ADVERTORIAL

Autodesk: Leveraging Design

to Improve Asset Information

Utility Industry Challenges

Utilities face relentless pressure to do more with less and maintain high reliability and customer service, all the while coping with aging assets, capital constraints, a rising demand for energy, and addressing sustainability.

Infrastructure: The North American Electric Reliability Corporation predicts that demand for electricity will increase 19 percent nationwide over the next 10 years while transmission capacity will grow by only 6 percent. In addition, surveys indicate that about half of all utility infrastructures in North America are more than 50 years old. This is an issue that is reoccuring across the world, and is estimated to cost $40 trillion over the next 25 years to refurbish infrastructure globally. Efficiency: There is rising consumer interest and participation in energy efficiency measures and distributed energy resources, which adds to the complexity of grid design and optimization. Knowledge Transfer: Utilities will have to cope with the retirement of experienced staff over the next decade — workers with valuable knowledge that will be difficult to replace.

However, even under such tough circumstances, utilities still can increase productivity and cost efficiencies by improving asset information. If asset information is accurate, timely, and available to all who need it when they need it, a utility can operate more effectively.

Asset Information

Challenges

Unfortunately, for most utilities, it is not easy to access or share asset information across the design, build, operate and maintain infrastructure lifecycle. Often, the information resides in proprietary formats or in data silos throughout the organization. When design information is shared, it is often exchanged via paper format and is manually entered into an as-built system. Making design data available to those managing as-builts, responding to maintenance issues, or answering customer service requests usually requires either manually reconciling the data or converting it to the proprietary formats. Autodesk utility solutions improve business process and data quality by leveraging engineering design information across processes to build, operate and maintain asset lifecycle.

So, what if utilities could get accurate and consistent information quickly enough so they can maximize operational efficiencies, improve responsiveness, and increase quality of service?

The Autodesk Approach

By leveraging the Autodesk design tools utilities likely already have, they can build on that strong foundation. Autodesk solutions for utilities make it easy for all departments to integrate, access and share design and as-built information— in their business processes. This helps to eliminate waiting for reports or pieces of information from different departments and wondering how accurate and up-to-date the information is.

compile the information manually or convert it to another format.

With Autodesk solutions, utilities can extend the reach and value of

“Autodesk solutions for utilities make it easy for all departments to integrate, access and share design and as-built information--in their business processes.”

infrastructure asset information, so they can more easily handle

customer requests; more quickly respond
to outages; and more effectively
provide information for
reporting, planning and
analysis. Autodesk
utility solutions can
improve efficiency
and data quality by
building intelligence
into the design
process and then
leveraging that data
across the entire asset
lifecycle. With this, utilities:
See the big picture. Manage
infrastructure safely and efficiently with greater access to information
supporting decision analysis.

Do more with less. Turn out quality work quickly so they can:

Get the right information to the right people at the right time.

With Autodesk, utilities can leverage design to improve business process and data quality.

JOAN THARP, INGENUITY COMMUNICATIONS

autodesk.com/utilities

Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. 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. © 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.