Latest Contributions by TomDeWitte

By Tom Coolidge and Tom DeWitte “Tell me about yourself.” How many times have we all heard those words from others trying to understand us and our life journey to a point in time? The natural gas distribution industry and transmission industry have similar but different life journeys to an improved level of safety resulting from better knowledge of their assets. Both initiatives behind these stories now are almost ten years old. In the distribution industry, the initiative is known as Tracking and Traceability. In the transmission industry, it’s known as Traceable, Verifiable, and Complete. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) launched both initiatives. For those not familiar with Tracking and Traceability in the natural gas distribution industry, this initiative is about improving the information a natural gas organization maintains about an asset, such as a pipe segment, a valve or a fitting. It is important that a natural gas organization knows who manufactured the asset, who enhanced the asset (i.e. applied a protective coating), by whom and when was the asset tested, and by who, where and when was the asset installed. Like very protective parents, safety demands the need to know from where the asset came, where the asset has been, what did it do, and where is it currently. Through the efforts of multiple industry organizations, including the Plastic Pipe Institute, the American Gas Association, pipe manufacturers, and others, Tracking and Traceability was born to supply the facts required for a better answer. In the natural gas transmission industry, PHMSA introduced the Traceable, Verifiable, and Complete requirement. Traceable in this context means records that can be clearly linked to original information about a pipe network component. For instance, this might be a pipe mill record or purchase requisition. Verifiable records confirm the documentation used for traceability. An example of a verifiable record is a pressure test complemented by pressure tests or field logs. Complete records are those that finalize documentation of a pipe network component. For example, a complete pressure testing record should identify a specific segment of pipe, who conducted the test, the duration of the test, the test medium, temperatures, accurate pressure readings, and elevation information as applicable. While, as you can see, the journeys are in different forms, they bear obvious similarities. And, a geographic information system (GIS) is at the heart of both. Capturing the Life Journey of an Asset Capturing a complete traceable set of information for an asset requires an information system with unique capabilities. A traceable system of record needs to be able to store the following types of information about an asset: Documents Photos Digital descriptors Location Geospatial representation To meet the needs of a gas system, this information system also needs to be able to provide this information to the gas organization staff both in the office and in the field.  When in the field this information needs to be available whether the mobile device is connected or operating in a disconnected state.  That is a pretty tall order of capabilities.  Of all the different types of information systems available today, only a GIS has the capability to store all these components of information an asset collects over its life journey.  Over the course of an asset’s life journey there will also be many tests and inspections.  These, too, need to be associated to the asset for the asset’s life journey. Additionally, these inspections and tests need to be available to employees both in the office and in the field.  A field cathodic protection technician needs to not only know where a cathodic protection test point is located, what type it is, and who manufactured it, the technician also needs to have access to the history of inspections taken at the test point. This is why the gas industry is increasingly looking to their GIS as the foundation of their plans for implementing a system of record that meets the needs of traceability. Tracking Changes to an Asset over Time Meeting the needs of Traceability also requires knowing when the information about an asset was changed, who made the change, and what was changed. This set of information needs to cover every change made to the information about the asset over the life of the asset. Accomplishing this requires both the ability to track the edits made to the asset record, and the ability to archive the history of changes.  This audit trail of changes to the GIS-maintained assets must be persisted for the life of the asset. The greater the portion of an asset’s life journey that can have an unbroken audit trail, the more verifiable the information about the asset. Accomplishing an unbroken audit trail of the operational life journey of an asset requires a GIS which is also a fully integrated platform.  One that allows the editor tracking to begin in the field when the asset is initially installed and placed into service. This field-initiated audit trail must be part of the GIS’s security system for capturing who recorded the installation of the asset.  This capture of who recorded the installation, and when was the installation recorded, must be system managed so that users are unable to “fake” the system by manipulation of the recorded date time, and user information. Verifying the completeness of the information about an asset includes verifying the integrity of the information.  An integrity that can be sustained as an unbroken audit trail for the operational life journey of the asset.       Conclusion A modern GIS, one that has been architected to be a platform solution, capable of collecting new assets both in the field and in the office is the foundation technology for a successful traceability program.  The information collected about an asset includes its documents, manufacturer specifications, installation photos, location description, geospatial representation, inspections, and tests. This complete set of information needs to be available to utility staff when they need it, regardless of location or device.  The verifiability of this information needs to include a system-managed audit trail capability, which cannot be manipulated and persists as an unbroken recording of the life journey of the asset. Only a modern GIS can answer the question; “so, tell me about yourself”. ... View more

This is the fourth alpha release of the District Heating and Cooling Data model.  It is a version 2.5.1 asset package.  This is a specific configuration of a file geodatabase ,that when coupled with the Utility Network Package Tools, can be used to create, load and configure a full utility network for this industry.   Please post any comments or suggestions to this geonet site.   Thanks Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

By Tom DeWitte In January 2020, Esri launched an initiative to create a Utility Network data model that would enable District Heating and Cooling industry (DHC) customers to more fully leverage the ArcGIS platform. From the beginning, this was undertaken as a collaborative effort involving Distributors, Business Partners, and customers. To assure the initiative factored in regional requirements, working groups for North America, Europe and Asia were formed.  These working groups are comprised of volunteers from DHC organizations, and the business partners and Esri Distributors who support them. These working groups started meeting virtually twice a month in March.  This blog is an update on the progress made by these working groups in our efforts to create a geodatabase data model for Steam, Heated Water, and Chilled Water pipe systems with the Utility Network capabilities, by the end of 2020. Its Taking Shape In February of 2020, a team of Esri staff started meeting with DHC organizations to begin the process of understanding these pipe systems and the assets which comprise them. Thru March and April the aggregated feedback from these organizations has started to coalesce.  With this coalescing of feedback, a geodatabase data model with utility network capability is starting to take shape. As the feature class subtypes, attributes, coded domains, and default values settle into a final schema, other aspects of a geodatabase data model are starting to be defined.  These are the business rules of District Heating and Cooling.  In the just released Alpha 3 version of the data model, you will see some initial defining of Contingent values.  Over the course of the summer, this will be expanded to include attribute rule calculations and attribute rule constraints. Alpha3 will also be the first iteration of the data model to start to include the Utility Network specific definitions and rulebase. With Alpha 3 you will see the first iteration of definitions for the pipe system tier group, and its tiers of system and pressure. Alpha 3 will also include beginning rulebase definitions for containment and connectivity.  These too will be enhanced thru additional iterations over the course of the summer. We Have Sample Data We have data!!  A sample data set is an important part of the data model template download.  It allows everyone to see through a map what part the data model assets play in the pipe system and where in the pipe system these assets appear. With the alpha 3 posting of the DHC 2020 data model, we will be including for the first time our developing sample data set.  This data set will include examples of steam, heated water, and chilled water pipe systems.  You can download the DHC 2020 Alpha 3 version here. Much Yet To Do Building a spatially aware data model requires a little more work than defining a standard relational database data model.  Over the next several months, the working groups will continue to build out this data model.  This work will center around how the inventory of DHC pipe system assets interact with each other.  With upcoming releases of the data model over the summer of 2020 you will see the result of this effort in the defining of:                 - Connectivity rules to define how this pipe system should be assembled                 - Containment rules to define within which facilities these assets are allowed to reside                 - Contingent values to define the dependency between an asset’s attributes                 - Attribute rules to automate data entry and improve data quality                 - Subnetwork definitions to define the subsystems of the pipe system     There is much yet to do. Conclusion Even though there is much yet to do, this effort is on schedule.  But we are always looking for more volunteers with industry knowledge to help with this effort.  If you work in, or support the Steam, Heated Water, or Chilled Water utility organizations and are interested in joining one of our working groups, please let us know.  You can contact me via geonet or directly via email: [email protected]. ... View more

This is the third alpha release of the District Heating and Cooling Data model.  It is a version 2.5.0 asset package.  This is a specific configuration of a file geodatabase ,that when coupled with the Utility Network Package Tools, can be used to create, load and configure a full utility network for this industry.   Please post any comments or suggestions to this geonet site.   Thanks Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

This is the second alpha release of the District Heating and Cooling Data model.  It is a version 2.5.0 asset package.  This is a specific configuration of a file geodatabase ,that when coupled with the Utility Network Package Tools, can be used to create, load and configure a full utility network for this industry.   Please post any comments or suggestions to this geonet site.   Thanks Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

This is the first alpha release of the District Heating and Cooling Data model.  It is a version 2.5.0 asset package.  This is a specific configuration of a file geodatabase ,that when coupled with the Utility Network Package Tools, can be used to create, load and configure a full utility network for this industry. Please post any comments or suggestions to this geonet site. Thanks Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

After reviewing everyone's initial feedback on types of linear structures which should be included in the DHC data model, I have compiled an initial list.  Here is the list:  Some specific questions I could use some help on are: 1. Tunnels:  Are there different types of tunnels.  If so, what are they? 2. Are tunnels a shared structure across multiple utility systems (hot water, steam, chilled water, water, electric, telco, etc)  systems? 3. Pipe Casings.  Are there different types of pipe casings.  If so, what are they? 4.Are Pipe casings a shared structure across multiple types of pipes (hot water, chilled water, steam, water, etc)? 5. What makes a concrete trench box different from a trench?  Is a Concrete trench box actually just a type of trench? 6. Are there different types of trenches? 7. What is the difference between a conduit and a duct? Thanks  Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

One of the stated requirements for the district heating and cooling data model is to support simple asset management.  This sounds great, but I think everyone has a slightly different opinion on what this means.  So, if you were to make a top ten list of what it means to perform simple asset management of a DHC in a GIS what would that list be.  Here are my thoughts to get the discussion started: Tom's Top Ten List of Simple Asset Management 1. Ability to create and maintain a digital representation of the physical pipe system. 2. Spatial representation and accurate location of the pipes, devices, fittings and supporting structures of a DHC. 3. Each asset has enough physical description (material, diameter,etc) to support analytical needs of hydraulic analysis, risk analysis, and operational management. 4. Each asset knows its manufacturer and manufacturer lot number to support factory recall identification. 5. Pipe system digital representation is of enough detail to support hydraulic analysis. 6. Pipe system digital representation is of enough detail to support emergency management/leak response tasks. 7. Pipe system digital representation is of enough detail to support risk analysis. 8. Pipe system digital representation is of enough detail to support system growth planning. 9. Each asset has a unique assetID. 10. Each asset knows the Project Number and Work Order ID under which it was installed. That's my top ten list.  What is yours? Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

Based on the feedback from data model group participants around the world, it looks like the recommended categorization and sub-categorization is as follows: Does this look like the correct method for organizing DHC pipes?  Is this list complete?  Is the list of sub-categories for these different types of pipe complete and correct?  What about these additional potential pipe categories? Let me know what you think? Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

DHC Geonet users, I am trying to understand how to model Leak Detection systems within a Utility Network.  This monitoring system seems to be commonly used in District Heating and Cooling systems.  What I have learned so far is that a Leak Detection system is comprised of the following components: -Leak Detection Panel -Leak Detection Test Point -Leak Detection Wire -Leak Detection Withdrawal Point A customer was kind enough to share the following drawing to help explain this system. Here are my initial questions: 1) Is this a complete inventory of the components which comprise a leak detection system. 2) Is the leak detection wire always embedded in the insulation of the main? 3) If the wire is embedded in the pipe insulation, could it be stored as an attribute of the pipe versus being a separate feature? Thanks Tom DeWitte Esri, Inc ... View more

By Tom DeWitte and Tom Coolidge Installing the correct components when constructing a new pipe system or replacing an existing portion of a pipe system is critical to the safety and reliability of the overall pipe system.  When dealing with buried pipe utilities such as natural gas, water, district heating, district cooling, and hazardous liquids, this is a real issue.  Every year field crews inadvertently make the following mistakes:    -install polyethylene assets that have been sitting in the service yard for too long    -contractor installed a component for a utility company that is not on the utility companies’ approved manufacturer list    -field crew installed a pipe system component which is no longer compatible with company standards.  Without real-time field validation, these honest mistakes typically do not get identified until after the construction is complete and the pipe components have been covered over.  This latency in identification leads to expensive post-construction repairs.  Real-time Validation If the field construction crews could be notified that a specific pipe component about to be installed does not meet the requirements for valid installation, the previously listed issues could be eliminated. What field crews need is real-time validation. Configuring Collector for Real-time Validation In early 2019 Collector for ArcGIS was enhanced to support arcade scripting in the web maps which provide the configuration of Collector’s behavior.  As noted in previous blog articles, this opened the capability for real-time decoding of a pipe component’s barcode. -Tracking and Traceability 2019: Part 1 -Tracking and Traceability 2019: Part 2 The ability to add arcade scripts to the web map pop-up provides an advanced configuration ability to provide field crews with real-time validation.   What’s a field person to do? A field person can easily use this real-time validation capability.  Since Collector runs on Apple, Android and Windows mobile devices, they could check the validity of pipe segments, plastic device and plastic fittings while unloading them from the delivery truck.  All the field person would have to do is to use their smart phone running the Collector to scan the barcode using the device’s camera. Screenshot of portion of Collector pop-up Collector will automatically decode the barcode information and open a pop-up window with the validation results.  Invalid pipe segments, devices and fittings never reach the installation trench.          Keeping invalid pipe components out of installation trenches improves safety, system reliability, and eliminates unwanted costs. No one wants to have to re-dig the construction location to remove the invalid pipe components. How is this possible? Esri makes real-time validation possible by allowing arcade scripts to be added to the web map configuration file.  More specifically the arcade script is added to the pop-up configuration in the web map of the pipe, device or fitting layer. Screenshot of portion of pop-up layer configuration With the arcade script added to the desired layer pop-ups, the web map is now ready for real-time validation.  For the field user, initiation of the validation process occurs automatically when the field user presses the “Submit” button in the upper right corner of the Collector display. Screenshot of top portion of Collector application The pressing of the “Submit” button after collecting some information such as scanning of a barcode also automatically opens the pop-up to show the validation results.  It really is that easy to deploy and that seamless an experience for the field user.             What is the script doing? The logic in the arcade script is the key to enabling Collector to perform real-time validation.  What must the script do?  The simple answer is that it must be able to acquire the information needed to answer a question.  For example, a core validation for plastic pipe construction is whether the polyethylene plastic material is too old.  Polyethylene plastic is susceptible to the suns UV rays.  Let a roll of medium density polyethylene pipe site in the service yard for over 3 years and the sun’s UV rays will have degraded the material to the point where it should not be installed. The information needed to assess whether the role of pipe is too old is the date of manufacture and the current date.  The date of manufacture is acquired form the scanning and decoding of the ASTM F2897 barcode.  The current date is acquired from the mobile device itself.  Subtract the manufacture date from the current date and you have a time difference.  If the time difference exceeds the industry recommended shelf life then that roll of pipe is invalid and should not be installed.  Here is a snippet of the arcade script to determine whether the polyethylene plastic pipe or component has exceeded the recommended shelf life. Portion of arcade script to determine material shelf life   Where can I get these scripts? Many people have told me that they find it easier to modify someone else’s script than to write one from scratch. With that statement in mind we have written arcade scripts against a UPDM 2019 data model and the ASTM F2897 barcode standard to address three validation scenarios. Scenario 1: Material for HDPE and MDPE has exceeded its shelf life Scenario 2: The manufacturer of the pipe system component is not on the utilities approved list. Scenario 3: The specific size and model of the component is not part of the utilities set of codes and standards. These arcade scripts are available for download from the following location on geonet. https://community.esri.com/docs/DOC-14615-tracking-and-traceability-2020-scripts In addition to the scripts are detailed instructions on how to configure and deploy the scripts into your ArcGIS Enterprise or Online organization.  That’s right, web map based arcade scripts not only work for ArcGIS Enterprise environments they also work for ArcGIS Online organizations. What else can Collector real-time validations do In addition to the real-time validation scenarios previously listed, there are other opportunities for applying real-time validation.  For example, you could create custom barcodes for welding and plastic fusion operators.  The custom barcodes could embed the worker’s operator qualifications. A Collector web map embedded arcade script could decode that scanned operator’s badge barcode and immediately determine whether the operator is qualified and whether the qualifications are still valid. The advanced configuration capabilities of web maps with arcade scripting open capabilities that previously required complex and expensive customization.  The universal use of web maps in web applications and mobile applications such as Collector allow this configuration to be done once and utilized across Windows mobile devices, Android mobile devices, Apple mobile devices, and web applications.  And did I mention that these real-time validations work even when the device is disconnected from the network? PLEASE NOTE: The postings on this site are our own and don’t necessarily represent Esri’s position, strategies, or opinions. ... View more