EET&D: Intergraph is a company that has for decades pioneered many of the planning and implementation processes and operational procedures we take for granted today in the geospatial sector with literally thousands of installations worldwide. Like many, I still tend to associate Intergraph primarily with geospatial technology, but I’ve learned that Intergraph’s focus has broadened considerably in the past few years. Perhaps you could give our readers a brief overview of Intergraph’s SG&I Division, the part of the company that is most focused on the utility automation and information technology business?

French: Sure, I’ll be happy to do that. The Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I) Division is a leading, global provider of geospatially-powered solutions to the defense and intelligence, public safety, government, transportation, photogrammetry, utilities, and communications industries. SG&I customers rely on Intergraph solutions to organize vast amounts of complex data into understandable visual representations. Through our software, those customers are able to make better and faster operational decisions vital to the safety and well being of millions of people and to the success of thousands of businesses around the world.

EET&D: Most people would probably agree that we are entering a very uncertain period for energy and utility enterprises and also the suppliers they have come to depend on. As you look ahead to the next decade or so, what are some of the key drivers for the future evolution of Intergraph and how confident do you feel about that future?

Doherty: Clearly these are challenging times for the energy and utility industry as well as for those of us in the supplier community helping to lead the way forward. With so many elements of the marketplace in transition – infrastructure, workforce, security, sustainability and reliability, just to name a few of the most important areas – our confidence regarding the future is grounded in the fact that more than 500 utilities and communications providers worldwide are already using Intergraph’s geospatially-enabled solutions to design and manage their networks and workforces.

With that as a foundation, we continue to evolve our solutions for design, asset, outage and mobile workforce management to enable energy companies, utilities and communications providers to respond more quickly and efficiently to market opportunities, customer demands and regulatory requirements. And by drawing upon inherent strengths and a deep commitment to these markets, I believe that among our most important challenges as a supplier is to find ways to replace those uncertainties with sound, reliable and innovative yet affordable solutions.

EET&D: When I first became personally involved with the geospatial marketplace at the 1988 AM/FM International (the original name for what is now GITA) Conference, Intergraph’s central market involvement and its leadership role were already well established. However, most large utilities were, at that time, just embarking on what I’ll call their “20-year/$20 million” investments in geospatial platforms. Now, two decades later, those initiatives are substantially completed and utilities are looking for leverage from those hefty investments. Where do you suggest that utilities should be looking for the best opportunities to realize benefits and capitalize on those investments?

French: Let me begin by giving you a general overview of how Intergraph sees some of the key elements fitting into the grand scheme of things; then, Mark can probably drill down to some of the more technical details…

Rising consumer demands, environmental concerns, security and the need to work smarter, faster and more efficiently are all foremost on utility executives’ minds these days. The potential for extracting real value from past investments in automation and information technology relates not only to geospatial technology platforms but to many other aspects of a utility’s automation/IT infrastructure as well. Intergraph believes that mobility is one of the most important areas where real-world benefits and a tangible return on investment can be realized from geospatial platforms when these tools are properly integrated and utilized.

EET&D: Mobility certainly has been getting a lot of attention lately. What is it that makes this mobility component suddenly seem so important?

French: Mobility is at the beginning of what promises to be an enduring trend toward moving what were once centralized applications into the field where the value is most apparent and provides the best returns. As more workers have jobs in field services, mobile solutions have stepped in to increase business productivity by allowing crews to receive work automatically and update the status of work from the road. Improving the productivity of mobile workers has an impact on revenue, expenses, customer service, and therefore, competitive advantage for utilities worldwide.

EET&D: Mark, could you perhaps elaborate some on how worker productivity figures into the benefits picture?

 Doherty: Well, one means of improving mobile worker productivity is to unite mobile technology with outage management systems (OMS) and geographic information systems (GIS), so that field crews have access to the same maps and data as the dispatchers and engineers in the office. Unifying these capabilities equips field crews with a set of tools to handle all types of work from the road – such as field inspections, field design, vegetation management and damage assessment – and eliminates the need for multiple software applications.

EET&D: Where else can we take mobile data, now or in the future, that will yield tangible advantages without utilities having to commit additional large capital outlays or perhaps even allowing O&M costs to be significantly reduced?

Doherty: In addition to reducing lag time between job completion and new work order dispatch, mobile data access also reduces IT training and maintenance costs and increases the safety of field personnel by providing access to the most current information available for the work area. Integrating mobile applications with the corresponding business systems is an essential ingredient in successfully managing a distribution network; thus, improving operational efficiency and enhancing overall customer service.

Until now, field personnel have had to rely on several applications to manage routine tasks such as outages, inspections, repairs and connects/disconnects. A well conceived geospatial resource management platform solves this issue by facilitating integration of interrelated systems including geospatial information systems, outage management, mobile workforce management, and work management; all from within the vehicle in the field.

Moreover, field personnel can use one geospatial user interface (GUI) to receive multiple types of work, view and redline facility map data, share resources across departments, and communicate with back-office applications. All of the various workflows including design, inspection, damage assessment, viewing, routing and dispatching are supported.

EET&D: Are there other ways to leverage a geospatial platform to address additional challenges in the automation/IT area?

French: Yes, there certainly are. In addition to utilizing spatial technology for grid and outage management, we apply geospatial technology to the security field, helping some of the world’s largest government and military organizations safeguard our infrastructure and way of life. Over time, I believe that utilities will come to leverage the investments that they have made in geospatial platforms to protect the very assets that we help them manage today. We are in the early innings of that trend, but I will say that I strongly believe it will become reality over time. The very best way to protect our infrastructure is through an integrated design, outage, control and security system based upon a strong geospatial platform.

EET&D: Why is it so important for utilities to embrace automation as we go forward?

Doherty: I think most people realize that as more processes become automated, there is a risk that the overall technology picture becomes more complicated. But in an age when we often require and expect data to be shared and connected, the differences in hardware and software that make those connections challenging must be overcome. Many organizations – especially those that provide our vital infrastructure, of which electric utilities are a critical part – must simplify and integrate their automated systems for instant, effective, and error-proof access to information.

With our critical infrastructure now in serious decline and the people upon whom we have depended for decades to support it retiring in increasingly larger numbers each year, a huge rationalization must take place in the next decade. This transition will very likely require vastly increased levels of automation, adding significantly to the complexities that already exist. Therefore, anything that can be done to simplify and streamline that process and move appropriate organizational knowledge into automated systems can save untold amounts of time and money at a time when both are in short supply.

EET&D: Asset management is another topic that seems to be on nearly every utility’s “To Do” list these days. What do you see as the key challenges utilities face in say, the next 3-5 years, from an asset management perspective?

Doherty: Critical infrastructure – involving both fixed and mobile assets – requires long-term management that integrates asset and facilities management, security, and often, environmental compliance. Infrastructure management must address not only the complete life cycle of the assets, but must also track mobile and static assets in real time while improving uptime and availability, supporting rapid decision making, and reducing management and maintenance costs.

Sometimes achieving an appropriate level of integration across these various disciplines requires interoperability with products and/or systems provided by others. This will become even more important in the future as utilities move toward a more holistic approach to automated asset management while also embracing industry standards.

For example, our newest asset management software now supports Oracle Locator for storing geospatial data, allowing for greater interoperability among other corporate systems and further compliance with corporate and industry data storage standards. At the database level, this allows geospatial data to be easily integrated with corporate systems such as work management, outage management and network analysis to fully support planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance and emergency response functions.

EET&D: It appears that the road ahead for utilities might be a rocky one given the declining workforce and infrastructure issues we hear and read about so often today. What other kinds of tools do you see on the horizon that might help utilities deal with these looming problems?

Doherty: This might seem obvious to some, but there is a growing need for integrated data analysis and visualization tools. The tools that a lot of utilities are using today were developed years – and in some cases decades – ago. And although they might have been adequate in the past and are certainly familiar to the operating personnel, many of those tools are outdated and outmoded. Also, the newest versions of design and asset management software will make it simpler to take advantage of geo-facilities data throughout the enterprise by optimizing the incorporation of geo-referenced data maintained elsewhere into design and asset management workflows.

Simply having access to disparate data that emanates from multiple sources, either under one central database or easily incorporated via geospatial and database tools, creates a huge advantage in both time and money saved. Although some utilities have already implemented or are now implementing an integrated system of design, asset management and outage/workforce management technology, most still rely on a multitude of databases in many different places. This disjointed approach wastes time every day when employees try to locate information – some of which is never found at all even though it exists in some obscure location.

French: I think the reality is that with utilities facing a declining asset base, an aging workforce and a subsequent loss of intellectual capital while also getting constant pressure from regulators and consumers to operate better, faster and more efficiently, they will need better, faster and more efficient automation/IT solutions to thrive in the future.

EET&D: Is there anything else you can think of that would allow users to further leverage existing automation/IT investments?

Doherty: Combining outage and distribution management features such as trouble analysis and switching operations with mobile workforce management technologies such as computer-aided dispatch and mobile computing eliminates the need for multiple systems and allows for more seamless, intuitive scheduling and outage response procedures. For example, Intergraph users can now schedule routine service days or weeks in advance and also allow mobile users to rearrange their assigned jobs from the field so that the operations center knows the order in which they will be completed.

In addition, managers can also automatically elevate the priority of work orders for past due jobs that have not yet been completed, and during storms, can automatically remove routine work orders from crews’ schedules in preparation for storm restoration efforts. Through the use of Intergraph outage management technology, some customers have reported that their interruption durations have dropped below the national average and that restoration times are significantly lowered.

 EET&D: Reid, is there anything else you’d like to add to what Mark has said before we close this out?

French: Yes, I would just like to add that the advantages of a fully integrated outage and mobile workforce product and a complete design and asset management solution that seamlessly interoperate cannot be overstated. Until recently, these were merely interesting concepts, but now the technology has come together in a viable and readily available form. With the imminent need for a complete redesign of the power grid looming over the heads of utilities owners and operators, this integration could not have come at a better time.

 EET&D: Well said, and thanks to both of you for sharing your time and insights with our readers.