The end of 2020 wrapped up Ameren Corporation’s multi-year, ambitious Geographic Information System (GIS) Replacement Program to migrate its gas and electric commodities from a dated and heavily customized Intergraph G/Technology solution to a more modern Esri-based solution.
Key Drivers for GIS Replacement
One of the key business drivers for migrating to Esri was to move toward a single system of record for asset data. Previously, the outdated G/Tech editing environment was supplemented with a reporting environment in Esri to support enterprise reporting, mobile solution, web portals and advanced analytics for integrity management. The move to Esri simplifies the application landscape – resulting in less complexity and maintenance costs. The shift allows Ameren to operate more efficiently through the implementation of streamlined work process and provides a stable platform for the digital transformation of the utility’s asset management function into the future.
The utility has a long-range goal of migrating to Utility Network, but there were significant advantages to migrating to an Esri-based landscape immediately. The planned upgrade of their Maximo-based Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) suite coupled with the selection and implementation of a new Graphic Work Design (GWD) solution provided the perfect opportunity to migrate the GIS solutions at the same time. To satisfy both objectives, the GIS Replacement Program established an application roadmap that achieved the near-term business benefits of adopting an industry standard Esri-based solution while maintaining an upgrade path to Utility Network.
GIS Replacement Solutions
The solution components for the GIS Replacement projects include:
- ArcGIS Desktop w/ Schneider-Electric ArcFM for Electric and Gas Distribution. The initial deployments will utilize v.10.2.1e with a planned upgrade during the project to v.10.6.1
- Utility and Pipeline Data Model (UPDM) for all gas environments
- ArcPro Editor 2.2 for APR in Gas Transmission
- ArcGIS Server 10.6.1 supporting publication and portal environments
- In-memory trace utility solution that pre-traces and stores the entire primary and secondary electric distribution network in a searchable traceability table
- End-to-end traceable gas network across linear referenced transmission system and geometric network distribution system
This solution landscape provides significant improvements for the posters and mappers in Ameren’s Peoria and Collinsville Design Centers since most customizations in the legacy systems were supported by out-of-the-box functionality in the Esri and Schneider Electric platforms. The shift allows for more accurate and efficient mapping of design work orders through the use of aerial imagery and a conflated land base. This roadmap also provides for a smooth upgrade path to Utility Network when the organization is ready to migrate.
Working together with our business partners, Accenture, Schneider Electric, Esri, and Cyient, UDC led and supported project management; solution architecture; requirements, functional & technical design for GIS extensions; data modeling; solution standup; integration; deployment; and data acceptance testing for the Ameren GIS Replacement Program. Currently, UDC is supporting the digitization data acceptance effort of the secondary network.
The Gas GIS Replacement Project went live with the new UPDM/APR solutions in January 2020, and the Electric GIS Replacement Project went live in October 2020. UDC continues to provide post go-live GIS digital support to the Ameren team through the end of the year for its Electric and GWD Upgrade Projects.
For further reading, see Combining Gas Transmission and Gas Distribution into a Single System of Engagement at Ameren and watch our joint Esri UC presentation.