Paulding-Putnam
Electric Cooperative
Paulding - Putnam Electric
Cooperative chose Sentinel USA to provide mapping and GIS system
revision services for their utility. Sentinel USA was chosen
by PPEC to act as the utilities "Digital-Mapping Department"
on an as-need basis. The engineering staff realized the advantages
of maintaining their data in a digital seamless environment
for easy and cost efficient maintenance. The initial project
consisted of preparing a seamless system map with value added
productivity tools into a Autodesk GIS environment. The procedure
entailed the seamless connectivity of the data and the creation
and cleanup of GIS layers and symbology data. Sentinel USA still
provides digitizing, maintenance, consulting and support for
PPEC today, preparing deliverables on an as needed basis.
Shelby
Energy Cooperative
Sentinel
USA was chosen by Shelby Energy Cooperative, KY to provide
extensive GIS mapping and facilities management services consisting
of digitizing and modeling the electric distribution system
and facilties data. The system has been projected onto a sub-meter
coordinate controlled precise topographic land base (Sentinel
USA's Precision LandBASE). One-meter resolution United States
Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Ortho Quarter Quadrangles
(DOQQ's) were chosen for the aerial portion. Key roads, intersections,
and features were strategically selected by Sentinel USA from
the aerial photos. Sub-meter GPS points for these features
were obtained through the DOT and used to control the spatial
accuracy, and integrated with the corresponding photography.
SEC's
original mapping system was a manual map operation, which
required extensive labor and resources to update. All updates
and changes to facilities are updated on the digital maps
and linked to a controlled engineering and modeling environment.
The facilities database and attribute information are set-up
to allow interfaces to other information systems, such as
engineering, billing, staking, etc. In addition, the system
was developed to incorporate engineering analysis capabilities,
which will allow the utility to run mock simulations and "what
if" analysis on potential trouble call situations in
the future.
Progress
Energy - Eastern North Carolina Natural Gas
Progress
Energy is one the top 10 energy producers in the USA serving
over 2.8 million electric and gas consumers. Sentinel USA provides
automated mapping, facilities management and geographic information
system services for the Progress Energy Corporation. The project
consist of developing the gas mapping template design, pipeline
and land base topographic development of approximately 25 counties
in North Carolina covering the service territory for the Progress
Energy subsidiary, Eastern North Carolina Natural Gas (ENCNG).
The North Carolina project consists of the mapping of pipeline
facility assets, roads, hydrology, and other topography layers
with sub-meter accuracy. Most importantly, the project demands
matching aerial photography. This enables the Progress Energy
team to generate aerial pipeline alignment sheets and wetland
delineation maps from GPS surveys. Sentinel USA serves as the
GIS consultant for the project and provides all mapping production
labor and services for the Progress Energy subsidiary. The
land base mapping services consist of acquiring, layering and
digitizing the pipeline facilities GPS data and preparing the
topographic land base features to align to a digital aerial
land base geo-referenced to sub-meter coordinates. One meter
resolution USGS Digital Ortho Quarter Quad (DOQQ) imagery is
being used and is projected onto the North American Datum of
1983 (NAD83), North Carolina State Plane Grid Coordinate System.
The GIS system incorporates the Pipeline Open Data Structure
(PODS) environment and is currently being customized by Sentinel
USA for the exclusive needs of Progress Energy.
Kriebel
Organization - Oil & Gas Drilling/Exploration Company
The Kriebel Organization has been in the natural
gas resource business for over 40 years. The company acquires
in ground natural gas reserves and drills wells to produce natural
gas. The company operates the wells and sells the natural gas
production to major gas utilities for distribution. Sentinel
USA is currently providing extensive GIS mapping services for
the Kriebel Organization consisting of the creation of a sub-meter
coordinate precise topographic land base and facility asset
mapping using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) data. The project
territory coverage includes 18 Pennsylvania counties. One-meter
resolution United States Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Ortho
Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQ's) were chosen for the aerial land
base. Key roads, intersections, and features were strategically
selected by Sentinel USA from the aerial photos. GPS points
for these features were collected in the field, and integrated
with the corresponding photography. The photography was then
repositioned, rotated, and scaled to match the collected GPS
points. Each photo was then geo-referenced, re-sampled, and
generated at the original one-meter resolution for the new sub-meter
accurate positions. The
end result of this project is a GPS coordinate controlled vector
GIS data product with matching aerial imagery sets. The vector
portion of the product includes all major topographic layers
and features such as primary and secondary roads, hydrology,
railways, boundaries, etc. The vector layers are referenced
and digitized to the coordinate using global positioning system
(GPS) control point and linear data to ensure the integrity
of the land base set. In addition, Sentinel USA is currently
in the process of mapping Kriebel's lease boundaries, pipeline
assets and gathering systems by corresponding them to the aerial
land base using GPS data collected from the field. All data
is linked to the GIS mapping system through spatial data links,
adhering to the Pipeline Open Standard (PODS) or (ISAT 2.0).
The
Energy Cooperative - Licking Rural Electrification, Inc.
Sentinel
USA performed an extensive GIS mapping project for Licking Rural
Electrification, (LRE) the electric division and subsidiary
of The Energy Cooperative. The project entailed the field inventory
and digitization of all facilities and equipment, including
devices, consumer locations, conductor sizes, phasing, etc.
Sentinel USA, Inc. provided LRE a full turnkey operation from
a manual system to seamless automation. Sentinel USA performed
the field inventory using aerial surveys and denoting the position
of poles, consumers, and facilities in the field while maintaining,
creating and building a ODBC compliant database of the information
collected. The facilities database and attribute information
were then interfaced within the GIS mapping system and to other
in house information systems, such as engineering, billing,
staking, etc. In addition, the system was developed to incorporate
engineering analysis capabilities, which allow the utility to
run mock simulations and "what if" analysis on potential
trouble call situations. Sentinel USA still provides consulting,
training and support for LRE today.
National
Gas & Oil
Sentinel
USA was chosen to develop the automated mapping and engineering
analysis system for the gas division (NGO), another subsidiary
of The Energy Cooperative. The project included an extensive
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) field inventory and digital
mapping service utilizing Trimble's GPS technology and maintaining
and building the data in a controlled AutoCAD environment. The
GIS system was designed to interface with the electric division
at LRE to provide a seamless environment for mapping and analyzing
data.
Guernsey
- Muskingum Electric Cooperative
Guernsey
- Muskingum retained Sentinel USA to provide as needed map updating
and revision services for their utility. Sentinel USA was chosen
by GMEC to act as the utilities "Digital-Mapping Department".
All mapping production, revisions and updating procedures are
maintained and accomplished at the Sentinel USA facility in
Newark, OH. In the initial stages, their original mapping system
was a manual map operation, which required extensive labor and
resources to update. The engineering staff realized the advantages
of maintaining their data in a digital environment for easy
and cost efficient maintenance. The initial project consisted
of converting their manually prepared system maps into a GIS
environment. Sentinel USA started the project by scanning their
existing paper and mylar based maps into a digital raster format.
The raster files were then converted to vector files and manipulated
and imported into an AutoCAD environment to their proper layers
and symbology. The next procedure entailed the seamless connectivity
of the data and the creation of symbol attribute data. Once
this stage was complete, Sentinel USA then acquired redline
updates from Guernsey - Muskingum's engineering department and
used the data to complete and provide a comprehensive system
wide mapping update. Sentinel USA still provides digitizing,
maintenance, consulting and support for GMEC today, preparing
and delivering updated system plots and CD coverage on an as
needed basis.
Owen
Electric Cooperative
Sentinel
USA currently provides map modeling, updating and revision services
for Owen Electric Cooperative. Due to the heavy workload at
OEC, the engineering staff decided that in order to effectively
build their GIS system and maintain the integrity of the data
over time that they would require outside help, support and
service. The project consists of digitizing and modeling system
data obtained from OEC and maintaining the data at Sentinel
USA's facility. All updates and changes to facilities in the
field are updated on the digital maps and linked to an ODBC
database in a controlled engineering and modeling environment.
All data received by Sentinel USA is entered and modeled into
the GIS mapping system to meet the requirement needs of engineering
and trouble call analysis software. Sentinel USA maintains the
quality of the data by providing quality assurance personnel
to run data integrity and circuit connectivity analysis routines
to ensure the quality of the data being presented. Sentinel
USA has developed several applications for OEC to assist in
this mapping process with such programs as a billing to mapping-point
generator interface, automated map grid and symbol location
insertion routines.
The
projects listed above represent only a portion of utility project
solutions provided by Sentinel USA. For additional project information,
please feel free to contact us. Suggestions for future highlights
are welcomed.
