Leading Application Focuses on Bird Interaction with Electrical Infrastructure

In the United States, the federal government provides protection for migratory birds through several laws including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In addition to federal regulations, states may also have bird protection regulations.

Many of the protected birds are attracted to utility infrastructure for perching, nesting and hunting. Bird use of utility infrastructure can create challenges for utilities tasked with delivering safe, reliable power to customers.

As a community-based not-for-profit water and energy company, Salt River Project (SRP) provides reliable, affordable water and power to more than 2 million people living in central Arizona. SRP engages in efforts to protect and conserve wildlife and acts as a responsible steward of Arizona’s natural resources. SRP’s Avian Protection Program is one of these conservation efforts.  The Avian Protection Program addresses bird interactions with electrical infrastructure.  For SRP, this often means investigating avian encounters across a variety of assets covering a large water and power service territory.

Recording, tracking and reporting on bird encounters with SRP assets were becoming difficult for SRP’s resident biologists.  Details provided were not always clear, photos were rare, and exact locations and associated asset information had to be researched. Several follow-up questions needed to be asked by the biologists.

On occasion, a time-consuming follow-up visit to the site was required to supplement missing details. Once assets were identified, work orders were manually created. Tracking down details on work completed by maintenance crews was another step in a lengthy process. Finally, the process to associate photos in the field was also manual.

On the reporting side, it was often challenging to retrieve information on bird guarding expenditures year to year. Additionally,  details about work completed were not easy to associate with assets in the field because of the lack of precise geographic data.

SRP’s biologists approached the company’s Enterprise Spatial and Mobility Solutions (ESMS) and Cartographic and Geographic Information System Services (C&GISS) teams to produce a solution. 

In collaboration with several other internal departments, the group was able to implement a solution to address these challenges. Using existing standard company technologies and including ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS API for JavaScript, they were able to blend separate workflows into a single streamlined approach.

The Bird Incident Reporting Database (BIRD) web application was hatched to bridge the existing field data collection application to the work order management system. 

"I use the BIRD application, wishing that other software applications were at least half as intuitive, and functional, and would effectively utilize the benefits of a GIS-based system."

--Daryl Chipman
Senior Transmission Maintenance Engineer

SRP was easily able to expand the use of its mobile data collection application, Geographic-Take-a-Picture (GeoTAP), in the field by providing new groups access to the existing application. With little training required and in more hands, the mobile application has become the preferred method for collecting data on bird encounters.

Once field data, photos, and location are collected, a new data process imports the data into the office web application (integrated with ArcGIS for API JavaScript),  (BIRD). After the data is imported, the biologists are notified via email. Then they can easily evaluate the encounter by looking at photos, precise locations, company assets, and field notes. From these details, the biologists associate the encounter with a specific asset by clicking on a map.

Once the encounter details are reviewed, the biologists quickly create a service request in SRP’s work and asset management System (Maximo) by clicking a button in BIRD. Specifications are automatically created in the request to highlight nearby infrastructure needing to be evaluated for bird guarding.

When the service request is created in Maximo, the transmission or distribution group responsible for the asset is alerted. These groups then assess, prioritize, and transition the service request into a work order.

A dashboard  was created in Maximo to provide the biologists with a quick view of the work orders and service requests relating to bird encounters. Other processes were put into place to identify and track costs associated with bird guarding efforts.

The BIRD web application and enhanced workflow contributed to an estimated savings of 25 percent in office labor annually and 50 percent fewer onsite visits by a biologist. The application streamlined the annual US Fish and Wildlife report process from a 3–4 day effort to a 60-minute process.

"With the new BIRD web application, distribution maintenance designers have all the relevant information including location, device details and photos so an accurate design can be developed. Its integration and functionality with Maximo have enhanced the process of work order generation so that a timely and accurate response can be implemented to protect at-risk and endangered birds as well as provide uninterrupted electrical services to SRP customers."

Jackie Gully
Scheduling Coordinator

With the recently implemented solution, SRP efficiently reports bird encounters and modifies assets to continue protecting birds. Information is now available to provide accurate financial reports on bird guarding work. SRP can easily connect the components of the Avian Protection Program to ensure the protection of Arizona’s avian resources while continuing to deliver safe, reliable energy to the people of Arizona.

Esri technology provided the bridge to the existing company standard technologies and a user-friendly map to aid biologists.

SRP is continuously looking to apply technological advances to streamline workflows and knowledge gained from bird encounters to guide infrastructure enhancements.

Contributor: Lance Varney - BIRD Project Lead, Salt River Project