As the utility industry adapts to the changing world with amplified project timelines, complex engineering/construction challenges, and scrutiny from the public, it has never been more important to communicate efficiently and effectively. Pickett has designed countless transmission lines, and with every project, a major takeaway remains the same: Visualizing the project from the start and carrying through to the end is integral to project success.
Historically, project data was brought into AutoCAD or another drafting software where projects would be designed and engineered to fit the needs of the project. As the project moved forward, figures and maps were created and sent off to the utility client for review. With a long transmission line project, flipping through pages of plan views became tedious, which lead to clients asking for KMZ files. These helped everyone working on a project quickly zoom into areas of interest. With this method, solutions to problems were derived without having to dive into a map set of 100 pages. In theory, the process was innovative, but the issue with KMZ files is that they continue to grow over time. After a while, there may be an overabundance of files floating around. This becomes detrimental when decisions are being made using outdated files.
A few years ago, Pickett recognized the need to adapt to real time changes on a project. To meet this demand, the team began using ESRI Enterprise to create Web Apps and Dashboards and never looked back.
With this technology, from the start of a project to the very end, every single piece of spatial data available is added to a project Web App and updated to the latest version. We challenge ourselves daily to give every piece of project information a spatial reference, because seeing how information fits in with the rest of the project increases understanding. At Pickett, we also understand there is not a one size fits all approach to utility projects. We make sure our Web Apps can be adjusted and shifted as the project unfolds.
Our goal is to ensure that whether you are in the office or in the field, you have all of the puzzle pieces available to make important decisions easier and complete projects on time. Reach out if you would like to learn more about how we can help transform project communications as the utility world continues to adapt to our ever-changing society.
