How Delaware Electric Cooperative uses GIS to optimize vegetation management, asset inspection, and maintenance programs

GIS Manager Bill “Doc” Docca shares how he built one of the cleanest GIS data sets the Overstory team has ever seen and how the team at Delaware Electric Cooperative (DEC) uses that data to optimize their programs.

Why does precise GIS data matter?

Clean data enables faster action. Some utilities believe that accuracy within 15-30 feet is “good enough”—not Doc’s team. As Doc puts it, the more precise your data is, the faster you can take action to correct outages and issues across your network when people need it most.

If a customer contacts the call center with a problem and the employee they’re chatting with knows the GIS data is accurate, they can pass that information—along with a valuable forecast right away—to the lineman who has to go to the location to fix the issue.

How can utilities ensure their GIS data is most accurate?

Utility teams must take an iterative approach to their GIS data if they hope to keep their data precise. For DEC, that’s meant using team members beyond their 3-person mapping department to keep them accountable.

An open door policy to create a culture of continuous improvement

Doc asked for map updates at all costs from the linemen and fieldworkers who used GIS data to do their jobs—he kept an open door policy and prioritized making data corrections for internal users as soon as they submitted feedback, whether that feedback was on a post it, sent in with crayons, whatever.

No matter if the information shared was for a single pole or for an entire underground system, Doc’s team made changes immediately. Because those end users saw corrected data right away, making their jobs easier, they felt motivated to keep sharing and helping the mapping team make updates.

When Doc and team hadn’t heard any updates or gotten corrections from their top lineman in weeks, they reached out to find out what had changed. “I think we fixed everything,” he laughed.

Precise GIS data is a practice—not a destination

The initial push to get data in good shape always takes a little extra effort. But maintaining an already-precise data set is much easier than working around messy data long-term.

One of Doc’s biggest challenges is getting “as built” information integrated back into his systems after new work has been completed.

When his team shifted from using AutoCAD to ESRI a while back, the migration revealed some large gaps in the data, which gave the team a clear picture of where they needed to start with their cleanup.

What role does GPS accuracy play?

When Doc joined the GIS team at DEC, they used a combination of large map books and microfiche (which hadn’t been updated in more than a decade), and AutoCAD. Because of point-to-point GPS, the CAD system didn’t accurately represent underground facilities.

Moving to ESRI forced a major upgrade in data accuracy, and shaped Doc’s thinking around the importance of using the right vendors and technology for every job.

According to Doc, GPS accuracy is fundamental to maintaining accurate GIS data. If you can’t get sub metering, he recommended supplementing with aerial photography. If the GPS you’re using today isn’t accurate, the cost of updating the units is often outweighed by the cost of inaccurate data—it’s worth the investment to make sure you’re getting the most accurate data possible and updating your system accordingly.