11
March/April 2021
|
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
PROVIDING THE BIG PICTURE
Nestled into the San Bernardino Mountains are the
picturesque lakeside cottages, ski slopes, boutique shops
and resorts that make up the more than 25,000 customers
served by Bear Valley Electric Service, Inc.
Thanks to a partnership with Davey Resource Group (DRG),
Bear Valley Electric can now see the big picture through a
suite of services provided by DRG's various support teams.
The relationship started when DRG Asset Management
mapped all 211 miles of the client's electric lines in southern
California. That work grew into a visual inspection of the
entire grid's infrastructure. Simultaneously, mobile LiDAR
mapping of the system provided data, processed by DRG's
geographic information systems (GIS) team, showing where
vegetation encroached on lines and potential hazard trees
– providing a quality assessment for line clearance work.
Vince Mikulanis, market manager, DRG, said the LiDAR
data analysis also provided an infrared signature indicating
trees in declining health that may pose a hazard to
utility infrastructure.
"That's important because there are a lot of bark beetle
issues up on the mountain," Mikulanis said. "When trees
start to decline, for reasons especially due to bark beetle,
they lose their green color and they start to turn brown. The
infrared signature picks that up. It looks at all the different
Above:The homes and
businesses surrounding
Big Bear Lake make up
part of the Bear Valley
Electric Service area.
Inset: This image scan provided by DRG shows its client's utility
infrastructure in relation to nearby vegetation.
colors, and when the analysis shows trees in a certain band
of the spectrum that's when we know a tree is in decline."
LiDAR reviews are conducted multiple times a year.
Those are followed by visual inspections, which are used
to ensure concerns detected in the LiDAR analysis are
properly addressed. DRG asset management employees
also conduct visual equipment inspections to capture any
potential facility issues that could lead to a failure.
In 2020, the partnership grew even further when a DRG
forester started working full-time with the client's vegetation
management team, their line clearance contractors, and the
public to support the vegetation management program.
Mikulanis said the latest grid analysis techniques developed
and perfected by DRG teams for the client has further
evolved into support for Bear Valley Electric's wildfire
management plan.
"Now the client is seeking our input on how they fine-tune
their plan," he said. "DRG's high-level consulting and
relationship building has been an essential part of providing
a high-quality client experience."
