Category Archives: Uncategorized

In a Utility Network, the data model isn’t a description of the system. It is the system. For most of the ArcMap era, a utility’s data model documentation was a nice-to-have. The Geometric Network didn’t care much what your fields were called or what values they held. As long as lines snapped to points, theContinueContinue reading “How GeoData Modeler Powers Next-Generation ArcGIS Implementations”

Why Clean Data Matters More Than You Think For most utilities, the entire point of migrating to the Esri Utility Network is the subnetwork. Subnetworks are what power modern tracing, load analysis, outage prediction, and the automation that makes a smart grid smart. They are the reason you spent months—maybe years—preparing data, retraining staff, andContinueContinue reading “The Subnetwork Creation Crisis”

How Scattered Data Documentation Costs Utilities Millions A modern utility does not run on one system. It runs on a dozen, all stitched together: GIS, SCADA, outage management, customer information, work and asset management, mobile field applications, and more. At the center of that web sits the GIS geodatabase, typically serving as the system ofContinueContinue reading “The Integration Nightmare”

How Continuous Data Governance Transforms Utility Operations Migration gets all the attention. The deadline, the budget, the all-hands push to retire ArcMap and stand up the Utility Network. When the data finally validates and the subnetworks build, it feels like crossing a finish line your whole organization has been sprinting toward. It isn’t a finishContinueContinue reading “Beyond Migration”

Here’s an uncomfortable truth about your GIS: it’s been covering for you. For years, maybe even decades, your Geometric Network has been tolerating data errors that would make a database administrator weep. Connections that violate your own business rules? Fine, tracing still works. Duplicate geometry stacked on top of itself? Not ideal, but whatever. AContinueContinue reading “What Every Utility Manager Needs to Know About Utility Network Architecture”

How GeoData Modeler Eliminates Data Model Confusion in Utility Organizations Pop quiz: where is your data model documented? If the answer is “in a spreadsheet that Dave started in 2019,” or “partly in ArcCatalog and partly in a SharePoint folder that nobody can find,” or, my personal favorite, “in Greg’s head, and Greg retired lastContinueContinue reading “The Single Source of Truth”

Why Utility Network Migration Errors Are More Expensive Than You Think Let’s talk about the elephant in your geodatabase. You know Dirty Areas exist. Your team knows they exist. Everyone’s been sort of politely stepping around them like a puddle in the office hallway, assuming someone else will mop it up before migration day. Here’sContinueContinue reading “The Hidden Cost of Dirty Areas”

Logical Connectivity Validation is critical for successful Utility Network migration. Learn how GeoData Sentry automatically detects junction-edge, edge-edge, and connectivity rule violations that create Dirty Areas. Discover why these severity-5 errors must be resolved before migration and how automated validation saves time while ensuring data integrity for smart grid operations.

Maintaining clean, reliable data in a utility geodatabase is no easy task—especially with the increasing complexity of modern utility networks. That’s why we’re excited to announce a major update to GeoData Sentry, fully compatible with ArcGIS Pro 3.x and PostgreSQL environments.

GeoData Sentry Updated for ArcGIS Pro 3.3 Laurel Hill GIS is excited to share some new features in GeoData Sentry that can significantly enhance your data quality and operational efficiency. GeoData Sentry is used for automated Quality Control and Quality Assurance of geospatial data within Esri’s ArcGIS geodatabase. It detects and reports errors in attributeContinueContinue reading “New Tests to Boost Your Data Quality”