After extensive engineering analysis, feasibility prototypes were commissioned. The FRAMME data was converted initially for view-only. Attribution inspection was part of the initial prototype. Additional design sessions were held to understand a progression of iterations for enhancements to the GTViewer application. These quick-hitting, incremental enhancements provided increased model maintenance capabilities, as well as raised confidence that the correct technology decision had been made.

Session files for model edits with provision for independent reviews and postings to update the model met rigorous configuration control requirements. This native functionality of GTViewer allowed ITCTransmission circuit-by-circuit and systemwide management of feature additions to the transmission model.

The early decision to explore GTViewer's limits has not been challenged. The broad deployment platform (web server, file server, stand-alone workstation or laptop and PocketPC) provides robust application architecture alternatives. The decision framework for a rich GIS graphics-engine-based solution consisted of prior experience, early wins and thorough analysis to specify each incremental enhancement. One of the most significant examples to date is the recent integration of aerial video surveys with the model: a powerful and exciting integration of technologies. Eventually, technical limitations will be discovered, but those limits are not yet in sight for a GIS model of ITCTransmission's complexity.

Manhole and underground conductor features with attribution were added to the transmission system object model to support the conversion of paper document maps and Excel spreadsheet data into the transmission system model. These features and details were not part of the original model, and integration with the overhead transmission assets was recognized to be a significant improvement opportunity. Subsequent to the successful incorporation of underground transmission circuit details, ITCTransmission decided to extend the underground model again to include control circuits. Additional feature attribution was specified and these new features were added to the transmission model.

ITCTransmission also added several important overhead asset types to the object model. These included operating switches, single-pole wood structures and foreign-owned poles within 50 ft (15 m) of ITCTransmission assets. In each case, attribution was either specified and populated from electronic sources or input manually.

A PocketPC inspection application was built to integrate the GIS model with periodic visual inspections for cathodic protection. Displaying transmission assets in the context of the land base on a mobile device facilitates route planning (Fig. 1). The electronic form eliminates manual data entry and reduces the potential for post-inspection transcription errors. The electronic form also ensures that all required data is collected while in the field.

Customized functionality was added to the GTViewer application to create data files that can be imported into the Vaisala Fault Analysis and Lightning Location System (FALLS) for evaluation of lightning events and their potential impact on the transmission system.

ITCTransmission contracted for fly-over videos to be captured for the entire transmission system. These videos include global positioning system (GPS) location-to-video frame cross-reference data. The potential to integrate these videos with the GIS model was explored by The COGNET Group and determined to be feasible. Enhancements were made to the GTViewer application to display the videos simultaneously with the transmission model. Transmission corridor features and the raster backdrop are all displayed with aerial videos (Fig. 2). The user can toggle the GPS pointer functionality on and off to aid in interpreting the video images.

Soft displays (Fig. 3) of any of, or all, three different grid systems — DeLorme's Michigan Atlas and Gazetteer, Michigan's MISS DIG and Michigan Township/Range/Section — were added to share GIS model data with external agencies. Hard-copy printouts are easily generated.

A core integration requirement was to allow importing and exporting of GIS data in Bentley's MicroStation file format. GTViewer was enhanced to allow the user to import MicroStation design files into their GTViewer session files (Figs. 4 and 5) and export from them. This functionality enables engineers and planners to see plans and preliminary designs digitized in the GIS model. This import/export capability has proven beneficial when working with other GIS-based applications that contractors use in performing work.

ITCTransmission engineers, technicians, management and even support staff are enthusiastically using the GTViewer application and the GIS model with land base. More users request access to the application each year.

No comprehensive financial return on investment has been developed. However, the Graphic Technologies Inc. per-seat run-time licensing fees (less than US$600) and annual maintenance per seat (less than $100) represent extremely competitive pricing. For in-house developers the software development kit is less than $1200. Therefore, licensing for prototyping and piloting GIS specialty solutions is affordable.

Several additional areas for enhancement are being evaluated. Tower inspection forms with GIS model data, similar to the already deployed cathodic protection inspection application, are high on the list. Additional aerial imagery is also being considered. Submeter resolution images for significant portions of the service territory are already available for purchase. And discussions are underway with aerial survey contractors to survey all substations with high-resolution imagery.

This exploratory approach to an enterprise GIS infrastructure has proven agile, adaptable and functionally rich. ITCTransmission has demonstrated that geospatial graphics engines are acquiring sufficient power to manage the maintenance of GIS models of significant complexity. Rich native functionality combined with business-driven customization and file import/conversion capabilities offer a powerful solution.

The author would like to thank the following individuals for their valuable contributions to this article: Michael Morgan, senior designer, and Jon Jipping, senior vice president, engineering, both of ITCTransmission; and Larry Cosgrove, GIS practice lead, of The COGNET Group.

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Raymond Yucha is a senior engineer at ITCTransmission. His engineering areas of focus are underground transmission and cathodic protection. He also maintains the equipment database and assists in developing the GIS system. He was previously an associate engineer at Detroit Edison, where he managed GIS system field data audits for distribution assets and managed the new GIS-based distribution load-flow program. Yucha earned his BSEE degree from the University of Detroit Mercy in 1998. ryucha@ITCtransco.com