Intergraph Corporation has announced the successful cutover to live operations with its outage management system, InService, at Lansing (Michigan) Board of Water and Light. The new system allows Lansing to more effectively predict, manage and respond to outages and critical system events.
The solution, which interfaces with a Smallworld GE Networks geographic information system (GIS), speeds restoration time during power outages, manages day-to-day network operations and analyzes operating data to help predict and correct probable distribution network failures. Intergraph partnered with VELOCITIE Integration to integrate InService with Lansing’s existing GIS, providing seamless access to the company’s geospatial information.
The outage management system has a direct interface to Lansing’s existing high-volume call answering system (HVCA). The HVCA system, provided by Twenty First Century Communications, Inc., supplies real-time power outage caller information directly to the outage management system. Outage restoration times are sent back to the HVCA system, allowing customers to access estimated times for power restoration.
“Intergraph’s InService system provides automated outage predictions using electric network connectivity, eliminating the manual method of predicting outage locations that included the sorting of paper trouble tickets, dispatching crews, transferring work between departments and producing reliability reports,” said Tim Palmer, manager of system operations and bulk power, Lansing Board of Water and Light. “The system allows us to provide more reliable and affordable service to our customers.”
Jay Stinson, vice president and general manager, Intergraph Utilities & Communications Division, said, “InService is platform independent, providing our customers such as Lansing Board of Water and Light a configurable solution that works with any existing GIS solution and adapts to the specific requirements of their business. With the InService system’s ability to improve outage management processes and optimize network reliability, it is helping the utility provide affordable, more reliable service.”
