4/20/2010 By: Nestor E. Arellano

By converting archaic paper-based drawings to digital images that workers can access on laptops and mobile devices, Welland Hydro is realizing huge benefits.

Hand drawn engineering blueprints can be a pain when trying to manage hydro needs of a growing city. Welland Hydro Electric System Corp. felt this problem very keenly. The company serves Welland in Southern Ontario, a municipality of more than 50,000 people.

The firm has more than a thousand drawings dating back to the 1940s. For hydro workers, having to rely on these archaic, paper sketches when doing repair or maintenance work was a laborious process.

So Welland Hydro came up with a smart and timely solution.

It is converting these drawings into digital images that workers can workers can access on laptops and mobile devices.

To accomplish this, the firm used Topobase, a geographic information system (GIS)-enabled tool and AutoCAD 2D modeling software from Autodesk.

When fully implemented this summer, the project will eliminate redundancy in many of the department's processes, according to Tom Wilga, GIS coordinator and inspector for Welland Hydro.

"As it is, we waste a lot of time and resources printing and reprinting maps and drawings each time some change or repair on the grid needs to be done," Wilga told ITBusiness.ca.

Digitally embedding relevant information and spatial capabilities into the maps and diagram will improve coordination between various departments and boost the effectiveness of work teams, he said.

Bound by binders

Welland Hydro is responsible for safe delivery of electricity to homes and businesses in the city. The organization also handles maintenance of the local electric distribution system.

Assets its staff look after include around 1,000 hydro poles and 4,000 transformers. Updates, changes to the system and orders for repairs or extension of services come in daily, according to Wilga.