All utilities must have accurate asset information in order to plan maintenance and, most importantly, make sure employees and the community are safe.
United Energy, which distributes electricity to more than 640,000 customers across east and southeast Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, needed to conduct a survey of its network to ensure that it had accurate asset data for its asset maintenance, operational and strategic decision-making.
At first, United Energy considered traditional methods with boots on the ground but an initial investigation showed this to be slow and expensive.
Geomatic Technologies was confident it could achieve the required 95 per cent accuracy at a lower unit cost with a survey methodology using AIMS 3D imagery, offshore data extraction and onshore quality assurance.
Geomatic Technologies’ AIMS3D field capture system is an innovative solution that allows a utility to rapidly and cost-effectively capture a comprehensive 3D view of its network.
Merging panoramic imagery and LiDAR sensors, AIMS3D efficiently maps, measures, documents and records networks without the need for traditional, time consuming survey methods.
High-resolution cameras provide detailed 360-degree panoramic imagery and can be mounted on road or rail vehicles for rapid image and LiDAR capturing.
Survey accurate GPS and IMU sensors deliver exact positioning and alignment data, while engineering quality LiDAR enables accurate mapping and measurement. Sensor configurations are also customisable to align with individual business needs.
Once captured, the 3D imagery can be accessed via a standard browser-based web viewer so everyone in the organisation can quickly and easily access the information they need.
AIMS3D imagery can be easily embedded into any web based application without the need for programming, or can be fully integrated into third-party products via the AIMS3D API.
Visualising network assets
United Energy engaged Geomatic Technologies to do a pilot survey of its electricity and third-party communications infrastructure across 12 suburbs in Melbourne, approximately 25,000 poles along 1000km of road, over 15 per cent of its network.
As a result, Geomatic Technologies delivered a data set on electricity and telecommunications infrastructure assets in the pilot area that exceeded United Energy’s required 95 per cent accuracy threshold, with this data quality achieved at a significantly lower cost to the business.
The survey has uncovered high-value information for United Energy about the condition of its assets, leading to more efficient work planning and execution, maintenance cycles that reduce risk of network and equipment failure and the replacement of some assets.
Geomatic Technologies now has a proven survey methodology that can be applied to any asset survey.
Network owners wanting to reduce the cost of delivering business-critical functions can rely on its experience, expertise and quality assurance processes to leverage operational and strategic benefits, without risk to safety, service integrity and reputation.
This partner content is brought to you by Geomatic Technologies. For more information, visit www.geomatic.com.au.
