Make the most of your energySM

OrbitField data collection for ArcFM

02 | Orbit

Building greater efficiency and collaboration

Better exchange information with your field crews by using real-time, two-way communications for improved accuracy and efficiency

Orbit: A revolutionary approach to field data collection

With our new Orbit solution — powered by Microsoft’s Windows Azure™ cloud platform — allows utilities and telecommunications, field crews to quickly gather information in the field, at specific locations, and collaborate on field-oriented projects.

Orbit includes mapping functionality that is vital to work execution and data

capture, as well as online data services to manage the data captured during

work. Orbit’s data services are secure, and user access to the system can be

federated with your organization’s security model.

Unification of field work processesToday, one of a utility’s biggest challenges is the number of field data capture

processes for each corresponding application, often running on a specific

device (point solutions). The number of devices needed to gather information

is costly — especially when you factor in the data conversion and transfer that

many of these point solutions require. Orbit can unify these disparate processes

into one configurable platform, driving down the total cost of ownership of field

data capture.

This challenge of cost impacts your ability to scale usage up to the amounts you

need to adequately capture information in the field. Information is vital to your

operations. Whether your crews are working to resolve a problem or prevent

future ones, the right information can help your organization to quickly send

instructions to and gather insight from the field. These robust, flexible capabilities

can support improved infrastructure, more efficient operations, and ultimately a

higher level of customer service.

Orbit as part of many field processesOrbit is designed to accept work tasks from a variety of enterprise systems.

Where there is work in the field, there is typically a larger workflow in play at

your organization.

For gas distribution operators, compliance systems dictate an inspection

schedule that is in accordance with regulatory requirements — Orbit can

handle the valve inspection and cathodic test read tasks as part of your

compliance strategy.

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Orbit: A revolutionary approach to field data collection

Electric utilities require a complete inventory of

third-party attachments on their overhead structures

and Orbit facilitates the capture of data to ensure

this complete inventory. In cases where facilities are

damaged by storms, flooding, or other catastrophic

events Orbit allows workers to quickly assess

damage and support restoration efforts. It uses the

native capabilities of the mobile device: GPS for

coordinate information, the on-board camera to take

pictures, and a touch-oriented user experience that

field workers find familiar with the devices and apps

they use in their personal lives.

With many of these cases, organizations might

use temporary, contract, or intern labor to complete

field tasks. It’s important to focus the user on the

data you require, and also to capture key information

about task completion — what time was the task

completed? Where was the worker when the task was

completed — were they where they should’ve been?

Gathering information made easyOrbit allows your field and office personnel to easily

communicate between disparate systems, such as

mobile clients, desktop/Web clients, and integrated

systems. The end result is a faster flow of vital

information from the field.

Orbit helps to better organize and support work from

a variety of places within your organization. With it,

you can:

• Quickly add new work types without custom code

• Allow crews to use a variety of devices —

even their own personal devices

• Minimize your infrastructure concerns

• Align with your own security standards

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Significant differences: the benefits of a hosted solutionBy relying on Orbit to meet your field-based

information gathering and communications needs,

you can lower your total cost of ownership.

It reduces the need for historically expensive

investments in hardware, software, and data

synchronization — things that contracts your

time-to-value.

In addition, it is scalable to meet and support your

usage — you can add users without affecting load

on your enterprise systems. And by providing task

management data storage to the cloud, it delivers

backups, availability, and security while minimizing

the burden of establishing and maintaining

capital infrastructure.

A hosted solution allows new aspects of reliability

that have not been possible before. Your field crews

can work whether your own internal network is down

or if outside communication is severed — updates

can happen even if field crews cannot connect to

your enterprise network. Further, a hosted solution

enhances reliability by guaranteeing that your data is

backed up and stored off site.

Your security model is our security model With Orbit, you can provision users according to

your own security standards, as well as provide a

single sign-on solution. Orbit can federate with your

security model so that you can use the same login

criteria currently in place in your internal corporate

enterprise. Your field users can use the same login

that they use to connect to the corporate network.

User provisioning becomes seamless, password

strength standards are maintained, and users can

easily get connected. This ease of access control

also makes it very easy to revoke or change access.

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The difference is in the appsThe Orbit mobile application can run on Windows® 7,

Windows® 8, and iPad.® Because your data capture

needs change with time and ever-changing regulatory

environments, Orbit is configurable. You can add

new work types or change existing ones without

worrying about customizing software on the dozens,

hundreds, or thousands of mobile devices you have

in place. You can change your inspection processes

in minutes, as opposed to days or weeks. Users can

perform tasks offline, without hard dependencies

upon network connectivity — you can be out of

communication range and still get things done.

Your data models, your dataBring your own data model for field data capture

activities — no custom software is required to begin

collecting vital information. Stand up new types of

inspections in minutes where it once took days or

weeks. And rest assured that the data you gather is

yours — you own it, we just store it for you.

Orbit is geospatially-enabled using your GIS; where

you store it. We do not host your GIS data — you

do. Do you have strong feelings about where your

GIS data should be stored? Good, so do we. Orbit

works with your stored GIS data.

As an Esri Business Partner of almost 30 years,

we work seamlessly with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS

Online for Organizations, and with ArcGIS Server

implementations that you may already have in place.

With Orbit, you can make the most of what you

already have and expand the value of your GIS quickly.

©20

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Schneider Electric USA, Inc.

4701 Royal Vista CircleFort Collins, CO 80528Phone: 1-866-537-1091 Fax: 970-223-5577www.schneider-electric.com/us

August 2013