Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. (Westminster, Colorado, U.S.) has contracted with har*GIS LLC for the purchase of 30 field information systems, which will be used to increase productivity in the utility's transmission line inspection and maintenance activities.

“We have nine, four-person crews responsible for maintaining our four-state transmission network,” explained Bruce Kreager, transmission maintenance specialist for Tri-State and manager of the new field automation project. “Until recently, our line inspection activities were all paper-based, and we literally had reams of pole inspection data,” he said. “When we began transferring our field information into an Oracle database so it was more readily accessible and maintainable, we needed a way to make this data available in the field, and thereby cut down on the paperwork and map books required by our linemen to get their jobs done.”

Kreager said that while the initial application is limited to line maintenance, the utility plans to expand use of the field information technology (IT) to a variety of other departments as well as for use by its contractors.

The field information systems will be deployed on Trimble Recon 400 handheld data-collection devices. The software enables mobile field crews to easily locate facilities where inspection, upgrade, repair or expansion is necessary by providing ready access to current map data, facilities information and customer records while in transit or on a job site. Information from a variety of enterprise IT systems can be uploaded and downloaded in real time and displayed on a base map that's integrated with GPS and navigation technology to guide field personnel to their destinations. Data captured in the field is then reconciled with the corporate database using wireless technology so data repositories are always up-to-date and in synch.