We at McKim & Creed have been using Guardian
ProStar’s products
PointMan™ and ProStar Online™ to execute a project in Florida
to locate field features of a water and wastewater system. The use of
PointMan has enabled us to realize greater efficiencies in the field thus
increasing the number of points, or features, that a person can collect
in a day. We are currently collecting about 70% more points per day than
we had estimated and we attribute at least half of this gain to the new
software, PointMan. As great an impact as that is, we believe that an
even greater value is the real time and project management features of
ProStar Online. For example, with real time or even same day updates of
the GIS database, we can have our office technicians calling our field
people to clarify results while they are still in the area, instead of
returning for one or two features or measurements at a later time. In
addition, the project management capabilities allow us to analyze the
production in many ways, such as by the person, by the time of day, by
the area type (residential, commercial, rural, etc), system type, or a
dozen other ways. This helps in planning the work and resources needed
to complete the project. These are just a few of the examples of how the
software has had a positive impact on the financial success of our project.
At the same time the technical capability of the software, such as accuracy
of measurement and speed of processing, are superior.
Herb McKim, Jr.
PE,
PLS
McKim & Creed
Managing and improving databases of buried utilities is
a major public safety and asset management issue. A recent 2005 report
from the Utility Notification Center of Colorado (UNCC) indicated that
9,371 damage incidents to buried utilities occurred in Colorado in 2005.
Similar results in terms of rate of damages are experienced across the
entire country. Even when one-call systems are used, the damage levels
are still (55.7% of
the damages reported in Colorado). In addition to the current efforts
to improve the one-call systems and improve education and awareness, major
improvements in the technologies for locating buried facilities and recording
and accessing this information are required to improve the state-of-the-art.
The Guardian Prostar system offers a major step towards the goal of minimizing
utility damage and facilitating utility database updates in terms of accuracy
and accessibility. Accurate three-dimensional position information independent
of local landmarks, real-time database updates and proximity warnings
are important assets towards the goal of fewer injuries, deaths and property
damage due to utility strikes.
Ray Sterling, Ph.D., P.E.
Director, Trenchless Technology Center
Louisiana Tech University
Sierra Energy Group's purpose
is to constant track, analyze and report on the deployment of technology
in the U.S. Utility Industry, the largest single industry in the United
States with approximately $222 billion in annual revenue. Our practice
includes tracking large, established software systems, as well as constantly
being aware of new, innovative systems of the future.
We have been extremely impressed with
the Guardian ProStar System as an innovative approach to two major problems
utilities face now and into the future. They are:
The widespread unreliability
of asset location and attribute information in utility systems. Utilities
typically operate billions of dollars of poles, powerlines, transformers,
water and gas lines, meters, substations, pumping stations, etc. The
exact locations of many of these facilities are unknown to the utilities
because the information was compiled over many years and recorded on
paper maps, usually by hand, and frequently weeks or months after the
asset was placed into service. Thus, field asset information is very
inaccurate and populating correct data is expensive and difficult. Guardian
ProStar's software enables highly
accurate, GPS-based field location, and then through its SOA-based architecture
enables a utility to rapidly correct geographical information systems
and populate the corrected data throughout the enterprise. Guardian's
system is the only one we are aware of that enables real-time updating
of the entire enterprise from the field with real-time view of work
by supervisors as it is taking place in the field.
The constant problem
of the disruption of service by the damage and destruction of underground
wires and pipes during construction and other earth-moving activities.
The Guardian ProStar system offers the first real-time system we have
seen that offers the potential of providing precise location service
for underground systems at the point of the digging. The Guardian System
has the potential to revolutionize how location of underground assets
is done—from the very inaccurate
and haphazard system of maps, flags and guesswork currently in use—to
precise location via underground GPS-based location service. Called
in the utility industry "damage prevention," this system
has the potential to save the industry millions, probably hundreds of
millions of dollars annually in damage to underground facilities. Its
widespread adoption potentially could represent a "revolution" in
utility damage-prevention practice.
Warren B. Causey
Vice President
Sierra Energy Group
The Research & Analysis Division of Energy Central, Aurora, CO
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