There is a vast movement to create Smart Cities - integrated urban areas which utilize Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology to link up everything from streetlights and smart meters, to broadband and telecom access for residents. And naturally, this requires a lot of cable to be laid.
For any Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project, transparency is the most integral aspect. Transparency allows all stakeholders, from subcontractors and contractors, to local government and the general public, to stay up to date on the project's progress, spot potential or ongoing issues and take corrective action, which saves time, money and effort.
However, in order to properly execute a transparency policy, the data needs to be available and standardized, in a timely manner. With processes that are largely offline-driven, such as most EPC projects, this can be a challenge.
Unlike the traditional paper-pen method or your slightly enhanced Excel spreadsheets, EPC projects, especially cable installation management, need an application that sends precise data analysis and visualizations regularly for efficient planning. In turn, efficient planning drastically reduces expenditure as the cost associated with every meter of cable is high. That's where Grid comes in.
Grid's Solution
With Grid's cutting-edge technology to assist your planning, there will be zero wastage of cable. With a geo-coded survey option integrated into the digital forms that you will be able to create and use, the cable management system will ensure you find the optimal route for cable installation, which would also avert the need for future modifications.
The core of an efficient cable management application is an integrated, centralized data model in which all process dependencies, assets, and services, are aggregated while preserving their relationship and can be further analyzed, for the purpose of decision making.
If this is achieved in a real-time environment, you can successfully extract a holistic picture of your entire cable installation project. From initial surveys conducted for cable laying to post-installation maintenance, irrespective of the number of contractors and service providers involved in this project, Grid meticulously records and aggregates all your data on one platform.
This has proved to have a massive impact on operations as every byte of data collected and analyzed is processed to fit a uniform model that's built as per the unique characteristics of your project. This is extremely helpful to firms and authorities in the long run as they can utilize this standardized historical data to improve future projects, which is the very core of the idea of Smart Cities.
Grid Effect
From the perspective of centralized planning, Grid offers users the option to attach all the progress tracking data with geo-coded information. This enables planners, contractors, and teams to view the cable infrastructure visually on a map. This is the best way to get a thorough understanding of the cable network as opposed to numerical or other tabular representations.
Consequently, decision-makers will not have to waste their time on assessing data, when they can instantly go through a visual representation of the installation progress, and especially in the case of ill execution, take appropriate action in real-time. This is a much-needed feature in cable laying as it is one of the few EPC works that has a complex distribution in terms of quantity and the terrain it traverses.
Finally, optimal evaluation of all data that are collected through digital means highly aids decision-making providing an overview of the physical network all the way through to the constituent services. Management can analyze and plan the distribution expansion with 100% accuracy while staying in control of resources and the associated costs at all times.
