The 21st century grid is taking shape, and it is happening quickly. Construction on the US grid is expected to exceed over $100 billion in the coming year. Driven by growth in electricity demand, aging infrastructure, continuing expansion of grid-scale renewables, and more, the Edison Electric Institute is predicting that the requirement for continuing to build out and harden the grid at both the transmission and distribution (T&D) levels is likely to accelerate. All are contributing to a very challenging landscape as the utility industry tries to keep up with the demands on the grid.
One key for utilities to “keep up” with these new demands on the grid is to reinvent the construction management process. Traditionally an unwieldy combination of manual, paper processes often married with digital tools, the industry is recognizing and acting on a shift to Digital Construction Management (“DCM”). DCM manages construction processes seamlessly across different functions from the engineering office to the field and back again to close out the job.
The need for DCM is underscored in today’s T&D operating environment where grid modernization, with all of its complexities, is the path to a reliable, safe, affordable, energy delivery future. Central to that future is the effective operation of the grid using systems such as ADMS, where improvements in data timeliness, accuracy, and completeness ensure that the ADMS can function as designed and help utilities maintain service with minimal disruption. Another example is Esri’s ArcGIS Utility Network (UN). For those utilities using UN, having accurate, high-fidelity GIS data and asset attribution needed for an accurate depiction of their network is critically important, and can be supported by DCM and fully digital as-builting. Adding today’s grid undergrounding & hardening programs to the mix has increased the complexity of grid construction management, requiring quality data and lean processes to support infrastructure through its useful life and to prevent costly mistakes that can erode the value of these critical T&D investments.
One other consideration noted above is the need for expanding the grid with the explosion of AI, data centers, electrification, DERs and EVs, all against a backdrop of aging infrastructure. Up to date, accurate connectivity models and construction visibility is needed to plan & support this complex growth.
Figure 1 below is a demonstration of how DCM manages the flow of data and information across the life of a construction project.
A New Paradigm From the Field to the Engineering Office
Of note in Figure 1 is that this process is fully digital and is integrated with all of the requisite systems needed for a successful construction project: WMS, GIS, and GWD in the preconstruction phase; mobile applications in the field during construction; and a post-construction digital close out to WMS and GIS.
So, while DCM is redefining grid construction management processes with near real-time, seamless data updates and processes, what are some of the other benefits with DCM? One is faster, more accurate digitized field data collection, ensuring that GIS and WMS systems are maintained with near real-time data updates. This has immediate impacts on safety and reliability across the grid for field crews and customers.
Another consideration is around outage restoration efforts. While DCM is generally regarded as a tool for long-cycle construction management, the acute needs in an outage restoration environment are another workspace where DCM can accelerate and improve work and construction processes. Consider the value of near real-time data availability for third-party contractors and mutual aid crews that would otherwise lack any knowledge of a utility’s asset data. With DCM, these crews can quickly collect installed asset data digitally and send this back to the utility’s emergency operations center.
“Over the last three decades leading GIS groups and working in the utility engineering space, I have seen how construction processes have hindered a utility’s ability to deliver on its core business,” commented Bob Schultz, Electric Subject Matter Expert and DCM leader at Locusview. Bob added that “the advent of DCM is changing how utilities are able to deliver on the promise of the demands on the 21st century grid.”
Scaling to Meet Big Challenges
One utility that is moving forward with DCM to improve its construction management and, thus, its grid reliability and safety is a large investor-owned utility serving over 2.5 million customers in the eastern US. In this utility’s mature IT/OT environment, DCM is being deployed and integrated with Esri’s Utility Network solution, SAP’s EWAM, Oracle’s OMS, OSI’s ADMS, and other design and engineering systems.
When fully implemented, the DCM platform at this utility will be supporting 1,200 internal and contractor field crews across multiple design and construction functions, including planned designed jobs, planned non-designed jobs, and unplanned jobs. While unprecedented just a few years ago, implementing a fully integrated DCM platform is a critical component for utilities as they further embrace digitization to effectively scale grid modernization initiatives to enable the grid of the 21st century.
For more information on how DCM can be a gamechanger at your utility, visit locusview.com.