K.S. Ware & Associates, L.L.C.


		Resource Mapping and Inventory Electric Power Distribution K. S. Ware and Associates, L.L.C. (KSWA) was selected by the Michael Baker, Jr. Corporation (MB) to provide field inventory services to map and catalog power distribution resources within the Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (JEMC) electric service area. The JEMC is the second largest electric cooperative in the United States, serving 10 counties in the metro Atlanta and northeast Georgia area. In terms of energy sales, JEMC is the largest electric cooperative in the United States. The JEMC service area consists of 163,000 residential, industrial and commercial customers, with 62 percent being comprised of residential homes and the remaining 38 percent being industrial and commercial facilities. KSWA field technicians geo-coded and cataloged the power distribution resources for over 25,000 customers in the JEMC service area using Trimble Pro XRS Global Positioning System (GPS) data collectors and portable computers. The power distribution resources cataloged by KSWA included all utility poles, light poles and lights, transformers, switches and meters, as well as identifying the power phasing configuration at each location. The total effort was completed using approximately 2,500 man-hours in six months. By working closely with MB to develop field inventory procedures, KSWA was delivered accurate location and inventory information readily integrated into a master geo-database MB was developing for the Jackson Electric Management Corporation. Metro Water Data Conversion Nashville, Tennessee K. S. Ware and Associates, L.L.C. (KSWA) was selected by Michael Baker Corporation (MBC) to provide the final data delivery and installation for the data conversion and database development for the Metro Nashville Department of Water and Sewer Services (METRO). Metro maintains over 2,500 maps for the city’s water and sewer system. Metro decided to implement a geographic information system (GIS) to manage their utility mapping needs. KSWA worked closely with Metro and MBC to identify potential problem areas associated with the data conversion. The initial phase of the implementation of a GIS system for Metro consisted of digitizing the department’s 2,500+ hard copy maps to ArcInfo software and developing a database structure designed to be integrated with Metro’s asset and workforce management software. The maps contained all of the information detailing Metro’s 28,500 catch-basins, 4,700 inlets, 8,500 outfalls, 2,700 structures, 12,500 culverts, 38,500 conduits, and 71,750 open channels. KSWA programmed 15 quality control routines to check and verify the validity of the digitally converted data prior to completion to maintain quality control for the more than 100,000 features contained on the maps. KSWA’s automated quality control routines could rapidly check the entire data set and identify common digitizing and data entry errors that could be corrected prior to final delivery, as opposed to detailed quality control evaluation on a small percentage of the production data. The MBC/KSWA team provided Metro with high quality digital data tailor-made for integration with the department’s asset and workforce management system by providing quality control evaluation using the automated routines. NPDES Stormwater Mapping K. S. Ware and Associates, L.L.C. (KSWA) was selected by EnSafe, Inc. (EI) to develop a compliance tool to integrate data already maintained in the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) GIS and Tennessee Roadway Information Management System (TRIMS) databases. Amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1987 caused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop the Phase I program of the NPDES Storm Water Program in 1990. The Phase I program addressed sources of storm water runoff with the greatest potential to negatively impact water quality. It required a NPDES permit for storm water discharges for areas with populations of 100,000 or more. A Phase II Final Rule in 1999 required NPDES permit coverage for storm water discharges from small regulated municipal separate storm sewer systems serving less than 100,000 persons. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation ruled TDOT right-of-way in large and small municipalities was subject to the same permit regulations as the municipalities. TDOT therefore had an immediate need to identify the areas subject to the NPDES regulations and manage the compliance for these areas. The integration of TDOT’s data with publicly available information such as census data and municipal boundaries provides TDOT with a dynamic management tool that to facilitate compliance with the NPDES permit requirements despite changes in population density, municipal boundaries, and roadway construction information. KSWA’s has worked with the TDOT on many projects and this relationship and familiarity with the organization was integral to the project’s success. KSWA was able to bring this spirit of innovation and cost-effective services to TDOT by efficiently utilizing the information and resources available to minimize the time and expense required to complete this project. Rapid Terrain Analysis Module K. S. Ware and Associates, L.L.C. (KSWA) was selected by Teledyne Solutions, Inc. (TSI) to evaluate the feasibility of using a geographic information system-based tool for the Air and Missile Defense Command (AMDC) to expedite the flight path generation of a threat and reduce the inherent paper map inefficiencies. TSI operates a missile defense engineering test bed for the Program Executive Office of the AMDC in Huntsville, Alabama called the Task Force Exerciser (TFX). The TFX supports developmental testing of the U.S. Army’s premier air and missile defense systems including the PATRIOT and THAAD missiles, as well as their supporting command, control, and early warning systems. The TFX demonstrates interoperability between these systems through scenarios combining computer generated trajectory modeling of hostile aircraft and missiles (threats) with computer generated terrain modeling of proposed deployment locations using digital terrain elevation data (DTED). Developing scenarios includes data input to a flight path propagator, a computer program that generates periodic entity state data based on the threat’s inherent attributes. KSWA developed a prototype analytical tool, the Rapid Terrain Analysis Module (RTAM). The RTAM creates a graphic user interface for the scenario developers to select threat object waypoints and enter corresponding altitudes and velocities. The RTAM subsequently creates an interactive 3-D representation of the simulation area and the candidate flight path. These benefits include exponential improvements in accuracy, greatly reduced testing delays and downtime to modify scenarios, and cost savings realized through improved efficiency. The interactive three-dimensional representation also provides the scenario developers with a tool to better investigate the vulnerabilities of defense systems undergoing evaluation. United Way Needs Assessment K. S. Ware and Associates, L.L.C. (KSWA) was selected by Tennessee State University’s (TSU) Office of Business and Economic Research to partner with them to complete a community needs assessment for the United Way (UW) of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. A critical mission for the UW is to periodically assess, identify gaps, and prioritize the needs for services within Metro Nashville. With this data, the UW can effectively direct financial investments and allocate resources for the area. KSWA provided geographic information system data acquisition and analysis for the project team. The GIS database developed by KSWA integrates data from surveys, U.S. Census data, police crime data, planning commission data, and UW services data. The use of GIS to manage this information provides the UW with a robust platform to easily maintain and update data from future surveys and social service inventories. The GIS database also provides the UW with a powerful visualization tool for comparative and trend analysis as well as demonstrating the effectiveness of UW programs.

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