GIS and SAP for utilities - MTEMC and Aquarion Water

Building on last year's great presentation by the City of San Diego, the 2011 SAP for utilities conference included several new examples of GIS' positive impact on utilities' operations and customer service. Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Cooperative (MTEMC) spoke about their integration of GIS and SAP EAM, in which they use GIS for design and SAP for orders, accounting, Compatible Units, and materials. This configuration allows engineers to work more efficiently by staying in GIS instead of switching frequently between the two applications.

MTEMC focused on automating work orders and pick-lists for construction projects; automating fixed asset and expense accounting for GIS-generated projects; and standardizing order create, time and cost collection, and project accounting. By starting with these core elements—for example, two work order templates to cover simple jobs and complex projects‐MTEMC was able to eliminate data chasing and deliver automated, real-time views of inventory. Amidst all of the technical explanations and ambitious goals, Chip Pinion gave a little reality check by noting that, "Linemen want to be linemen, they don't want to work on computers."

Another good example of GIS and SAP was presented by Mark Fois from Aquarion Water, which uses GIS to note critical customers that can be seriously impacted by scheduled maintenance and unplanned events, such as main breaks. Aquarion uses GIS to map designated customers, such as schools, hospitals, and toxic chemical-producing businesses such as hair salons, and keeps this data fresh by contacting customers annually and updating records when move-ins and move-outs occur.