Project Highlights
- Headquartered in Imperial, CA
- Largest irrigation district in the U.S.
- Serves 150,000+ electric customers in 3 counties
- Approx. 6,500 sq mi service area
Imperial Irrigation District’s (IID) three-month upgrade modernized the utility’s software by updating the Esri software from 10.2.1 to 10.6.1 and ArcFM software from 10.1.1b to 10.6.1a.
Leading Driver for Software Modernization
IID’s key reason for upgrading its ArcGIS environment was to remain current with Esri support, enabling the utility to continue in its current environment. To do so, the utility upgraded its Esri ArcGIS and Schneider Electric ArcFM software; upgraded existing Fiber Manager configurations to be compatible with the ArcFM release; and enhanced its quality assurance, development, and production environments.
By transitioning from 10.2.1 to 10.6.1, IID will receive support for each Esri software release until January 2026, providing the utility sufficient time to prepare for its long-term goal of upgrading to the Utility Network.
Auto Updater Enhancements
Auto Updaters (AUs) are background processes that automatically populate attribute fields in ArcMap using predefined values. The fields are linked to location, triggering the automatic inputs through feature placement.
During the upgrade, UDC identified inconsistencies and failures of the current AUs regarding Label Text, Location ID, Service Relate, and Structure Relate. UDC recompiled and enhanced the existing AUs to operate with the ArcFM upgrade – rebuilding some of the AUs where necessary. By going through the effort of identifying current functionality issues, UDC was able to significantly improve the performance of IID’s custom AUs – resulting in enhanced feature placement and accuracy.
Change Management Support
UDC provided support to IID with each individual environment update, allowing for the transition of knowledge through each stage. UDC upgraded the quality assurance environment, shadowed IID during the development environment upgrade, and provided support to IID during its independent upgrade of the production environment and go-live activities. UDC documented the identified errors encountered with each upgrade in addition to recording the steps and issues addressed during the software updates. This documentation will be an asset to the utility as it internally maintains its system moving forward.
Esri/ArcFM Upgrade Components
The solution elements for the Esri/ArcFM Upgrade project include:
- Performing a geodatabase upgrade
- Applying 10.6.1a specific configurations at the geodatabase level
- Upgrading the process framework using Schneider Electric OOTB tools
- Recompiling the existing custom AUs
- Migrating existing circuits and system favorites
- Reconfiguring the available fiber schematics
- Migrating daily maintenance scripts from SQL to Python
- Updating maintenance and security scripts
This upgrade has enabled IID to stay current in the Esri environment, aligning itself with future Esri software upgrades and enhancements. UDC’s support and guidance has empowered the utility to sustain its current system and prepare for future updates.
Read about IID’s upgrade journey in the previous project profile – Fiber Manager Upgrade with Maintained Circuit Info.