Data conversion

The data conversion task is the most onerous one to be faced by all electricity utilities before any benefits of geographical information systems can be realised. Traditionally many have thought of this task as being primarily associated with the conversion of many thousands of paper map sheets to an electronic format which can be manipulated by applications which deliver 'Drawing Office Automation'. Today it is widely accepted that the scope extends far beyond simple image capture, and the GIS plays a significant part in an overall asset management and data integration strategy. Understanding the scope of the GIS is the first of three broad topics discussed, followed by a discussion around the issues associated with spatial data capture, and finally we briefly discuss integration and illustrate the impact on a typical business process that will be experienced when the aspiration of truly integrated data is realised.