Global AEC Firm HDR Streamlines Data Sharing on North Carolina Natural Gas Pipeline Project with ArcGIS for AutoCAD

Dominion Energy, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operates in 13 states and offers safe and affordable energy to more than 4.57 million customers. Dominion Energy’s natural gas utility in North Carolina, Dominion Energy North Carolina (DENC), provides natural gas to more than 650,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill; the suburbs of Charlotte; and Western North Carolina. DENC’s natural gas pipelines are essential to delivering reliable energy to help fuel the daily lives of its customers and support economic development in the growing state. 

DENC began work in 2022 on a pipeline expansion project named the Kannapolis to Concord System Expansion Project, which would deliver natural gas to underserved areas in Rowan and Cabarrus counties. DENC partnered with HDR, Inc. for design and construction support. HDR is a professional services firm focusing on engineering, architecture, and construction. 

The design part of the project includes the installation of a 12, 8, and 6-inch diameter high-pressure steel distribution pipeline. HDR assembled a multidisciplinary team consisting of experts dedicated to various parts of the design process, and with a team spread across the country, they needed a solution where everyone could easily access and share data in one place. 

HDR deployed ArcGIS for AutoCAD, a no-cost plug-in application for Autodesk AutoCAD and Autodesk Civil 3D, to create a central hub for critical project information. The use of the plug-in has streamlined the data publishing process, improved data accuracy, and supported more seamless collaboration, helping HDR deliver the exceptional design support its client needs.  

For the design component of the DENC pipeline project, HDR’s multidisciplinary team provides environmental services, geotechnical engineering, land survey, land acquisition, data management, and non-environmental permitting. With more than 40 people total who need access to existing project data at any given time, the goal for HDR was to provide one common operating picture. 

Additionally, the large team, with each member dedicated to different design assets, would often cross-access each other’s datasets, which may be in different formats. According to Andrew Zimba, GIS manager and oil and gas market sector geospatial lead for HDR, everyone relies on each other’s datasets to do their work.

For example, the design team needs access to survey data, while the land acquisitions group may need to view current design data to talk to landowners. As such, establishing a standardization approach for the use of these files was necessary for streamlined collaboration and more effective delivery of the project.   

 “With so many disciplines interfacing, there is a wide variety of design approaches and data formats. So, if I get a drawing from one person and an AutoCAD drawing from another person, we want to verify that layer names are standardized across all designers,” says Zimba.

Jacob Matuseski, oil and gas pipelines and stations CAD lead for HDR, agrees that the effort put into standardization yields benefits such as more effective coordination, minimized rework, and more efficient workflows. For example, Matuseski says when he and his team are creating shapes from polylines to represent limits of disturbance that consistency with naming of layers, converting polylines to polygons, and identifying object data to be included and features to be exported can be critical for the GIS team.

Additionally, updates to data are often needed throughout a project life cycle, and the HDR team wanted a process that would allow them to easily incorporate updates into the common operating picture so all stakeholders can stay up-to-date with changes.

Zimba and Matuseski went in search of a new solution to provide the best common operating picture for the DENC project team and streamline data sharing. After exploring other solutions, the pair chose ArcGIS for AutoCAD. Zimba and Matuseski are members of an HDR working group, named “CAD and GIS are Friends,” that is dedicated to modernizing how HDR approaches design by leveraging tools such as ArcGIS for AutoCAD. 

ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a downloadable plug-in application for AutoCAD that provides interoperability between AutoCAD and ArcGIS. HDR, an Esri Business Partner since 1999, leverages ArcGIS technology when executing many client projects. 

From a CAD designer’s perspective, Matuseski says, ArcGIS for AutoCAD easily integrated into existing processes. “The type of data that we are sharing back and forth is lines and polygons. [ArcGIS for AutoCAD] was very plug and play to our existing workflow,” says Matuseski. “It was not a large effort to get it into play, and the benefits were quickly realized.” 

To begin the implementation process, Zimba met with Matuseski to discuss requirements for each team and then went through a few iterations before the solution was ready. 

“[We] got to something that we thought would be workable and would meet our requirements on both the CAD side for them to synchronize easily and on the GIS side for us to take that and assemble it into a composite layer that we would put on a web viewer for sharing with the greater project team,” says Zimba.

The innovative use of a web viewer in ArcGIS Online allows DENC project stakeholders to see all project data or data focused on a team member’s specific workflow, all in one place. Zimba explains that maps are made in ArcGIS Pro, the information is published to ArcGIS Enterprise, and the URL for the final product is added into ArcGIS Online. Once the maps and data are in ArcGIS Online, Zimba and Matuseski can manage who has access to specific data. 

The team also established a syncing process to streamline work. The team can upload data or drawings, sync it, and then update information in the geodatabase where data is stored. These changes are then published to the viewer. Those working in CAD can view and sync new or updated layers using ArcGIS for AutoCAD, and the GIS team can publish complete layers.

“There's information in CAD, we can pull it in GIS, make changes, sync it, and then have that new information available to all to work with,” explains Zimba. “It does take a little bit of work upfront to get it all set up . . . [but] because it's a process that's iterative and design updates are happening all the time, it definitely pays dividends in the end.” 

The use of ArcGIS for AutoCAD has yielded positive benefits for HDR and its M71 Kannapolis to Concord Connector High-Pressure Expansion Project team, including improving the accuracy of project data and enhancing collaboration. The new publishing process is simpler with ArcGIS for AutoCAD because all line edits can be captured with the sync button versus exporting and passing files between one application and another. Matuseski says this has saved the group a significant amount of time. 

“I think speaking then from the CAD side of things, our CAD designers are certainly happy to be able to just hit synchronize instead of stopping what they're doing and exporting all these different things,” says Matuseski. 

 “And I think we've mentioned how much the project team is relying on the ArcGIS Online web viewer,” continues Matuseski. “So, being able to make the process easier to deliver accurate data . . . has been the key part of this implementation.” 

He adds, “This viewer is bringing value to our client, to our whole project team . . . and it wouldn't necessarily be as valuable if we could not provide this information as regularly.”

ArcGIS for AutoCAD has made it easier to access data in one place. Zimba says it was essential on this project to have data easily viewable in a format where users can interact with the data and turn layers on and off to see important details. The new viewer supported by ArcGIS for AutoCAD is used during project meetings when discussing ideas and sharing updates, instilling confidence that they are seeing the most current datasets.    

Previously, Zimba notes that if updates had to be made on the GIS side, the time-consuming process would include locating the file and confirming its accuracy. Now that everyone on the team can manage their own data with ArcGIS for AutoCAD, team members know that they are looking at the latest data approved by that team member. 

Matuseski adds, “It's also your one-stop shop for data, too . . . where we're able to get everything bundled up in one spot.”

With the success of ArcGIS for AutoCAD on the DENC project, the HDR team has plans to use it on future projects and across more of HDR’s design teams. Matuseski says they plan on applying all the lessons they’ve learned and use the same workflow for more projects. 

“Having an easily viewable, you-know-it's-good picture of things, has created efficiencies and trust,” says Zimba. “ArcGIS for AutoCAD allows us to work within this truly collaborative and connected space.”