Western Power Empowers 3,000+ Field Workers with Accurate, Timely Network Maps & Models

Western Power Distribution has announced that it has deployed Bentley Map Mobile on over 3,000 iPads to quickly deliver the latest mapping and electrical network  asset information to field crews.

Timely updates exceeding 5,000 asset changes a month are received via Wi-Fi or 3G in the field. The project implementation consisted of moving data from Western Power’s Electric Mapping Utility (EMU) to iPads for use by Western Power’s field personnel. Bentley provided the technology to identify the delta changes in the source EMU data and distribute these changes through a Bentley MANAGEservices solution to  iPads running the Bentley Map Mobile app. The solution leverages the  change sets capability of i-models, which delivers compact and fast data  updates. Western Power’s Mapping Manager, Andrew Bennett stated,  “The deployment of Bentley Map Mobile into Western Power will help us  to get the latest and most current information to our field activity  quickly and faster than we’ve ever achieved before.”

Western Power worked with Bentley to implement a full range of capabilities for field crews including network tracing, gazetteer  search, and more. Previously, Western Power field crews had to travel  into the office periodically and plug in their devices to upload the  entire dataset in order to have access to the latest information. Now  the updates happen in real time in the field on the iPad, eliminating  the need for trips to the office to retrieve data. The accurate,  up-to-date asset information also reduces the risk to the operational  staff and the public and is essential for making repairs, connections,  and upgrades to electric networks.