High Density LiDAR for Asset Management

Louis Hincka, James Dubay & Andrew Brenner June 8th, 2015

• Overview of Consumers Energy • Overview of Quantum Spatial • Necessity of the project • Consumers Energy's Response • Objectives of the project • Data & imagery acquisition • PLS-CADD model creation and line evaluations • Asset management

Overview

Consumers Energy is one of the nation's largest combination utilities, providing electric and natural gas service to nearly 6.6 million of Michigan's 10 million residents, in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. Our Growing Forward strategy calls for investing more than $6 billion in Michigan over the next five years. That includes significant investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental and customer service enhancements, and new power generation.

Consumers Energy

• Quantum Spatial was created in 2013 from the merger of Photo Science – Aerometric and Watershed Sciences

• QSI specializes in the acquisition and analysis of spatial data to provide answers to client questions

• QSI has collected thousands of miles of high density (> 30 ppsm) LiDAR and 3” 4 band images for utilities across the country

• QSI has developed analytic software for managing data for utility mapping and asset management

Quantum Spatial Inc.

• Consumers Energy currently owns nearly 400 miles of 138 kV HVD lines

• Consumers Energy is in the process of reclassifying approximately 200 miles of this system as transmission

• Becoming a Transmission Owner / Operator requires Consumers Energy to be compliant with additional NERC Standards and requirements

• Consumers Energy is performing this field survey work in conjunction with these requirements

Necessity

• Consumers Energy’s Engineering Department researched multiple ways to gather the necessary data, the most cost effective and timely solution was to complete a LiDAR Survey of the 138 kV lines and corridor. LiDAR data of the corridors Orthoimagery of the corridors HD video of the line and ROW Digital photos of all structures

• PLS-CADD model construction and analysis String and sag all conductors Thermally rate the lines to Consumers Energy’s standards NESC Code and vegetation clearance detections

Consumers Energy’s Response

• LiDAR survey to collect data on the entire 138 kV system • PLS-CADD model creation • Analysis to meet NERC line rating requirements • Data collection, model creation and analysis to be

completed in 6 months • Interactive viewer for displaying data and detections • Access to data in the future

Objectives of the Project

Data & Imagery Acquisition Aerial Acquisition • Optech Orion LiDAR sensor

400m AGL > 30 pulses/square meter 30 degree Field of View (FOV) 30 ppsm point cloud

• LiDAR Parameters

No voids or gaps in data Continuous between dead-end structures Complete right-of-way coverage Flight swaths parallel to all wires

• Environmental Parameters

Safe survey conditions Photos: <10% cloud cover LiDAR: No rain, fog, smoke

• Crossing Wire Coverage

Crossing lines captured to the first tower on either side of main alignment

Monuments GCP TCP

Accuracy RMSE xy ≤1.5 cm (0.6 in) RMSE z ≤2.0 cm (0.8 in)

RMSE xyz ≤ 1.5 cm (0.6 in) Deviation from monument coordinates

Resolution Minimum independent occupations of 4 hrs & 2 hrs

≥50 per surveyed monument

1 or 5 points per Air Target

Data & Imagery Acquisition Ground Acquisition • Ground Control: 2 Sessions during each flight • Ground Truthing: Hard surface ground control checkpoints (GCPs) • Aerial Target Control Points (TCPs) • Weather stations collecting weather at one-minute intervals: Temperature Barometric pressure Wind speed Wind direction Relative humidity Solar radiation Rainfall

Data Collection Demonstration

Data & Imagery Acquisition

• Planimetrics Buildings Paved roads Unpaved roads Water Railroads Vegetation (at 5ft.)

Data & Imagery Acquisition

• Orthoimagery 300 ft ROW Orthorectified Radiometrically consistent No visible seam lines 3” pixel resolution High sun angles & no cloud cover

Data & Imagery Acquisition

• Full Motion HD Videography Cineflex Elite: ARRI Alexa, 30 FPS, 45 degree shutter angle Complete circuit coverage Annotated with circuit info and in-frame features

• Structure Obliques Complete coverage of every primary structure Extracted from 2880x1620 video Annotated with structure name

Data & Imagery Acquisition

• PLS-CADD Models • Full feature extracted .LAS points • Substation delineation • Alignment centerline with structure stationing • Right of way vector incorporating crossing structures • Oblique structure images associated with each structure • Orthophotos covering entire alignment • Weather information as text string at each structure location • TIN model of ground classed points

PLS-CADD Model Creation and Line Evaluations

• PLS-CADD Models • Interpolated points derived from TIN • Formatted plan and profile sheets • Site specific method 1 structures • Conductor & Insulator attachment points (accurate to < 6”) • Alignment structure base and top points • Crossing structure base and top points and wire identification • All planimetrics

PLS-CADD Model Creation and Line Evaluations

PLS-CADD Model Creation and Line Evaluations

Structure and Conductor Modeling • Process data from initial tower coordinates to final functional power line models • Line evaluations Detailed structure analysis Wire modeling to as-surveyed LiDAR condition Wire modeling to line maximum operating condition Wire modeling to various operating conditions Wire clearance analysis Line rating and re-rating analysis

PLS-CADD Model Creation and Line Evaluations

Modeling Demonstration

Circuit Name, Span Attributes, and Clearance Detection and Report Table Window. A work order can be generated from this report by selecting detections of interest and exporting.

Pop-up window shows Method I Structure for tower in-frame. Toggle between Oblique Tower Image & Method I.

GIS Data Layer window showing

Tree Crowns, Circuit Towers,

Parcel Owner Data, Clearance Detections,

etc.

LiDAR animation with color-coded features, vegetation clearance detectons, tower ID labels, minimum ground to conductor

clearances, wire and wet crossings.

Full Motion HD Video window – georeferenced and synced with LiDAR animation (right).

Dashboard 4D™ Interact ive Viewer

• State of the art technology is being used, survey grade dimensioning and locations will be delivered

• Information can be used across multiple departments Forestry Electric System Operations & Maintenance Mapping System Control Real Estate

• The PLS-CADD model created can be added to and modified as needed in the future

Asset Management

• Design and Analysis Support Surface Models

• Terrain • Vegetation • Roads • Buildings • Other Infrastructure

Asset Management

Asset Management • Utility Vegetation Management

• Clearance Detection Analytics • Minimum Ground to Conductor Clearance • Hazard Tree Detection • ROW Tree Inventory • Paired HD Video with LiDAR Analysis

Asset Management

• GIS Integration

Questions?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE