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Time: 5:30
Topic: An Introduction to BC Hydro's New Dam Safety Information System (DSIS)
Speaker: William M. Johnstone, Ph.D., P.Eng., Principal Consultant/Founding Partner Spatial Vision Group, Inc. / Spatial Vision Consulting Ltd.
Meeting Link:
Abstract: BC Hydro recently completed the development and deployment of an innovative new Dam Safety Information System (DSIS), which is a 2D and 3D GIS web application and data management system that provides Dam Safety Engineers, technicians, consultants and contractors with efficient access to a wide array of information and data about the spatial arrangements and physical properties of their portfolio of dams, reservoirs, adjacent and interconnected systems, and the environment in which they operate. DSIS was developed at BC Hydro using Esri’s ArcGIS Enterprise, Experience Builder and Portal. Release 1 was deployed in November 2022 and Release 2 is planned for early 2024.
The 3D facility models used in DSIS were developed using a variety of geospatial tools including ArcGIS Pro, AutoCAD 3D, Civil 3D, and Revit, and also Safe Software’s FME. Data were imported from many sources, including engineering record drawings, terrestrial LiDAR, drone imagery, and geo-referenced site inspection notes and photographs.
DSIS allows users to access and visualize operating, performance and environmental information at multiple scales encompassing the provincial, regional, generating river system and facility levels through interactive two- and three-dimensional maps. The user interface includes portfolio-driven “cards” that facilitate a complete and timely synthesis and analysis of the information for better dam safety risk management.
DSIS supports the surveillance of BC Hydro’s dams, as well as Dam Safety’s capital and maintenance planning. Rather than spending time gathering and assembling data from multiple individual sources, DSIS allows users to focus instead on the current state of each dam and its environment, and to analyse data to help ensure the safe operation of each facility.
This presentation will provide an introduction to DSIS, talk about its current capabilities, and present examples of some of the 3D models that have been developed.
Bio: Dr. Johnstone is a Principal Consultant and founding partner of Spatial Vision Group. He holds a Ph.D in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo. His firm designs, develops and delivers GIS/CAD/BIM and system models that support the management, maintenance and operation of business and government critical infrastructure.
He has completed water dam and tailings dam consequences estimation and review assignments for clients in North and South America, Europe and Africa. He recently provided an independent review of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ dam and levee failure LifeSim loss estimation model and has reviewed dam failure consequences estimates developed using this model. He also is an active contributor to ASDSO’s damfailures.org website and has developed Case Study and Lessons Learned content for professional and public education (including a case study of the Testalinden Dam failure the occurred near Oliver, BC on June 13, 2010).
Dr. Johnstone has worked as the system designer of DSIS for BC Hydro Dam Safety since 2013, and as the DSIS External Solution Architect since 2017.
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