, 91(2), 55-64.
The time in which this article was written there was a huge push by utilities to move to an automated mapping system. Mapping facilities management through GIS as a facet to support planning, design, operations, maintenance, etc. was a way for utilities to become more efficient. Cannistra’s article focuses on converting data for GIS use. Scale, structure, and graphics must be organized and defined and logical. The necessity for base map development, in-house database maintenance, and external vendor assistance throughout the pilot program in the early stages of creating a GIS. Cannistra focuses on educated readers on the “How To’s” in establishing a GIS specifically for utilities.
Crawford, Davie and Hung, Ming-Chih, 2014. Implementing a utility geographic information system for water, sewer, and electric: case study of City of Calhoun, Georgia. URISA Journal, 26(1), 25.
Crawford and Hung implement GIS for the city of Calhoun to proficiently maintain utility distribution systems and replace the existing CAD system. GIS offers connectivity, geoprocessing, and georeferencing that aren’t available in many CAD systems. Along with the implementation, the goal of the study was to provide small municipalities an understanding how to implement utility GIS. To do this, Crawford and Hung reviewed similar systems concerning utility data to materialize a current system to manage existing and future assets. Creating a GIS driven system increased efficiency and effectiveness for the city of Calhoun.
Demiroglu, Muhterem and Dowd, John, 2014. The utility of vulnerability maps and GIS in grounewater management: a case study. Turkish Journal of Earth Science, 23(1), 80-90. DOI 10.3906/yer-1205-6
As groundwater supplies become limited in arid and semiarid regions due to population growth, preservation of groundwater quality is critical. Groundwater protection vulnerability maps can identify protection zones. Using GIS, spatial factors such as land use, geography, geology, and urban development can displayed to derive patterns that could affect aquifer vulnerability. GIS allows users to generate various combinations of layers for different renditions of vulnerability maps. Demiroglu and Dowd used this approach to assess the vulnerability of the Gunyuzu basin. They categorized schemas as “very high vulnerability”, “high vulnerability”, “moderate vulnerability”, “low vulnerability”, and “very low vulnerability”. The maps were then used to development protection zones and planning for official use in the Gunyuzi basin and surrounding areas.
ESRI, 2018. Social Media Powers New-Age Outage Reporting. Electric. https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/electric-gas-utilities/segments/electric/seattle-city-light-utilities-case-study
With technology advancements, utilization of “smart phones”, social media, and online avenues is increasing in the utility industry. Using DataCapable ArcGIS technology, Esri parternered with Seattle City Light to develop a proactive communication software that would connect with their outage management system (OMS). They created UtiliSocial, a software uses data mined from social media to generate visualizations of outages. The staff at Seattle City Light receive notifications so that they can react fast to customer concerns. The data is presented on a large dashboard to show customer engagement, demographics, consumer behavior, etc.
Garba, S.S.; Barba, Z.M.; and Dodo, J.D., 2018. Transforming Bauchi Urban Water Distribution System Map. Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology, and Environment, 14(3), 346-354.
Urban utilities regularly use maps for construction, design, and maintenance. Bauchi State Water Board georeferenced their current map to create a high-resolution image and added the digitized water network with the help of management and technical staff. The current map lacks properties of modern maps poorly affecting production. After creating a modern map and assessing the existing system, Garba, Barba, and Dodo recommended that their research be integrated into the current workflow as well as in GIS framework for education and suitable use of resources by the community. Increasing knowledge of GIS and collaboration with local government agencies would enhance the production and development proper maps that show the water network.
Gilbert, Thomas; Barr, Stuart; James, Philip; Morley, Jeremy; and Ji, Qingyuan, (2018). Software Systems Approach to Multi-Scale GIS-BIM Utility Infrastructure Network Integration and Resource Flow Simulation. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 7(8). DOI 10.3390/ijgi7080310
Digital city models and network data are increasingly used to understand the existing and future demand for utility infrastructure and resources. Utilizing models and data helps inform service planning across a variety of spatial scales. Integrating models and network data is hindered by the differences in data formats, specifically between GIS and BIM domains. Gilbert et al. presents a systems approach to integrating these data formats across domains using a graph database to combine topology of utility networks and real-time messages. The team uses a local electricity distribution network and present sensor data to visualize real electricity flow through web-based dynamic software.
Grimaldi, Michele; Pellecchia, Vincenzo; and Fasolino, Isidoro, 2017. A Methodology Based on Spatial ANP. Sustainability, 9(5), 771. DOI 10.3390/su9050771
As cities begin to grow and spread out into rural areas, there is need for new, dispersed utility infrastructure. Economic and environmental costs to build water services that meet demands in rural areas do not meet sustainable economic standards. Careful planning and prediction of growth are necessary to predict economic savings and reduce environmental costs. Using an ANP (analytic network process), the relationship between regulation and planning are compared and result in a suitability map that allows stakeholders to confirm standards for urban growth. Integration of the map with GIS practices results in decision-making claims that can be supported and used in validating the connection between city planning and infrastructure planning.
Kareem, Abdul x Zainal Zainal and Abbas, Layla kais, 2015. Cost of Optimum Design of Trunk Mains Network Using Geographical Information System and Support Programs. Journal of Engineering, 21(9). http://joe.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/main/article/view/349/302
Integration between GIS and VBA (Visual Basic for Application) was used to implement the Minimum Spanning Tree algorithm for a sewer network. The algorithm created a visual basic computer program that was used to find the minimum total lengths of the trunk mains. Sewer networks are one of the most important utilities in modern cities. With increasing water consumption, construction of effective sewer networks needs to be designed accurately to minimize cost and handle waste water effectively. Al-Mansour municipality, where there is an existing sewer system, was the study area. Using a computer program called SewerGemsv8i, which was integrated with the current GIS system, the research team created a design for a new sewer system that was more reliable and economically secure than the existing system. For excavations and pipes, the new network reduced cost by 79,880761,250 monetary units.
Manonmani, R.; Prabaharan, S.; Vidhya, R.; and Ramalingam, M., 2012. Application of GIS in uban utility mapping using image procession techniques. Geo-spatial Information Science, 15(4), 271-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/10095020.2012.714660
Urban growth is creating land use issues all over the world. Loss of agricultural land, urban sprawl, and increased living expenses have made it essential to understand urban growth pattern and its impact on the environment. With the combination of LISS-IV imagery and Cartosat-1 satellite data, Manonmani et al. intended to create a utility and city planning map to assess pattern of facilities and amenities in Karaikal, India. They used the satellite imagery to analyze the road network, conduct proximity analyses, and create disaster relief plans. As the city is growing rapidly, the goal of the research was to use GIS and remote sensing to help city officials make informed decisions regarding infrastructure growth. GIS provided a space where relevant data (maps, documents, photographs) was housed for city officials, contractors, and city planners. It created an opportunity for stakeholders to create a detailed plan for future growth.
Meehan, Bill and Kane, Vicki. (2013). GIS for enhanced electric utility performance. Boston, Massachusetts: Artech House.
Geospatial technology as GIS can be used in most aspects of electric utilities. Meehan describes uses from SmartGrid to distribution and transmission lines. GIS can even be used in retail supply, customer information, and network connectivity. Meehan describes the technical details of GIS software, electric systems, and how GIS can be utilized for business in the utility industry. The book is essentially a “How To” on implementing GIS for utility general managers, owners, etc. From support services to GIS 101, it provides of 250 pages of detailed instructions, advice, and resources.
Pylarinos, D. and Pellas, I, 2017. Incorporating Open/Free GIS and GPS Software in Power Transmission Line Routine Work: The Case of Crete and Rhodes. Engineering, Technology, & Applied Science Research, 7(1), 1316-1322. https://doaj.org/article/575b18f5af334753a17d7338dde54719
GIS and GPS software are increasingly being used in the realm of electrical system planning and operation. Due to cost, portability, connectivity, etc. this type of software has yet to be fully incorporated to the utility work flow. Pylarinos and Pellas used open source GIS and GPS software for routine transmission line work as a slow implementation of geospatial software. On the islands of Crete and Rhodes, the transmission system is complex due to Greek legislation, terrain, and the use of different Coordinate Reference Systems in their design. By incorporating geospatial software, crew worker efficiency and effectiveness would be enhanced. The main goals were to provide unlimited online access points, offline navigation, and a design that requires minimal additional training. The study area focused on the Transmission Lines Subsection of the Transmission System Operation Section of the Islands Network Operations Department of the HEDNO S.A. The software primarily used was GEpath (an open source mapping software) and Google Earth for satellite imagery, however they see the potential of using Maps.ME and OpenStreetMap to provide editing function. The system created is still in use and is marketed as a low-cost substitute for organizations who are interested in utilizing mapping software.
Sercaianus, M., 2013. Web-GIS Solutions Development for Citizens and Water Companies. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Information Sciences, 40(4), 2194-9034. https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XL-4-W1/13/2013/isprsarchives-XL-4-W1-13-2013.pdf
In order to reduce water losses, Sercaianus developed a web-GIS solution in which residents from Buzau City could provide information to aide in the decision-making process for water companies. The goal was to reduce material and economic losses that had been recorded in the past. Developing a communication process between residents and local government/companies was the major complex issue in this case study. Web-GIS solutions are only as reliable as the data being received by residents. The goal of this article was to identify problems in implementing web-GIS for public utilities infrastructure at a utility with poor information exchange between PR (public relations) and citizens. Sercaianus created a survey method to increase public participation in reporting problems to help companies solve problems in a shorter amount of time and at a lower cost. Companies and local authorities must vigilant in being transparent and utilizing public input. Analyzing data provided and using the web-GIS application allows local government to have a public facing forum where citizens can see what problems are being addressed in their community.
