DATA IN A NEW DIMENSION

Janneke Bruce is the associate editor of Electric Perspectives.

Getting geospatial and wireless technologies to work together in government and private industry could transform everything, from how utilities account for assets to securing the nation's infrastructure.

With today's technology, you can map almost anything and attach various data to even fine physical detail. The possibilities are multifold. Take, for example, the National Map project of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), known to hikers and land managers for its detailed topographical maps. The project is an ambitious attempt to map the entire country and keep it continuously updated with multiple layers of information (like census data, for example) via the internet. The map will have several uses, from demographic and marketing purposes to scientific research to infrastructure security applications.

The use of geospatial technologies—which include a wide range of geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems, remote sensing, and surveying—is growing dramatically in the United States. By the end of 2002, according to the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), the market for these technologies and services will have increased by 23 percent since last year. The biggest spenders on geospatial applications are electric, gas, and other utilities, according to Daratech, an information technology consulting firm.

Wireless internet is another technology transforming the way people communicate and conduct business. The worldwide market for wireless and mobile consulting, integration, and management could reach $37 billion in four years, according to IDC, a market research firm. For utilities, that market is estimated to be $1 billion and growing at 15 percent a year, according to wireless integrator Motorola.

Next-generation wireless technologies could boost those numbers even more with promises of video conferencing, graphics creation, and remote control of equipment. Bluetooth technology enhances this promise of interoperability for mobile computing applications like personal digital assistants (PDAs): By implementing the low-cost, superconducting Bluetooth chip, PDAs are able to speak to each other and to other hardware with the chip installed.

"Mobility is the last frontier," says Strite Potter, president of Links Point, a wireless solutions provider. "Every organization already has PCs on every desktop. The problem is that electronic data still is going to the field on paper. The greatest potential for efficiency improvements and return on investment lies in mobilizing this data."

One way to do this is via location-based services (LBS), which combine GIS with wireless internet technologies (mostly handhelds) to create a powerful tool that can make data accessible from the field. "Location-based services can bring together a geographic location with other key information," says Jason Linley of Tadpole, a mobile and network infrastructures provider. "The classic example is that if you're in a city and you like coffee, then your PDA will be able to tell you where the nearest coffee shop is." The Strategis Group, a market research firm for the wireless industry, estimates revenues from LBS to reach $4 billion a year by 2004.

Spurring this growth are the nation's infrastructure entities. Office buildings, schools, churches, daycare centers, malls, bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, and highways exist in identifiable locations, and geodata about them can be stored in a database and displayed on a GIS. "Eighty percent of all information in the utility sector, the public works sector, and government in general is geospatial-oriented," says Dick Kuykendall. "It has a 'where' as a key component." With the click of a mouse or the touch of a Palm Pilot stylus, you can point to a particular asset or location and find its exact coordinates, specific characteristics about it, and other related information.

Kuykendall is the project director of the Geospatial Leadership Coalition, a working group within the Geospatial Information and Technology Association, that is specifically dedicated to educating infrastructure industries about the value of mapping technologies for homeland security. (For more information, visit the GLC's website at www.gita.org/glc/glc.html.)

Industry still needs to cover some rough terrain to reach the level of interactivity offered by LBS. Collecting the data is difficult, not only due to the sheer scope, but also due to concerns about security and competitive information. The wide array of technologies available is another hurdle. But the benefits to infrastructure security, as well as asset management and general reliability, are probably worth the journey.

The Pressure Builds
GIS can be used "to pinpoint hazards and begin to evaluate the consequences of potential attacks, emergencies, or disasters. Emergency managers can begin to formulate mitigation, preparedness, response, and possible recovery needs. Lives, property, and critical infrastructures at high risk from potential attack or emergency become apparent," according to an ESRI white paper, "GIS for Homeland Security."

Immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, for example, several federal and metropolitan-area government agencies and private companies coordinated their efforts and set up an emergency operations and mapping center using GIS software—all in 72 hours. The center pumped out new maps daily, basing them on aerial photos and showing all major elements of the city's infrastructure—electric cables, gas lines, water mains, and sewers, in addition to other hot spots and hazards. That way, operators in the center could direct emergency responders around unstable areas or to people in danger. Those capabilities were essential to the coordination of lower Manhattan's infrastructure recovery.

Critical asset management—how infrastructure businesses account for their assets during or prior to a disruptive event—is receiving much new attention. After the bombing in New York, utilities faced increased pressure to be able to access information about their critical assets in the event of a disaster. But right now government agencies, rather than private utilities, have gone further in embracing geospatial technologies.

"The electric power industry is further advanced with regard to responding to the needs of homeland security," says Kuykendall, "but not with respect to geospatial technologies and information sharing with other asset owners, especially when you get down to the local street level." This is partly a result of the climate created by the Government Accounting Standards Board ruling 34, he says, which forced state and local governments to operate more like businesses by depreciating assets. As a result, the government has adopted advanced technologies like GIS to lower asset replacement costs.

You can see the emergence of these technologies in many areas. The new emergency response center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, for example, geospaially tracks the occurrence of illness or disease via handheld GIS technology provided by Symbol and LinksPoint software. Investigators tag samples from an infected site with a bar code and scan it into a database. The data then can be used during a health emergency to determine where outbreaks occur and assist in the evacuation of threatened communities.

The United States Forest Service uses ESRI software to predict fires based on a location's proximity to fire-starting agents. Once a fire breaks out, USFS uses the GIS tool to map the fire's progress and determine where it will spread.

In the case of LBS, where the government goes with technology, the private sector, including utilities, may have to follow: With the threat of terrorism, utilities must be able to coordinate critical asset management with local, state, and federal agencies. "Utilities' ability to communicate their vulnerabilities will become paramount," says Marina Havan of PlanGraphics, a GIS implementation services provider. She sees more utilities seeking GIS solutions for emergency response reasons today than previously. In today's digital age, critical infrastructure systems are more vulnerable than ever since they depend on each other via computer systems and communications networks. [See "Studying the Chain Reaction" in Electric Perspectives' January/February 2002 issue.]

Where's the Data?
Because the government uses geospa-tial technologies in most agencies and departments, it has one of the largest databanks of geospatial information in the world, according to ESRI. Few of that data, however, are from the infrastructure industries—air, telecommunications, rail, electricity, gas, and water. Even though for the past 20 years government has asked owners and operators of the infrastructure to share detailed data, those companies have typically been reluctant to do so. Part of this has been due to concerns about revealing key data about assets that competitors and suppliers could view. In the end, this limits substantial industry investments in geospatial applications that rely on the data.

Last June, the Bush administration proposed legislation that includes a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption for information about infrastructure vulnerabilities that is submitted voluntarily by industry to the government. The legislation seeks to set limits on the amount and type of data that can be made publicly available and may help to alleviate the fear of releasing competitive information about utility assets. If it is passed, sharing data may not be optional anymore. "It is going to be tough for a company to stand up to its public utility commissioner, who is under pressure to provide data, and say it can't release the data," says Havan.

"Utilities should only share the data that people need to see," says Kuykendall. "The fact is, if you think about it, there are other ways for terrorists to get data." He points to popular utility programs, like one-call systems, that dispense information for homeowners or building contractors who are preparing to dig and need to know where gas or electrical lines are so they don't hit them.

There are other issues with data sharing, according to ESRI, including intellectual property rights, ownership, paying for use of data, questions about who controls the data, how many people can access it, and others.

It's also a cost issue. You can purchase a GIS application, but data can represent 90 percent or more of the application's total cost. A medium size utility, for example, could pay $300,000 for a GIS if the data already exist, and as much as $2.5 million for a full-blown application (data and software). ESRI estimates that for large institutions like the petroleum or mining industries, costs can reach into the tens of billions of dollars. In the past few years, however, a new industry has arisen around the collection and packaging of data, according to a recent article in CIO magazine, and prices are going down.

There certainly is no shortage of data out there, whether in government databases or in private industry's paper files, records, and maps. The challenge for anyone interested in setting up a GIS is to identify what and where the critical information is and then to gather and synthesize it into an integrated system. Government faces this challenge more than any entity, perhaps. One of the Homeland Security Office's first priorities is to review the state of the government's data, a process called "metadata"—data about data, such as when it was created and who created it. "Many government agencies have all the data in the world that you would need to protect your infrastructure," says Kuykendall. "But they also run on legacy systems that are often duplicated, making the task of finding the right data more difficult."

Data are the most important element to a GIS. Because of this and the challenges to data access, sharing, and collection, it remains the largest hurdle for industry and government alike.

Perfect Marriage
Assuming infrastructure providers share their critical asset data, the use of LBS may provide the most benefit for homeland security. First, LBS can provide real-time operating status and other information about critical assets to emergency response personnel, thereby protecting the assets and possibly saving lives. "Wireless technology allows for dynamic data exchange from field personnel back to the geodatabase," says ESRI. "GIS integrates data on the fly, allowing emergency managers to visualize and analyze events as they unfold." Imagine if critical data about a utility's assets—or the entire infrastructure layout of a city—were available to key law enforcement and emergency response personnel. If workers could access this information via handheld PDAs, it would streamline emergency response and evacuation measures.

"But the big advantage that wireless offers is in data collection," says Kuykendall. LBS makes collection simpler, faster, and easier. PDAs are already widely used in utility field operations to download, via a wireless or radio network, up-to-the-minute information about schedules or work assignments and to upload work orders, permits, etc. But when linked to a GIS, they can lend even greater functionality. Field workers could key in data about a distribution line or a substation or the precise coordinates of a newly buried gas pipeline and transmit it wirelessly back to the home office GIS database. Not only can it be done faster and without paper, which makes it cheaper, it also leaves little room for error.

"Wireless handhelds will aid the sector in getting true, accurate geospatial information," says Kuykendall. "Now we can have, for the first time, a true, —as-built,' construction plan. We know exactly where the assets are placed, as opposed to using data from old plans of where things were supposedly built and sending crews out to find them via locating devices." Using LBS for data collection also eliminates much of the cost and hurdle of gathering data manually.

But Kuykendall warns that the emphasis should be on whether users can make decisions or improve processes based on the data. Huge amounts of the most accurate data in the world are useless until they can be turned into useful knowledge. Knowing upfront what information is needed and how to organize it is a critical first step to building a powerful geospatial application, as it is for any database. "People have to understand what they need their information to do," he says.

Other Wireless Options
But wireless technologies still have some kinks to work through. While PDAs have evolved technologically, standards are still maturing and costs for higher-end models are still high. Ruggedized devices, for example, which can take more in-the-field abuse than "office" PDAs, can run $1,000 each. Moreover, the promise of anytime, anywhere communications via wireless networks hasn't come to pass. Rural areas are not covered as adequately as densely populated ones. "Although some utilities are interested in the ability to deploy web-based mapping applications in the field, the limitations of that kind of implementation are revealed as soon as you look at the coverage issue," says Tadpole's Linley.

Another disadvantage to commercial wireless service is that power disruptions can often affect it. "The same storm that knocks out power can knock out wireless towers," says Smith. This is especially crucial relative to security issues and disaster recovery efforts, says Linley: "There are extenuating circumstances when wireless really starts to break down when you need it most, like inadequate coverage and too few circuits. In an emergency you need reliable access to the data."

Wireless networks and PDAs are not the only option, however. For many utilities, private wireless radio systems have been in use for years, serve most operational requirements, are inexpensive, and allow full control by the utility, while allowing much of the flexibility and advantages of a wireless wide area network. These "legacy" systems are a disincentive for many large utilities to invest in wireless solutions offered by a third party, according to J. Sharpe Smith of the Industrial Telecommunications Association. "People don't necessarily want to be another customer on someone else's systems for their critical communications," he says—internally-owned and operated radio systems leave the utility in control and responsible for outages.

Until recently, mobile data technologies and private wireless radio systems were on different wavelengths. That difference became moot with the growth of the internet protocol. Now, field operations and the utility dispatch center that use radios can gain increased connectivity via TCP/IP: Dataradio's universal radio gateway, for example, makes a wireless radio network transparent to local and wide area networks. This results in fewer interoperability problems, so different kinds of software can be used on the same equipment and still communicate with each other. In addition, radio frequencies can be used for data communications as well as for voice. The result? A dispatcher can transmit a map or text directions to a field worker who is enroute to a service call.

Moving to a partially integrated wireless solution is another option. Intergraph Corporation's "occasionally connected" model provides complete wireless coverage by cycling on and off different networks as they become available. That way, if the main network is down due to a storm or other event, customers (like electric utilities) are still connected and able to communicate wirelessly.

In general, one of the greatest hurdles in initiating a mobile data solution is the perception that it needs to incorporate wireless communications in the form of a wide area network. According to Potter of Links Point, the initial expense of such a wireless network can lower the rate of return on investment and may not be immediately necessary. Instead, he recommends that a utility stage its mobile solution implementation according to its needs and business objectives.

Tip of the Iceberg
Using GIS and wireless for critical asset management is just the tip of the iceberg. The potential of this technology for improved efficiency and increased productivity at the utility itself is huge. The utility can put LBS to work to improve daily operations, customer service, and even accounting. "Efficiencies can be created through integration with other systems," according to Linley, "such as work order/work force, dispatch, and damage prevention management packages. You can really start to affect efficiencies when integrating GIS into those workflows."

Avista Utilities uses its ESRI-provided GIS to run every asset-based system at the utility: outage, customer, and work management; equipment inventory and maintenance tracking; distribution load forecasting; and interactive voice response (IVR); to name a few. "The GIS is our database," says Curtis Kirkeby, Avista's lead technical services engineer. "One of the advantages is we don't have to deal with data migration issues because we know the data going out or coming in is accurate." The utility's GIS-based IVR can send messages automatically to customers when they call, informing them that their problem has been identified and giving an estimated time when power will be available. "The system can identify the caller even before they call," Kirkeby says. "If there's an outage, we can trace it from the device downstream and know who and where the customers are located."

From the perspective of customer service, "the return on investment depends on the number of applications a utility is willing to push out," says PlanGraphics' Havan. "Some are only willing to wireless-enable their customer service applications. For them, the immediate pay-off is customer satisfaction." Accounting for asset depreciation also becomes easier for the cash-focused, deregulated utility business model. ConEd Communications, a division of Consolidated Edison, has reached a new level of integration in its overall systems by tying in its enterprise resource planning—i.e., its accounting, purchasing, and human resources management software systems—into a GIS. As a result, the company can link up-to-date information about assets that are depreciating in the field with its accounting records, creating greater cash-flow accuracy and more overall control of its business. Now when auditors ask about assets, the utility is able to say not only that it has it, but it has it right here.

Such efficiency translates into real dollars, too. The return on investment of GIS for a typical utility pole can reach up to $40,000 a mile over a 10-year period by digitizing information about it, creating digital work orders, and providing continuous wireless updates on the pole's status, according to Potter.

Integrated GIS and global positioning system (GPS) interfaces can help inspectors and line crews identify structures that need maintenance attention. The Electric Power and Research Institute's transmission inspection and maintenance system (TIMS) software stores line and inspection data in a centralized database that includes GPs coordinates for each line structure and specifications for map files that are associated with each line in the system. This data is accessible real-time and can be downloaded to field computers for inspection and maintenance activities. Once downloaded, the inspector or line crew has both line data and map data available on their handheld computer for inspection and maintenance activities.

Staging the Leap
Overall, the movement to geospatial and wireless technologies continues to pick up speed. Predictions are that in the next five years 70 percent of all network traffic will be data instead of voice, compared with 10 percent today—and GIS will be adopted across industries with large asset bases. For utilities, homeland security efforts, led by the government, could be a strong driving force to invest in the technologies.

But utilities also can use LBS to improve operations and productivity. "Terrorism is just the newest motivation," says Kuykendall. "It's no different than a hurricane or storm that knocks out power. If you're out of service, you're out of service, and that's what we all want to avoid." The flexibility, efficiency, and cost savings potential have already been demonstrated by utilities, and make the business case clear. A short return on investment and improvements in existing commonplace utility technologies like private radio networks make it a natural progression.

© 2008 Edison Electric Institute