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Traditionally, geographic information systems (GIS) have been thought of as a system used for mapping physical land base objects such as parcels, lakes and roads along with storing the attribute data about these features. Many utilities use GIS for managing their electric facility data by creating connected networks and maps that model the flow of their electric grid. All of the asset information for these facilities is stored in the GIS system, sometimes as detailed as every nut and bolt. These traditional uses of" GIS have proven to be useful tools for utilities to manage their infrastructure in relation to their location on earth.
Have you considered that GIS can be used for modeling anything that has both a physical component and attribute information? Smaller-scale detailed models can be created for facilities like combustion turbines or power plant boilers. These models can be two- or three-dimensional models depending on the users need for detailed visual information. Maintenance and inspection data can be tied to the model. With the spatial component GIS provides you may perform analysis on several years of historical maintenance information. Here are a couple of examples of modeling two different types of power plant infrastructure using GIS.
In 2001 Great River Energy (GRE) brought online two Siemens V84.3A2 simple cycle combustion turbine generators (176 MW each) to help with our peaking needs. These units, fueled by both natural gas and fuel oil, experienced a high tall...