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MapFrame News Release After Installing FieldSmart View™ Software, Dominion Virginia Power Adds FieldSmart Collect™ DALLAS (AUGUST 31, 2001) - MapFrame Corporation announced today that Dominion Virginia Power has started using MapFrame’s FieldSmart Collect software to add pole data to its ArcInfo database. Until recently, collecting and adding pole data to the corporate GIS would have been a tedious and time-consuming process involving surveyors going from pole to pole manually recording information, then re-entering data back in the office. With a mobile mapping system in place, this scenario has changed dramatically. Last year, Virginia Power installed mobile GIS as part of a new field data system. Pen computers are mounted in service vehicles so technicians can quickly access a work order and also view the map and facility data associated with the order. Having this mobile mapping system in place has proven so effective that Virginia Power now views mobile GIS as the backbone for a comprehensive field automation system encompassing a variety of applications. The first of these new field applications is pole data collection – a joint use project funded by both Virginia Power and the telecom company, Verizon. Ten surveyors are currently at work equipped with ViA wearable computers and a customized version of MapFrame’s FieldSmart Collect software. The Pole Collection application builds on Virginia Power’s mobile GIS capability, using maps as the framework for the collection process. Surveyors place pole symbols on the landbase and enter attribute data, mainly by selecting from pick lists. Surveyors are averaging 800 poles a day. And, in contrast to a manual system, information is automatically uploaded to the central database. The collection process also utilizes GPS technology. Point data is captured and stored as an attribute for each pole, providing a reference to accurate ground position as well as linkage to the current base map. Later, conflation processes will be used to improve the positional accuracy of the GIS. Adding new data to the GIS will provide users both in and outside the office with valuable information about pole location. The company believes that operations personnel will especially benefit from access to pole data in a variety of maintenance and repair activities. Virginia Power is one of the nation's ten largest investor-owned electric utilities. The company delivers power to more than 2 million homes and businesses in Virginia and North Carolina. # # # Press Information: Heather Patton, MapFrame email: Click here tel: 214.741.2264 x105 General Information: Click here |
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