first published week of: 12/01/2014
Avista Utility, serving nearly 326,000 northwestern US gas users, started using a mobile leak-survey app last month to improve the company's auditing records, resulting in stronger data and faster service. The leak survey app, a configuration of Esri's ArcGIS for Windows Mobile, helps field-workers survey more than 7,500 miles of natural-gas distribution pipeline by using a ruggedized mobile device. The app, called Leak Survey, also works offline and syncs when the device enters a networked area.
The app replaces the 8,000 annually printed maps previously used to inspect and maintain pipeline and investigate problems as part of a mandated annual leak survey.
"Converting from a paper solution to digital data collection will reduce manual errors [and] increase efficiency with regulatory compliance, and is expected to increase the trust relationship with auditors," Avista project manager Emmet Skaar said.
The app works in conjunction with several office map viewers, such as a dispatch and a correction viewer, configured with Esri's ArcGIS Viewer for Flex. Supervisors view the data in near real time.