Sofiyska voda, Part of Veolia, Modernizes Utility Workflows with Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network

Sofiyska voda, part of Veolia, provides water and sewerage services within the territory of the state capital city of Sofia—the economic and administrative center of Bulgaria. It serves more than 1.5 million people.

Sofiyska voda implemented its enterprise-wide geographic information system (GIS) about 10 years ago based on the state-of-the-art Esri technology at that time, with service-oriented architecture and many desktop and web applications. The system covered a wide range of processes in the organization—from network planning and design to maintenance, call center, and others. Since then, no major changes in functionalities have been done, but the software has been regularly updated based on maintenance contracts. Meanwhile, the Sofiyska voda GIS team and management staff gained deep expertise in managing the geodatabase and specifics of GIS, becoming thought leaders among the water and sewerage companies in Bulgaria. 

Software solutions supporting Sofiyska voda's management of the water and sewerage systems are being deprecated. Legacy browser and web app plug-in support no longer meets the needs of the organization.

Sofiyska voda uses the geometric network, which is ran within ArcMap. This legacy workflow worked well, but as the requirements of the organization evolved, staff realized that a more modern solution was needed.

Sofiyska voda needed to implement modern solutions that enable staff to meet high standards for IT systems and provide the best service and care for their customers. They also needed the solution to improve network management capabilities while securing next generation functionality. They identified the best solution to update legacy workflows was Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network. 

Esri Bulgaria has a unique team of highly qualified professionals with proven experience and expertise in implementing geospatial technologies. Dedicated to their work and finding the best solution for every customer, Esri Bulgaria team members have contributed to the successful implementation of GIS projects of national importance in Bulgaria.

In the beginning of 2019, Sofiyska voda, part of Veolia, launched a pilot project for using Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network with the existing water and sewer GIS data. As a result, Esri Bulgaria provided a report that assessed the current situation and pinpointed steps toward full-scale Utility Network implementation.

Sofiyska voda staff decided that a full implementation of the Utility Network and a GIS system upgrade was the right solution to meet their needs. The integration of the Utility Network with Sofiyska voda's GIS system was planned in two stages:

Stage 1—This stage consisted of upgrading the existing GIS by implementing and adapting ArcGIS Utility Network, performing data migration, and upgrading the system architecture while maintaining existing functionality.

The following activities were performed:

• Switch from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro with Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network.
• Reconfigure and upgrade server software to meet ArcGIS Utility Network deployment requirements.
• Migrate all existing GIS data to the ArcGIS Utility Network data model.
• Migrate existing Silverlight-based Web GIS solution to a JavaScript Web GIS application.
• Train end users to use the new solution.
• Configure Esri's ArcGIS Workflow Manager to work in the new IT and GIS environment.

Stage 2—This stage consisted of system expansion and upgrade of the existing GIS with new functionality, full-scope implementation of mobile ArcGIS apps, and integration with other IT systems—customer care and billing (SAP), enterprise resource planning (ERP), computerized maintenance management system, and asset management. The plan is to implement ArcGIS Field Maps for data collection as well as ArcGIS Workforce for tasks allocation. 

The upgrade of the existing data model and processes to those enabled by the Utility Network provides many benefits, the most key of which are the following:

• A highly efficient and scalable model designed for infrastructure networks of large organizations including full assets group and assets type definition and codification
• Modeling connectivity of the components in infrastructure networks—water, sewer, and electrical
• Representation of areas with a large number of objects on a map without cluttering or presenting complex objects by generalization, depending on the scale of the map
• Increased data consistency and reduced data entry errors by imposing multiple validation and verification rules, depending on the specifics of the infrastructure network
• Advanced analytical capabilities, including through dynamic network models
• A comprehensive view of the infrastructure network, including through network diagrams generated dynamically

The solution is an integrated part of the Esri ArcGIS system, providing specific opportunities for staff to implement and use modern technological workflows.

The implemented ArcGIS solution helps Sofiyska voda work faster and smarter in terms of infrastructure operations and management and provides services of higher quality to residents.