GIS unifying data-driven efforts at Hoosier Energy

In the digital age, a generation and transmission cooperative such as Hoosier Energy has become an increasingly data-driven business.

 

But until recently, that data resided in a variety of forms and locales, making cohesiveness elusive.

 

Field crews had handwritten notebooks, PDFs created by engineers, self-made spreadsheets and documents saved to their personal computers but not shared company-wide.

 

Within the past two years, the Transmission Assets & Scheduling team has set out to unify that information – from vegetation management to line to substation to meter relay to comms – using a Geographic Information System (GIS).

 

“Our department was created to collect data – particularly maintenance data – and to be able to provide that data to upper management so they could make better business decisions going forward based on data rather than just feelings,” said department manager Jody Tindall.

 

The goal was to leverage Maximo and GIS to accomplish that. GIS is essentially a form of technology for creating, managing, analyzing and mapping all types of data by connecting location information with descriptive attributes.

 

Initially managed by an outside contractor, the GIS is now under the watchful eye of Jason Santana, the GIS and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Coordinator. He’s been able to take what GIS software company Esri provides and customize it to meet the needs of Hoosier Energy, including writing custom scripts and designing dashboards for not only Hoosier, but its members.

 

It all falls under the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), allowing work to be shared across all platforms.

 

“Now employees can log in and look to see what work orders have been opened and closed, where crews are working, if there’s been emergent work like storm damage and so on,” Tindall said. “It serves two purposes – it allows us to collect data in a very passive way from the field and funnel that data up to the decision makers, and it also gives the field crews really awesome tools to be able to communicate with each other. They basically have control of it. If they want to add pictures of the work they’re doing directly to the GIS, they have that ability.”

 

The rollout process has grown over the past year as Santana created new tools, updated images and designed dashboards for each department.

 

Vegetation management and the right-of-way crews have used the GIS the longest due to the nature of their work. The line crews followed suit, and a continuous improvement request from the substation crews saw them get involved with the GIS in October. The New Year will see the rollout continue with communications and meter relay.

 

While maps and locations are the first thing that comes to mind with the GIS, Tindall points out that there’s much more to it.

 

“It’s a repository of information, it’s a database, it’s a way to communicate,” he said. “It’s a way to fill out forms, submit forms, create forms, without ever looking at a map.

 

“One example is if you look at the field work hubs in the Hoosier Energy GIS, the first thing you see is not a map. You see all these hot buttons where they can go to UKG, look at their time off balance, check their health insurance or submit their timesheet. They can do job safety analysis reports, write notes and view many other links on the dashboard. All without even seeing a map.”

 

But the maps are also still a valuable piece of the puzzle.

 

“Now people can tell where they are,” Tindall said. “That sounds funny, but in the field sometimes you might not know exactly where you are. You know how you got there and where you drove, but in relation to other assets and co-workers, you’re asking, ‘Where am I?’ Now you can mark that on a map.”

 

With the recent substation rollout, crews are now able to input pictures of a transformer and a serial number, or a regulator and its rating. Model numbers are available, so if something goes wrong, there’s no guessing or making a special trip to figure out which parts are needed. All anyone has to do is click the location on a map and pull up the assets.

 

The improvement in efficiency and available data is helping Hoosier Energy make better decisions and maximize the potential of its workforce moving forward.

 

“We’ve never been in a position like this to be able to provide the field crews such a useful tool, and we’re pretty excited about it,” Tindall said.