[UPDATE!] Esri GeoConX is over and it was incredible! We had an amazing time. It’s always a blast hanging out and socializing with our customers and partners. As well, our booth was packed with meetings and endless Utility Network demos! Our pirate-themed, Esri Roadmap Customer Event was a ton of fun with James Stevens (CoServ) winning the week in Keystone! Congrats James! Stay tuned though, based on demand, we may offer the week in Keystone again at our next event!

Interested to see what the Utility Network demos were about? Take a look here at our blog and video series! As well, we have an incredible offering that will get you working with the Utility Network in no time.

Here’s a few pics of the event!

If you’re like us, you’re finding it hard to believe it’s almost time for GeoConX! And if you’re like us, you’re finding it hard not to say EGUG!

We’re sure you’ve heard, but just in case, Esri’s Electric and Gas User Group (EGUG) and Telecommunications User Group (TelUG) have now been combined in to one conference called Esri GeoConX.

And like every year (at least when it was called EGUG!), SSP Innovations will be attending Esri GeoConX in full force and would like to welcome our clients, prospective clients, and friends to join us! We’re rolling out a lot of cool things at this conference, so you don’t want to miss out!

While we’re there, you can find the SSP team of experts in our booth #207, presenting over a dozen papers, hosting a customer appreciation event and giving away a WEEK LONG trip to Keystone CO. With much excitement for this year’s event, we wanted to share with you where, when, and how you can find SSP at the conference…

Contest – You could Win a Trip to Keystone!

Interested in winning lodging for 6 nights, 7 days, plus airfare paid for in Keystone, Colorado? It’s super easy. As an Esri customer you know there are a lot of exciting things coming from Esri. SSP wants to share with you what we’ve learned and how we can help guide you through the Esri Road Map. Come by the SSP booth or join us at our customer appreciation event to get your contest map, follow the Esri Road map, and be in the drawing to win a weeklong trip to KeyStone. Stay tuned for an email dedicated to this awesome prize.

SSP Customer Appreciation Event – You Know You Wanna Come!

Tuesday night, October 18th at 7pm, SSP will be hosting a customer appreciation event for our clients, prospective clients, partners, and friends. 

Come join us to get to know the SSP team and our user-base while enjoying an open bar and buffet in the East Courtyard at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. This event is by invitation only.

If you have not received an invitation and are interested in meeting with our community and joining the party, please call 970.640.3924 or email [email protected], or simply stop someone in an SSP shirt at booth #207.

When: Tuesday, October 18th, 7:00 – 9:30 PM 

Location: In the EAST COURTYARD at the conference hotel – Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort at 11111 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85020

Booth #207 – Come Find Us!

As usual, you can find SSP on the exhibit floor. This year we’ll be in booth #207.  Please stop by to say hello, catch up, ask a question or look at a product! If you’d like to schedule a private meeting or personal demonstration of any of our products, please feel free to contact us directly 970.640.3924 or email [email protected].

Here’s a map showing our location:

SSP Presentations – 6 of Them, Baby!

This is a banner year for us at GeoConX as the SSP team is going to be part of six presentations! SSP will be presenting alongside our customers, your utility peers, so come join us as we cover a range of topics from Upgrades, Integrating OMS, State 0, Asset tracking and more. We always aim to cover topics that the industry demands!

Here are the individual presentation details:

Title:  MTEMC’s State 0 Changes with 1700+ Versions Intact

Date: Wednesday, October 19th

Time: 8:30 AM -9:40 AM

Room: Courtroom K/L

Presenters: An-Louise De Klerk (MTEMC) & Skye Perry (SSP)

Abstract: MTEMC recently completed a major project to merge multiple geodatabases into a single new GDB, apply data model changes along with corresponding data migration, and to implement voltage levels with feeder manager 2.0 to provide connectivity upstream of a circuit breaker. Several of these changes required the geodatabase to be at state 0 (no versions). MTEMC utilized SSP Innovations’ All Edits State 0 technology to successfully complete this project while maintaining their 1700+ design versions.

Title: Connecting through the OMS

Date: Wednesday, October 19th

Time: 10:10 AM -12:00 PM

Room: Courtroom M/N

Presenters: Mike Young (Coserv) & Jeff Mertz (SSP)

Abstract: CoServ has been preparing for the future by adding several connections to their OMS. These connections have evolved over the years and now include: SCADA-initiated device status, outage creation and status through IVR, and web-based outage tools for reporting and status. This session will cover the evolution and future plans for utlizing the information from OMS and the business value the existing tools have made for CoServ and their customers.

Title: Rule-Driven, Fully-Configurable Asset Tracking with GIS

 Date: Wednesday, October 19th

Time: 10:10 AM -12:00 PM

Room: Courtroom K/L

Presenters: Arnisa Davis (Memphis Light, Gas & Water) & Joaquin Madrid (SSP)

Abstract: For the last seven years MLGW has successfully implemented GIS using ArcGIS/ArcFM ™. The GIS serves as an enterprise backbone for a variety of business applications where utility assets play a crucial role: Inspection, Maintenance, New Construction, OMS, among others.To support the life cycle of MLGW’s assets, SSP has implemented a rule-driven and fully-configurable asset tracking mechanism built into the GIS. Rules specified by different business units determine: What network elements are to be tracked as assets. What attributes of those assets are to be monitored. How and when these attributes may change.

Title: Pre-Posting and Partial Energization

Date: Wednesday, October 19th

Time: 2:50 PM -4:00 PM

Room: Courtroom K/L

Presenters: James Stevens (Coserv) & Joaquin Madrid (SSP)

Abstract: CoServ has been using ArcGIS/ArcFM/Designer™ successfully for over 10 years. As part of a recent Maximo/GIS integration effort, CoServ has reviewed its business workflows with SSP. In particular, and within GIS, CoServ’s designs life cycles have been altered to include: Pre-Posting to DEFAULT, and removal from SDE of the Esri version as soon as the design is in construction. As well as Partial Energization as a means to gradually post portions of as-built network into DEFAULT.

The most important benefits from introducing these steps are: A.- Early availability to the whole company of GIS data regarding designs under construction. B.- Network energization status (and other details) monitored during the construction phases of a design. C.- Minimizing the number of active versions in the SDE state tree. The first two benefits improve overall company-wide business, by having early and timely knowledge of the projects being constructed in the field, overlaid on the current distribution network. While minimizing the versions dramatically improves the GDB performance and efficiency.

Title: Creating New Channels for Outage Reporting

Date: Wednesday, October 19th

Time: 2:50 PM -4:00 PM

Room: Courtroom M/N

Presenters: Hart Gilchrist (Connexus) & Jeff Mertz (SSP)

Abstract: Connexus Energy needed to find a new way to report outages to their Responder™ OMS beyond traditional IVR. With a combination of web portal, middleware and a Multispeak-based web service, customers can now log into the portal and report outages. This allows Connexus to handle more outage calls by alleviating the restriction on the number of phone lines required, and reduces the time it takes to report an outage. Learn more about the technologies used and the outcome in this informative session.

Title:  MLGW Gas Asset Tracking and Traceability Project Case Study

Date: Thursday, October 20th

Time: 10:20 AM -11:30 AM

Room: Sunset A/B

Presenters: Clifton Phillips (Memphis Light, Gas, and Water) & Brian Higgins (SSP)

Abstract: The MLGW Gas Department has embarked on a pilot project implementing PHMSA’s DIMP rule. The project focuses on the documentation of specific manufacturing information when plastic gas features are installed or replaced. Through the use of high accuracy GPS units with external barcode scanners, features are spatially located with multiple attributes automatically populated from the barcode read. Once migrated to a GIS staging area, tools were developed to aid in data migration to production.

Our Ever-Popular Free Consulting is back!

This week in Phoenix, SSP will be offering free sit-down consulting sessions with our experts on a range of topics.  Our consultants will be on hand and we want to make them available to you.

These can be private conversations where you’ll have the opportunity to get an answer to your questions, bounce an idea off us, or discuss a larger requirement we can help with.

Remember, SSP does Implementation, Integration, and Customization surrounding all Esri products, as well as consulting on a wide range of topics important to utilities . If you don’t already have a meeting scheduled with our team and are interested, please call 970.640.3924 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot today.

We can’t wait! It’s going to be special! See you in Phoenix!