Introduction

Last year, SSP Innovations was approached by a utility in the Midwest to support field data collection needs for their various telecom sites.  The utility was embarking on a major, multiyear project to replace aging DACS and SONET equipment with more advanced communications technology at close to 200 telecom sites.  This project necessitated the need to understand and update the current data for each telecom site including equipment currently installed, rack space used/available, fiber availability, power availability, the characteristics of any towers or structures at that site, along with other critical information.  After a discussion around the details of the requirements from a data collection and user experience perspective, SSP Innovations recommended the usage of Survey123 to create a tailored Telecom Site Survey for the utility’s needs.

The Creation of the Survey

The utility was originally going to attempt to capture this data using a Microsoft Word-based paper form.  This form was originally designed to be 16 pages long, so clearly there was a lot of information that needed to be captured.  The MS Word form did provide a number of drawbacks, however.  First, it was a file-based process, so the data captured from the survey could not be easily centralized into a database or other location for all the engineers and field techs to use.  Secondly, the form contained all of the questions no matter the characteristics of the specific site, so a surveying technician would have to review and skip or mark “not applicable” for questions that weren’t appropriate for that given site.  This increased the possibility of error or improperly filled out surveys.  The MS Word form was also not conducive to adding photos, drawings, or other supporting files to the survey.

At the start of the project, SSP Innovations worked with the utility to review the existing, MS Word-based survey.  The survey was very comprehensive in its structure, containing 14 sections including:

• General Site Information
• Outdoor Grounding
• Tower Information
• Comms Equipment Room Information
• Indoor Grounding
• POP Facilities (including Private & Leased Lines)
• Alarms/Fire/Intrusion
• AC/DC Power
• An outdoor photograph checklist
• Copper, Coax, and Optical Fiber Systems
• Cellular Signal Strength Information
• Equipment Rack Data Sheet

The questions laid out in the original survey fit nicely into the capabilities that Survey123 provided.  Using Survey123 connect and the XLSform syntax supported by the application, SSP Innovations was able to transfer the questions from the MS Word document into the comprehensive Survey123 survey.  Some examples of the question types used during this process included:

• Select One – Allows the user to select a single entry from a configured list of possibilities. The selection method is via “Radio Button”.
• Select Multiple – A group of checkboxes which provide multiple entries the user can choose for a question.
• Repeats – When multiple assets of the same type (or photos of assets) needed to be captured, repeats were used to efficiently capture this information.
• Dependencies – If certain answers are selected in one question, the form will show additional questions to gather more information.

SSP was able to take advantage of these different question types to create a quality user experience for the Survey Technician.  This was not a one-step process but was done iteratively and collaboratively with the Telecom Engineers/Survey Technicians and SSP Innovations.

Detailed Question Examples

As noted above, the final Telecom Site Survey contained many different types of questions to help the Survey Technicians efficiently gather information about the sites.  This section will highlight specific examples of the different question types configured for the survey.

Text Input

This question type represents a simple input of textual information into a text box.  One thing to note here is that the character limit for the text box can be modified depending upon the amount of data you expect users to enter.  An example of this from the configured survey is a text box allowing detailed directions to the site:

Select One/Select Multiple

These question types were used to create predefined lists of options for a given question that a user could then pick from.  Examples include:

Select One

Select Multiple

For both the Select One and Select Multiple options, dependencies were set up to show additional questions when certain answers were provided.  Using the Select One example above, if the user chooses “Other” then that user is then prompted to specify what they mean by “Other”

Another example of this capability can be seen with select multiple question types.  In the example shown above, when Digital Facilities is selected, another Select Multiple question type is provided to gather more information on those types of facilities

Another useful example of this concept in the survey is the section on structures or towers.  The user is asked first if there is a structure or tower at the site, with no other questions being shown in the section.  If there is and the user chooses “Yes”, then many more questions about the tower become available for the user to answer.  If “No” is chosen, then nothing else shows and the user can move on to the next section.

Repeats

Repeat questions are used throughout the survey to allow the user to input photos or other descriptive files related to the asset(s) currently being surveyed.  One example of this is allowing the Survey Technician to input photographs of a tower along with a description of the photo.

This question allows the Survey Technician to take pictures using the mobile device the survey is being performed on or upload them from files that reside on that device.  The reader will notice the “1 of 1” at the bottom of the question showing that multiple photos can be added using the plus sign at the bottom right of the question.

Data Collection Process

As for the actual work of scheduling and capturing the data in the field, this is done by utility area.  These utility areas typically include at least one ring or system, so a complete dataset for all equipment that needs to be replaced for that ring or system can be captured.  The sites that comprise the selected utility area (including substations, telecom hubs, offices, etc) are identified for the new equipment, and then the appropriate technician group is tasked with using the Survey 123 tool at those sites. The utility tries to stay in advance of, but not too far in advance of, the project rollout for a given area as they progress through the project so that the collected data is accurate and relevant for the replacement efforts.

Data collection is performed in both an online and offline manner.  Some sites, like substations, are not connected to the utility’s corporate network, so the offline capabilities of Survey123 work well.  The primary platform for data collection is an iPad.

In the back-office survey information is accessed via a link on the utility’s intranet site.  This link takes the user to a Site Survey ArcGIS application developed by SSP.  Engineers will use this application to locate a site, look through the information provided by the survey while they are generating a bill of materials (BOM) for the equipment replacement at that site.

User Feedback and Next Steps

Initial feedback to the survey process and the survey application has been positive.  Users like that the survey walks them through the survey in a structured fashion.  They have also mentioned that they like the prompting for the photos and other supporting files for the assets being surveyed.

Feedback about future improvements has included incorporating standardly used materials lists or the possible automated generation of bill of materials information for a site.  Users have also mentioned that Survey123 would be a valuable tool for other data collection activities at the utility.