A prime municipal function is the effective and ongoing management of the various utility networks. Of these, the most complex is the electrical network. It is also one of the most critical, particularly in industrial areas and central business districts where power outages are not only an inconvenience but also negatively impact productivity.

According to Chris Tolken, Managing Director of Munsys Technologies, there are two main types of information necessary for effective network management. "Firstly, accurate information about the physical location of all the elements in the network and, secondly, schematic representations of how the network connects. Most municipalities have adequate schematics but readily available location information is often a problem."

Accurate plans are important for maintenance purposes and in terms of being able to notify other municipal departments where cables actually are in the ground. Says Tolken, "For example, if the water department goes out to fix a burst pipe they may not know whether electrical cables are in close proximity and, as a result, accidental damage to cabling can easily occur. A large proportion of electrical network damage is due to the inadvertent actions of workmen and other contractors. The advantage of accurate, readily available plans in these instances is obvious."

MunSys' Electricity Management System (EMS) is a network management tool that facilitates the fast, easy production of map books and working drawings. With EMS the initial capture of electrical data takes about one quarter of the time it would take using a traditional system and, most importantly, the system maintains the network's connectivity by storing it automatically as cables are placed during data capture.

"Most municipalities rely on paper plans and, even though today many of these are CAD generated, they contain little intelligence regarding connectivity. Many municipal personnel will be all too familiar with the time-consuming, difficult task of searching extensive drawing archives for a particular set of plans that possibly do not even exist," says Tolken. "Using EMS completely transforms this process. For example, with traditional methods, establishing where a particular substation feeds from and feeds to may necessitate a lengthy search involving many different plans. With EMS, a click on that particular substation will immediately reveal all the relevant connectivity detail which can then be printed out in one easy step."

Based on proven Oracle and Autodesk technology, MunSys is a suite of six fully integrated packages, including EMS, which cover the full spectrum of municipal spatial data requirements. MunSys was created specifically for local government use and the system is based on open technologies.

"It is extremely easy to use, requires very little training and all the applications share a common database," says Tolken. "This means that all the information from each department is readily available to anyone who needs to view it and accurate plans and map books can be printed out as required."

MunSys Technologies

(011) 781 1224

slilford@munsys.co.za

www.munsys.co.za