Customer Showcase

Switzerland's Industrielle Werke Basel streamlines its workflow and reduces its bottom line by using Autodesk Topobase.

“We now maintain our water and gas documentation in half the time and with two-thirds of the resources required before implementing Autodesk Topobase.”
—Michael Berteld, Documentation Manager, Industrielle Werke Basel

Project Summary

Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB) delivers electricity, natural gas, drinking water, district heating, and telecommunications services to businesses and residents in Basel, Switzerland, and to 27 communities in four other cantons. Each of these services requires an extensive network of infrastructure, such as pipes, transformers, wires, and pumping stations. To keep its infrastructure operating effectively, IWB depends on integrated geospatial and design data. But data integration goes further than that at IWB thanks to Autodesk® Topobase™. The company also integrates its spatial data with the alphanumeric data in its SAP business systems. Autodesk Topobase provides the asset data management hub that enables this data integration—and asset management efficiency—for IWB. With help from Autodesk Topobase, IWB is:

• Providing customers with connection locations in minutes instead of days
• Maintaining more complete network documentation in half the time
• Accelerating processes by enabling fast access to integrated data
• Making more informed asset management decisions

The Challenge

With the Swiss energy market moving towards deregulation, IWB saw a need to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively. However, it lacked the integrated infrastructure information it needed to achieve that goal. IWB housed alphanumeric information, such as customer data, parts information, and project costs, in its SAP business management systems. Data related to network and location information was stored separately as geospatial and CAD data. When the information had to be cross-referenced, the process was slow, manual, and costly. For instance, it took two days to provide water and gas connection-point locations to building contractors.

According to IWB’s documentation manager, Michael Berteld, “We wanted to save resources, time, and money by integrating our SAP and network data in a geographic information system (GIS). But our top objective was to gain greater visibility into our assets so we could operate effectively in a more open market.”

The Solution

Open System Supports Integration
After evaluating the GIS data management solutions on the market, IWB chose Autodesk Topobase for a number of reasons. Because the technology is based on an open data model, IWB could easily customize it to handle established business processes. Autodesk Topobase can also readily accommodate data in a number of common GIS data formats, including data that conforms to OpenGIS data standards. This enables IWB to incorporate survey and other geospatial data from outside sources into its GIS. Just as crucially, Autodesk Topobase works seamlessly with the Oracle® database technology IWB uses to store spatial data as well as with data from its SAP business systems.

“The decision to go with Autodesk Topobase was easy to make,” explains Mr. Berteld. “The data model is open-standards based, the database is Oracle, and the software is very flexible. We also like the easy-to-use and powerful data administration interface.”

Faster Service and Better Asset Management

Today, IWB uses Autodesk Topobase to manage network data for its water, gas, electric, and district heating infrastructure. The software serves as the interface for all spatial and CAD data management processes. Leveraging Autodesk Map 3D (now known as AutoCAD® Map 3D) to create network design information, Autodesk Topobase modules include function-specific capabilities that improve the network documentation and data management process. For instance, the water module includes workflows that help IWB employees enter complete maintenance schedule information whenever they add new water assets, such as pipes or hydrants. This helps to ensure the quality of the data while streamlining the process for employees.

IWB’s Autodesk Topobase-centered solution does more than just create and manage data effectively; the solution also ensures that the company effectively stores and shares vital network information. Autodesk Topobase stores asset data within an Oracle database. IWB makes that stored data available to employees over the company’s intranet using Autodesk MapGuide®, an application that builds online maps. Employees without CAD or GIS experience select the information they need, and Autodesk MapGuide displays it on an easy-to-read map. So when a contractor needs to find a water connection, IWB customer service agents are able to provide the information almost instantly on maps that blend spatial data with data integrated from IWB’s SAP business systems.

“Our people work more independently and effectively because they can find the information they need themselves,” says Mr. Berteld. “We are able to forecast and budget for maintenance more proactively too. For example, our planners can instantly see where older pipes and wires are located and when they should be replaced.”

The Result

All the Work in Half the Time
IWB turned to Autodesk Topobase to help it save time and money while operating more effectively. Mr. Berteld reports that the solution has delivered. “We now maintain our water and gas documentation in half the time and with two-thirds of the resources required before implementing Autodesk Topobase,” he explains. “Our department gets more done and provides better support for all departments. More importantly, our people have access to the network information they need. They are using the information to make more strategic decisions and to deliver better customer service.”

“Our people work more independently and effectively because they can find the information they need themselves. We are able to forecast and budget for maintenance more proactively too. For example, our planners can instantly see where older pipes and wires are located and when they should be replaced.”

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Industrielle Werke Basel Customer Story (pdf - 579Kb)