migrating to Utility Network

[Lwkrynock]

Hello All,

We're looking for some insight from other universities who have moved to the utility network model, whether for individual utilities or all of them. We have 4 utility systems (water, sewer, chilled water, steam) currently on ESRI's geometric network model and 3 others also in GIS but not in a network model. We are beginning to consider migration to UN, with the primary impetus being the eventual deprecation and end of support for ArcMap, and the need to be able to edit the systems on the geometric network in Pro. 

We are beginning to understand how significant and costly of an undertaking this is and are curious how other universities have handled it. For any here who have migrated to UN, we would greatly appreciate any insight you have. Here are some specific questions we have:

1 - Was it done in-house or by an outside consultant?

2 - Did you tackle a specific utility as a pilot project or look at a combination of systems?

3 - What has been the primary value of being on the UN? 

4- Are you using UN tools (e.g. tracing) on mobile apps in the field?

5 - How was the transition for GIS staff working and editing on UN? (Seems like a steep learning curve even for experienced GIS folks, so we're wondering how we would handle training of new staff.)  

Thanks in advance! I know this is a lot to respond to - I'm very happy to talk with anyone if you're willing provide time and insight. 

Laurel Krynock

NC State University

[WardMitchell2]

Hello Laurel, I would recommend reaching out to Brian Baldwin from ESRI. He is a Solution Engineer that works with Universities and has contacts for what you are seeking.

https://www.esri.com/en-us/industries/blog/author/brian-baldwin/

[BrianBaldwin]

Thanks @WardMitchell2  - @Lwkrynock  - Please feel free to send me an e-mail and we can set up a time to chat about it - it's definitely a more 'long-winded' dicussion then I could type up in response to your questions here. The main question to get at is 'what do you need to do/what do your users need?' - that will really drive a lot of the discussion and help lay out the best path. 

Brian Baldwin - bbaldwin@esri.com

[Lwkrynock]

@WardMitchell2 and @BrianBaldwin thanks for the replies! Brian, I will send you an email.