GIS Applications : Network Analysis

EGE 2421

GIS in Utilities
Lecture No. 08

Felix Mutua, Ph. D

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

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 Lecture Plan
Wee Topic Wee Topic
k k
1 Overview 8 Networks – I
(concepts, network problems)
2 Review of GIS analysis Techniques 9 Networks – II
(building networks, optimization)
3 GIS in Agriculture 10 Networks – III
(concepts, application areas, Crop (routing, tracking)
Suitability Analysis)
4 Natural resource Management – I 11 Utility Management
(concepts, application areas)
5 Natural resource Management – II 12 Health and Disease control
(Groundwater, forestry) (concepts in epidemiology)
6 GIS in Business 13 Governance
(store location, consumer (crime, districting, LIS, census)
profiling)
7 CAT I 14 CAT II 2
 Introduction
• Utility Sector is one of the fastest growing of the many fields in
which Geographical Information System (GIS) software is used.
• GIS is emerging as an important planning, implementation
management and operations management tool for the utility
industries such as
– Telecom,
– Transportation,
– Energy and
– several Urban utilities such as Water Supply, Waste Water and Health.
•

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 Introduction
• Utility lines are the backbone of rapid urbanization and
modern infrastructure. Power lines, water supply lines and gas
mains are some of the crucial utility supplies for maintaining
today’s lifestyle.
• It is important that all the components of these utility lines
function properly without break down.
• Since it is difficult to manage them manually, technologies like
GIS are used to provide spatial dimensions in their monitoring.

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 Introduction
• Utility being the nerve center and basic infrastructure requirement,
utility execution team must ensure that all the components are
functional with no breakdown.
• The authorities should ensure regulation in consumer services and
attend to breakdown on SOS basis. This is a challenging task.
• To facilitate management of such a system, the task is made
substantially flexible and the system condition if presented visually
on a geographical data, it facilitates easy tacking and attention.
• Executing a GIS with a defined system design basis will go a long way
in successful utility management.

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GIS in utility projects

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 Telecommunications
• The telecommunication industry rapidly expanding. For
business growth company should know where their facilities
and customers exist.
• Also, locational information about this data is useful.
• GIS database can have the potential to work on these queries.

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 Water and wastewater utilities
• Integrating data from various sources and with geospatial data one
manageable system is formed by many water and wastewater
utilities.
• This system can be beneficial for the management of the flow of
wastewater to businesses and service homes by tracking the
location of water and meters, hydrants, valves, project consumer
survey, water and energy examination, flow meter installation,
hydraulic modeling, and GIS mapping components included.
• Water flow connectivity and associated consumers can identify
through maps is an advantage of this GIS-based project.
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 Electricity Mapping
• Collection of geospatial data of distribution network of
electricity lines (i.e. HT-High tension line and LT-Low tension
lines)
• mapping of all electrical assets with electricity network
distribution information using GIS techniques.
• the actual location of the poles, electricity lines, and actual
consumption of the electricity.
• Using the collected information to balance loads, introduce
new substations e.t.c
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 Benefits GIS for Utility Management
Increased efficiency for field operations
– Utility field operations are essentially a cycle of inspection and maintenance.
– Utility inspectors examine assets, document what they find, and schedule or perform any
necessary maintenance.
– Keeping up with consistent inspection and maintenance is a formidable task faced by two
primary roadblocks: huge territories that generate massive amounts of geo-located data, and
budgetary restraints that restrict manpower.
• GIS digitizes the inspection and maintenance process: minimizing opportunities
for error, eliminating manual data transfer, and reducing rework.
• With cloud-based GIS or a mobile GIS app (to supplement the desktop system),
field teams can collect data directly into the GIS and then transfer to the office
via digital means.
• Rather than storing data across a variety of devices, all data is automatically
organized by location and stored within the same unified system.

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 Benefits GIS for Utility Management
• Effective data storage and management
– Historically, data management relies on a combination of paper maps,
Excel spreadsheets, and even DVDs. Taken to the scale of most utility
providers this approach becomes problematic. In part, it's simply an issue
of volume.
– GIS enables utilities to automatically organize information by location and
store all network data in a single platform - one that doesn't require boxes
of documents or burning DVDs.
– Moreover, finding and accessing data within a GIS doesn't depend on the
knowledge of a single person: anyone can open the program and, as long
as files are saved appropriately, immediately access the data they need.

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TYPICAL APPLICATIONS

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 1. GIS for utility asset management
• Utility asset management refers to the tracking
and analysis of an asset's location, maintenance
requirements, lifecycle stage, and overall
performance.
• In the short term, effective asset management
allows utilities to deliver reliable services. In the
long term, it decreases operational costs while
increasing asset and network lifespan.
• Infrastructure networks spread over vast
territories and consist of thousands, if not millions
of distinct assets: pipelines, gas meters, power
lines, and so much more.

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 1. GIS for utility asset management
• Collecting, organizing, and sharing data effectively in such a context can be difficult; however, with
GIS tools companies can streamline and simplify their approach.

• For example, with GIS for water utilities, you could place a map of pipelines, meters, and water
treatment facilities over a street map, over a topographic map - creating a near instant overview of
the territory.

• Project managers can share that same map with field crews, who can then add data directly to an
asset while still in the field. In this case, data might include photos, videos, notes about asset's state,
or even drone imagery.

• GIS helps utilities track asset health proactively: extending an asset's lifecycle and reducing operating
costs.
• Cloud-based GIS is a particularly good fit for asset management in the field. These programs enable
real-time updates, reduce manual data transfer, and tend to be more user friendly than your average
desktop GIS platform.

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 2. Outage management
• Power outage management is a perfect use case for GIS in
utilities.
• Power failures cause massive financial losses for electricity
providers and local businesses.
• GIS can help prevent some of these losses.
• GIS for electric utilities can enhance power outage
management with real-time data mapping i.e. creating a map
of the system’s physical assets and showing a graphic display
with the size and effect of atmospheric events.
• GIS enables faster response times for maintenance crews by
helping to forecast the location and severity of potential
outages.
• The faster a crew is dispatched, the faster damages are
resolved, the faster power is restored. Less time between
outage and restoration means more money saved by the
provider and less inconvenience for those in the affected area.
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 3. Cross bore detection and mitigation
• Cross bores are the intersection of an existing
underground utility by a second utility i.e. a gas line
accidentally bored through a sewer line.
• Usually a byproduct of trenchless drilling, cross bores
are quite dangerous and have caused numerous gas
explosions
• Manual inspection is the most effective way to detect
and resolve a cross bore, however with that much
pipeline the process is slow and difficult to manage.
• GIS can help utilities increase the efficiency of their
cross bore detection and mitigation programs by
streamlining field data collection and management of
historical data.
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 3. Cross bore detection and mitigation
• With GIS, program managers can create a map of the work
area and assign parcels to inspection crews with a few clicks.
• Field crews can then upload inspection data directly on the
map.
• All data is automatically saved to it's location on the map for
convenient future access.
• Though GIS can't actually fix a cross bore, it can help cross bore
detection and mitigation teams work faster and more
efficiently - increasing safety for all.
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 4. Telecommunications
• Telecommunications is one of the fastest-growing GIS markets in the world.

• GIS in telecommunications had a compound annual growth rate of 11% from 2013 to 2018.

• Real-time information for strategic planning is cited as the primary driver of increased
demand.

• Telecommunications networks are expansive and create large quantities of geographically

dispersed asset data.

• GIS provides the ideal tool for managing that data. GIS mapping enables telecom providers
to enhance network planning, deployment, maintenance, operations, and even sales and
marketing.

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 4. Telecommunications
• Benefits of GIS In Telecommunications
• Increase access to and reliability of
infrastructure data
• Decrease operating costs
• Improve operational decision-making
• Simplify planning for future networks
• Improve response time to network issues
• Invest resources effectively
• Ultimately, these benefits boil down to
improving operational efficiency by
streamlining daily processes and increasing
access to vital data.

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 4. Telecommunications
• Telecom operations can be broken into two broad
categories:
– network planning and deployment, and
– operations and maintenance.

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 4.1 GIS in Network Planning &
Deployment
• The goal of good network planning is to effectively address the needs of both operator and
subscriber.
• Broadly speaking, network planning has three primary components: topological design,
network synthesis, and network realization.
– Topological survey: Deciding where network components should be placed and how
they should be connected
– Network synthesis: Deciding what size components to use
– Network realization: Creating strategy on how to meet capacity requirements and
maintain network reliability
– Once network planning is complete, it’s time to move to deployment.
• GIS allows users to integrate a wide variety of project data, including topography,
population density, and predicted population trends.
• This helps create a single source of project data, enabling providers to track
progress and streamline communication between field and office.

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 4.1 GIS in Network Planning &
Deployment
• Another important aspect of network planning is
determining potential market size prior to expansion.
• GIS can help telecommunications providers assess
potential areas for customer growth.
• With detailed demographic information such as
employment, affluence, and neighborhood
characteristics, providers can generate maps that help to
pinpoint ideal areas for network expansion.

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 4.2 GIS in Maintenance & Operation of
Existing Structures
• GIS mapping can be valuable in the maintenance and operation of network existing
structures.
• The confluence of data management and location provides the ideal system for
documenting infrastructure status and maintenance history.
• When organizing everything by location, it’s much simpler to track all the various network
components: cables, ducts, towers, and even splice points.
• Once network assets have been added to the map, companies can easily create a geo-
located record of asset inspections, past maintenance, and notes for future work.
• As with planning and deployment, GIS essentially acts as a unified repository for all for
operations and maintenance data - helping to provide a reliable record for future work.
• With all network data in one place, historical asset data is easily accessible and field
inspection teams need less time for onboarding.
• Accurate data, especially when it's available in real-time, also helps ensure work is done
correctly the first time - significantly reducing rework.

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 4.4 GIS for Sales & Marketing
• GIS can also be used for market analysis. Telecom companies can compare consumer
preferences, lifestyles, and demographics to create well-informed market strategies.
• Using GIS for telecom market analysis allows organizations to:
– 1. Identify new opportunities
– 2. Analyze past and current sales
– 3. Monitor customer sentiment
– 4. Enhance understanding of market demand
• Telecommunications companies need to cut costs, attract new customers, and stay ahead of
their competition.
• It’s not as simple as finding the oldest equipment and giving it an update — companies must
focus on the areas most likely to bring in more customers.
• By enabling the ability to layer different types of information on a single map, GIS helps
telecommunications providers effectively identify areas of potential growth - increasing
the chances of good return on investment.

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 4.5 Cloud GIS for Fiber Optic Network
Deployment
• Fiber optic network planning and deployment is a great example of
how GIS can benefit telecommunications providers.
• As technology has advanced, old copper wire and long-distance
landline networks are being replaced by fiber-optic cable. 5G
networks are also dependent on fiber optic cable, as they require
more speed and bandwidth than their network predecessors.
• GIS can be used to prioritize which areas most need
improvements, determine a plan for network layout, and inform
strategies on how best to meet capacity requirements.
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 4.5 Cloud GIS for Fiber Optic Network
Deployment
• Generally speaking, the fiber-optic network deployment process goes something like this:
– Planning: Identify coverage area and optimal cable routes
– Engineering: Design the network and estimate costs
– Management: Gather information for maintenance and expansion after the system is in place
– Building the GIS Database: Store and organize geospatial data
• With cloud GIS, all planning, engineering, and data are stored in one place, and all of that
data can be updated and viewed in real-time.
• Companies can combine aerial and underground imagery, then add geo-located asset data in
order to quickly create layered, data-rich maps. This kind of clear documentation decreases
opportunities for error and streamlines communication throughout the organization.
• Cloud GIS can be accessed via any web browser, and often comes with native mobile
applications - offering significant benefits for any kind of locationally dispersed work.
• Field teams can use a smartphone to capture data and make updates as they're inspecting
assets and/or performing maintenance. Office teams can use their desktop computer to
create maps, while project managers use a tablet to assign tasks and view

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 5. Oil and Gas
• Oil and gas are an integral part of the infrastructure and economy in most countries. From
location and extraction, to field work management, to resource transportation - geography
plays a significant role in how this industry operates.
• GIS for oil and gas enables advanced mapping and spatial analytics, increasing operational
efficiency through rich location intelligence.
• With GIS oil and gas operators can:
– Capture, analyze, and store data about potential drill sites
– Layer data for effective pipeline mapping
– Manage field teams remotely
– Conduct analysis of exploratory wells
– Receive real-time updates about site or pipeline status
• Oil and gas is a massive industry: processes have long timelines and projects span
significant distances.
• Broadly speaking, oil and gas operations are broken into three categories: upstream,
midstream, and downstream.
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 5.1 Upstream Applications
• Search - Recovery – Production : Upstream oil and gas covers both exploration and
production: encompassing the search, recovery, and production of crude oil and/or natural
gas.

• One of the most significant activities during this phases is the drilling and operation of
exploratory wells.

• Desktop GIS technology is particularly helpful during this exploratory phase.

• Upstream oil and gas operations require precision and a high-degree of technical
sophistication. Desktop GIS provides the heavy duty analysis and visualization tools
necessary to manage these processes.

• Once a resource is extracted, the upstream phase is considered complete.

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 5.2 Midstream (Gas and Oil)s
• Processing - Transportation – Storage: Midstream operations connect the upstream and
downstream sectors.
• In the midstream sector, oil and natural gas are processed, stored, transported, and
sometimes marketed to wholesale customers.
• Here the primary concerns are generally logistical: focusing on how resources can be moved
and processed most effectively.

• Midstream assets include pipelines and other transport systems. Daily operations involve
moving crude oil from production sites to refineries, or from natural gas plants to
downstream customers.

• There is a some amount of overlap between upstream, downstream, and the midstream
sector. In other words, few operators are strictly midstream and many upstream and
downstream operators manage some midstream components.

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 5.3 Downstream (Oil and Gas)
• Refining – Sales: Downstream oil and gas operations focus on refining both
crude oil and raw natural gas, as well as sales and distribution to customers.
• Unlike upstream and midstream, the downstream sector is responsible for retail
operations, so a significant facet of downstream operations is marketing.

• Downstream oil and gas assets include petrochemical plants, natural gas
distribution outfits, oil refineries, and retail operations such as gas stations.

• This sector covers production and management of final oil and gas products. This
includes obvious substances such as gasoline and diesel, as well as hydrocarbon
based products such as fertilizer, preservatives, and plastics.

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 Benefits of using GIS for oil and gas
• Well Planning (Upstream)
– With the rise of unconventional resources like shale gas, shale oil, and coal
bed methane, GIS is being utilized more and more for well planning.

– GIS helps users to plan well pad patterns around multiple surface drilling
constraints, as well as optimize for the most efficient drill pattern
configuration.

– With GIS, users can integrate various data types, compare between current
and prospective land holdings, evaluate potential sites quickly, and
streamline internal decision making.
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 Benefits of using GIS for oil and gas
• Pipeline Routing (Midstream)
– Building transport pipelines is an expensive process. If the pipeline doesn't take
the best route from the upstream source to the downstream facility, overall costs
rise quickly.
– Pipeline routing can be simplified with a process called “least-cost path analysis.”
– As the name suggests, this process identifies the route of least resistance
between upstream and downstream.
– Least-cost is determined not just by finding a straight path, but on the effort
needed to pass. A user can create cost raster datasets that include information
on slope and land-cover, using those variables to help determine level of
estimated effort.
– As an added benefit, GIS can also determine a more environmentally-friendly
route.

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 Benefits of using GIS for oil and gas
• Refinery Management (Downstream)
– Refinery management involves organizing data, informing operational decisions,
and reducing costs. Essentially, it's a type of asset management - a task for which
GIS can be quite helpful.

– With GIS, downstream operators can manage refineries more effectively:

tracking status, managing maintenance schedules, and estimating asset lifecycle
with greater accuracy.

– With real-time data shared seamlessly between teams, refinery managers can
use GIS to predict asset health and build a preventative maintenance schedule:
mitigating risk and helping to avoid costly, unexpected breakdowns.

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 Benefits of using GIS for oil and gas
• Emergency Response
– In the case of oil and gas, emergencies typically involve an oil spill or gas
explosion. Fortunately, GIS can assist with both emergency planning and
response management.

– When an accident occurs, GIS enables quick access to all site data. This includes
the number of field workers on-site, as well as their physical location (thanks to
mobile device tracking).

– Plus, the ability to share that information with stakeholders and even the public
can be incredibly useful.

– Ultimately, GIS enables better decision-making during emergency situations.

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 Benefits of using GIS for oil and gas
• Environmental Monitoring
– Oil and gas companies must closely monitor environmental changes
associated with their operations, especially given the current focus on
shale play development.

– Given its ability to integrate and visualize time-stamped data against a

baseline case, GIS is an invaluable tool for environmental monitoring.

– For example, if an extraction process starts causing subsidence (gradual

caving or sinking in an area of land), GIS can help users quickly detect the
issue, analyze it's severity, and propose an efficient plan for mitigation.
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 Assignment 07
Select an application in above discussed areas research and develop
a problem and solution in that sector. Specifically:
– Craft a problem statement of what issue you are focusing on
– Draft a flowchart showing the approach you will use
– Discuss the GIS techniques you will use in the solution
– Discuss the results that you will produce from the solution
– Implement the GIS-based solution
– Package the solution, data and report and submit to
https://forms.gle/4qETiQNQMyjr8t296 Deadline next week Tuesday
7:00am

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