NIE Networks owns the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Northern Ireland.  When contractors or members of the public plan excavation works, the organisation has a statutory responsibility to supply them with maps, showing the proximity of electricity infrastructure to their sites.  These maps, known as mark-up maps, are vitally important for helping to ensure public safety and for avoiding accidental cable strikes that could cause local outages.  

Every year, NIE Networks was receiving around 6,000 requests for mark-up maps by letter or email.  The organisation then had to manually generate maps, for each customer’s specific location, and post or email them out to customers along with ‘safe digging’ documentation.  The entire process was very time-consuming, and customers often had to wait up to ten days to receive the information they needed.  

Rapid ROI from staff time savings
NIE Networks expects to get return on its investment (ROI) in the ArcGIS mark-up app in around 18 months, as a result of the considerable time savings achieved in-house.  The organisation has reallocated one full-time employee to other business activities, removing an entire salary from the process, whilst also making other administrative and paper cost savings.  “We provide mark-ups as a free service, so it’s critical for us to be able to do this in a timely and efficient manner,” notes Paul Simpson, Team Lead, GIS Technician (north region) at NIE Networks.

Significantly improved customer service
Whereas NIE Networks used to respond to customers within ten days, all map requests are now handled in a maximum of one hour, because the automated process runs every hour, 24 hours a day.  For the first time, contractors and members of the public can request and receive maps at weekends and in the evenings, which prevents delays to their projects and ensures they always have access to the most accurate network information.

Increased health and safety for the public
Since the introduction of the new ArcGIS process, the number of requests for maps has increased by 10-15% per day.  This means that more members of the public and contractors are aware of safety risks near their planned excavations.  “The number one priority in NIE Networks is to improve safety around the electricity network—and that’s why the new ArcGIS mark-up solution is so important,” says Emily Boyd, Team Lead, GIS Technician (east region) at NIE Networks.  “ArcGIS is helping to ensure people are better informed of the locations of high voltage cables.” 

Greater oversight of excavation works
The ArcGIS dashboards provide staff with far greater oversight of the mark-up process and enable them to see exactly where excavation works are planned across Northern Ireland, at any time.  “It’s definitely a major improvement,” says Simpson.  “Staff can see where jobs are being done and, if a cable is accidentally damaged, they can instantly access the customer information and respond more quickly to restore the service.”

A more sustainable, paperless process 
The ArcGIS-based process for generating and sharing mark-up maps electronically, has led to a dramatic reduction in paper usage.  Indeed, NIE Networks estimates that around 96,000 sheets, or 192 reams, of paper are saved per year, by itself and its customers, based on the annual estimate of 6,000 mark-up reports, each comprising 8 pieces of paper.  “NIE Networks has a corporate commitment to operating sustainably, so this large reduction in paper is really significant for us,” explains Boyd.  “We’ve made a big step forward.”