Aud Sap Integration White Paper Final

Increasing Utility Design Effi ciency with an Integrated Autodesk and SAP Solution

Autodesk® Utility Design White Paper

With the housing boom showing no signs of abating, and commercial and industrial development resuming growth after a recent slowdown, gas and electric utilities are under increasing pressure to complete construction work orders on budget and on time. Utilities must improve the bottom line by not devoting additional resources to the process while at the same time making customer satisfaction a priority.

Many utilities, however, are hamstrung by the manual, error-prone processes involved in designing, engineering, and estimating the costs of utility work orders, affecting service delivery timelines and build-out costs. Specifi cally, the lack of integration between the utility design process and customer material ordering and supply chain information stands in the way of timely, accurate, and cost-effective service delivery. Lead times of 12 to 16 weeks in the delivery of services to the customer are common but increasingly unacceptable in an environment where customer satisfaction is a priority.

By automating and integrating key functions and systems in the work order process, both gas and electric utilities can improve process effi ciency, reduce redundant data entry and costly errors, and enhance customer satisfaction with more timely delivery of work order packages.

This white paper describes the typical, manual work order process in use at most utilities today and then shows how Autodesk® Utility Design software, along with the product’s new integration with SAP® R/3 Enterprise 4.7 via Autodesk Utility Design’s Work Order Interface 2006, streamlines the same process.

Introduction

Today’s Manual Work Order Process

The construction work order process typically begins when the contractor, landowner, or owner’s representative contacts the utility to arrange for new service to a site. For the purposes of this paper, let’s take the example of a new, 40-home subdivision in a developing suburb.

The representative contacts the local utility to arrange for service to the new subdivision with an expected move-in date for homeowners. The service representative reviews the information and enters it into the utility’s customer database. Then, the representative places the same information into a paper-based work order tracking system and routes it to an estimator or designer at the utility. This double-entry process is a lightning rod for human error. For example, the service representative may enter the correct move-in date into the customer relationship management (CRM) system but write it incorrectly on the work order. Then, the designer begins the design phase of the work order process by meeting with the owner’s representative to discuss specific project requirements, including the typical gas and electric service needs for each house in the subdivision and any atypical requirements. For example, the contractor may indicate that the new subdivision plan calls for a fitness and community center with a heated pool, requiring additional gas and electric facilities in that building.

At this point in the process, the designer designs the new utility network infrastructure using anything from paper and pencil to a computer-aided design (CAD)–based application, such as Autodesk Map® 3D software. After consulting maps of the area’s current network infrastructure stored in a geographical information system (GIS) to determine the nearest gas and electric power sources (for example, poles or gas mains), the designer creates the design for the new subdivision’s service from those sources. Because the utility’s CAD and GIS systems are not integrated, the designer is forced to draw information reflected in the GIS into the new design, which is time-consuming and can endanger the homeowner’s move-in date. In addition, designers can introduce errors when copying the information.

Moving into the engineering phase of the work order process, the designer sizes the facility and performs engineering calculations. Again, many opportunities arise for errors in this phase, as multiple engineering calculations are done manually—using “cheat sheets” or best-guess estimation—and entered as notations into design applications that cannot verify calculation accuracy.

Finally, once the designer completes the plans for the new service, the work order process moves into the cost-estimation phase. In this phase, designers must determine—manually—what material to order for the plan. Again, because the systems are not integrated, the designer must manually enter information into the work order system. Using a ruler to take measurements and by counting devices and boxes on the utility plan, designers are often forced to estimate materials requirements, resulting in short orders or missing materials. The problem is compounded because these calculations use imperfect engineering calculations carried over from the engineering phase of the process. Moreover, duplicate data entry increases the risk that a part will be missed until the field crew is at the work site. In cases where additional or different materials must be ordered, the time lag can result in missed delivery dates—and unsatisfied customers.

Gas and electric utilities need a way to automate today’s manual, time-consuming, and error-prone work order process so that they can improve process efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Increasing Utility Design Efficiency

Automating the Work Order Process with Autodesk Utility Design and Integration with SAP R/3 Enterprise

Using Autodesk Utility Design and built-in integration with SAP R/3 Enterprise via the Work Order Interface 2006, which uses the SAP Product Lifecycle Management integration scenario CA-PLM, gas and electric utilities can streamline the work order process.

Built on the Autodesk Map 3D platform, Utility Design extends the functionality of Autodesk Map 3D with features that help gas and electric utilities plan changes to their distribution network more effi ciently. It helps designers and estimators perform engineering calculations and directly order material while concurrently creating a construction sketch. Throughout the work order process, from layout and engineering to material ordering, modeling, and cost-estimating, Utility Design and SAP R/3 Enterprise work together to automate the on-time and on-budget completion of accurate construction work orders.

By revisiting the process outlined earlier, we can see how Autodesk Utility Design and SAP R/3 Enterprise streamline the process. First, when the customer contacts the utility’s customer service center, all the information about the job—job location, customer name, start date, completion date, power requirements, and designer assigned to the project—is entered directly in the utility’s SAP customer relationship management application.

Then, using the integration with Autodesk Utility Design, the job information is automatically imported into Utility Design’s Project Explorer module for the designer to use in the design phase of the project—eliminating most duplicate data entry and resulting errors and speeding designs to completion (see Figure 1). Because everything the designer needs is in Utility Design—the utility’s gas and electric design; drafting,

Increasing Utility Design Effi ciency

Figure 1: Through Autodesk Utility Design’s integration with SAP R/3 Enterprise, job information can be automatically imported into the Utility Design Project Explorer module.

“Autodesk Utility Design enables us to automatically gather material data for construction, in conjunction with creating the graphical piece of distribution design, all in one environment. We have eliminated areas of duplicate data entry, decreased design time, and streamlined data fl ow. It has proven to be an invaluable tool for eliminating manual tasks and allowing us to develop processes that gain effi ciencies. Serving the customer is now much easier.”

Kodi Ekker,Technical Support Analyst,Idaho Power Company

engineering, and construction standards; existing facilities, accounting, and project information—the design phase proceeds more quickly and more accurately. Integration with GIS systems also makes the necessary land base drawings accessible in Autodesk Utility Design.

During the engineering phase, Autodesk Utility Design virtually eliminates the guesswork, time-consuming manual checking, and costly late-stage redesigns by automating layout and engineering calculations, ensuring data accuracy the fi rst time—every time. Engineering calculations—such as voltage drop and fl icker, pole and transformer sizing, and cable pulling tension—are done directly in Utility Design, according to the individual utility’s predefi ned standards (see Figure 2).Finally, once the project moves to the cost-estimation phase, Autodesk Utility Design automatically generates the required list of materials for the project, based on the engineering calculations conducted in the engineering phase (see Figure 3). With Autodesk Utility Design, gas and electric utilities can design, engineer, estimate, and deliver construction work orders using a single application, enabling them to complete residential, commercial, and industrial work orders faster and more accurately, at less cost, and with better customer service in mind.

Increasing Utility Design Effi ciency

Figure 2: Autodesk Utility Design virtually eliminates guesswork and time-consuming manual checking by automating layout and engineering calculations.

“We rely on Autodesk technology to make us more effi cient, more responsive to our customers. Autodesk’s Utility Design system does that by helping us standardize our design, drafting, cost estimating, and engineering calculations with one tool.”

Dennis McCombs,Senior Consultant for Information Technologies,Nevada Power

Conclusion

Using Autodesk Utility Design software and integration with SAP R/3 Enterprise, gas and electric utilities can improve the efficiency of their organizations and reduce redundant data entry and resulting errors. Together, Utility Design and SAP automate and integrate key functions in the construction work order process, helping utilities to deliver more timely construction work order packages. The result? Satisfied customers and a better bottom line. With today’s ever-growing pressure to deliver work orders on budget and on time, leading-edge gas and electric utilities that use Autodesk Utility Design and SAP will improve their competitive advantage.

For more information about Autodesk Utility Design, visit www.autodesk.com/utilitydesign

Increasing Utility Design Efficiency

Figure 3: Autodesk Utility Design automatically generates a list of materialsrequired for the project based on engineering calculationsconducted by the application.

Autodesk and Autodesk Map are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries. SAP is a registered trademark of SAP Aktiengesellschaft Corporation. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

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