The Polk County Rural Public Power District in Stromsburg, Nebraska, has sucessfully installed a field design software package.

The software, Powel’s Standard StakeOut, is a pre-configured version of the customizable StakeOut field design software package, scaled for rural cooperatives to allow faster, simpler implementation.

Located about 100 miles west of Omaha, Polk County RPPD serves 4,458 total customers and maintains 1,080 miles of line. The utility called on Powel to integrate its CIS (Customer Information System) and GIS (Geographical Information System) systems with Standard StakeOut, once personnel determined the design package to be the most cost-effective solution.

StakeOut includes in-field job sketching capabilities that synchronize with back-office software to incorporate and analyze data. In the field, Polk County RPPD’s staking technician uses a computer to design job sketches, add construction units, generate job documents and edit job sketches and units to reflect as-built changes. StakeOut data is then synchronized to a dedicated server back in the office to calculate costs based on pre-defined construction unit prices and ensures rule base design standards.

The hardware and software interfaces with Polk County RPD’s NISC’s IVue ABS system as well as its Manifold GIS system to create an efficient workflow. By using StakeOut, Polk County RPD streamlines work processes, eliminates paperwork and decreases errors due to duplication of mapping tasks.

The StakeOut project was initiated in June 2010 and the iVue Accounting and Billing system is fully interfaced, with the GIS system anticipated for next year.

Standard StakeOut, like the fully customizable StakeOut is just one element of the WorkStudio suite that includes applications for outage recovery, vegetation management, mapping and more. WorkStudio is a mobile work management system that helps utilities work smarter through the entire asset lifecycle.