Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations – Part 2

Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations - Part 2

September 17, 2020 | Online ::

Learning Outcomes

This webinar will provide attendees an opportunity to:

• Identify remote strategies for weather monitoring
• Demonstrate knowledge of weather predictive services
• Develop action plans to mitigate wildfire threats
• Review benchmark technologies used for wildfire mitigation
• Explore new ways of forecasting and planning for wildfire risk
• Identify best practices and real-world examples of how to prepare for increased wildfire risk

Who Should Attend

Individuals working in the following areas will benefit from attending this event:

• Electric Utility Leaders
• Utility Risk Management Professionals
• Utility Grid Planning and Operations Specialists
• Utility Transmission and Field Services Personnel
• State and Federal Agencies
• Mitigation Specialists
• Policy makers
• Researchers

Thursday, September 17, 2020 :: Pacific Time

1:45 – 2:00 p.m. :: Log In

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Webinar Timing

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. :: Q&A

Fostering a Culture of Safety in Utility Operations: Bite Size Technology Innovations that Support Wildfire Mitigation Efforts

A critical component of wildfire mitigation is the ability to assess and forecast wildfire risk based on weather conditions and other environmental factors. These variables are dynamic, and accurate forecasting requires processing a large amount of data from multiple sources. The National Weather Service and other organizations provide information on fire risk for different areas. Many power utilities in high fire risk areas deploy their own weather stations and other sensors to collect weather data from the field and use a wide range of technologies to determine the fire risk and make informed decisions regarding the operation of the power system. Attend this free webinar for the latest critical information:

• What are the industry benchmark technologies being used with wildfire agencies?
• How are the power utilities adapting to the ever-increasing wildfire risk exposure?

Investing in new technologies can be burdensome and expensive. Register for this free webinar to learn how these investments can be made into bite size, low cost solutions for immediate impact on increasing safety and operational efficiencies in power electric industry operations.

• Consultants

Shawn Bethel, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist; Director, Business Development, FTS

Shawn Bethel is the Director of Business Development at Forest Technology Systems Inc. (FTS) based in Victoria, British Columbia. Started in 1980, FTS is a manufacturer of remote environmental monitoring solutions including systems, instrumentation, software and communications technology to support wildfire management, hydrology and meteorological services industries. The company’s hardware and software technologies comprise the single largest wildfire weather monitoring network in the world.  Shawn is helping FTS and its sister companies within the Advanced Environmental Monitoring (AEM) group to help support critical decision making in the power utility industry by providing greater field awareness during times of heightened wildfire risk to the transmission and distribution operations and the surrounding communities

Darren Hutchinson, COO, Quintech Fire Services 

Tyler Smith, USA Wildfire Weather & Monitoring, FTS – Forest Technology Systems 

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations - Part 2

September 17, 2020 | Online

Buy 4 in-person seats and only pay for 3! For this event every fourth in-person attendee is free!

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before December 31, 1969 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Sponsored By

Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations – Part 1

Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations - Part 1

September 10, 2020 | Online ::

This webinar will provide attendees an opportunity to:

• Identify remote strategies for weather monitoring
• Demonstrate knowledge of weather predictive services
• Develop action plans to mitigate wildfire threats
• Review benchmark technologies used for wildfire mitigation
• Explore new ways of forecasting and planning for wildfire risk
• Identify best practices and real-world examples of how to prepare for increased wildfire risk

Who Should Attend

Individuals working in the following areas will benefit from attending this event:

• Electric Utility Leaders
• Utility Risk Management Professionals
• Utility Grid Planning and Operations Specialists
• Utility Transmission and Field Services Personnel
• State and Federal Agencies
• Mitigation Specialists
• Policy makers
• Researchers

Thursday, September 10, 2020 : Pacific Time

1:45 – 2:00 p.m. :: Log In

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. :: Webinar Timing

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. :: Q&A

Weather Monitoring & Vegetation Management: Understanding the Wildfire Risk to Utilities  and our Communities

A proactive vegetation management program is critical in high fire risk areas. Such programs typically include the trimming and removal of trees and other fuel sources. Available remote environmental sensing technologies exist to determine which areas are driest and more vulnerable to fire ignitions. In this complimentary webinar, you will hear how to use weather predictive services to fully understand risk and develop appropriate action plans to better mitigate wildfire threats. Wildfire experts will examine all the factors that need to be considered when evaluating the overall risk to people, property, assets and infrastructure. Industry professionals will share their real-world experiences and how the lessons learned from decades of confronting aggressive wildfires can be shared to better prepare for what is coming at us – more wildfire!  Attend this free webinar for a look at the good, bad & ugly of vegetation management: considering topography and weather plus proximity of new wildfires to the local community.

Shawn Bethel, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist; Director, Business Development, FTS

Shawn Bethel is the Director of Business Development at Forest Technology Systems Inc. (FTS) based in Victoria, British Columbia. Started in 1980, FTS is a manufacturer of remote environmental monitoring solutions including systems, instrumentation, software and communications technology to support wildfire management, hydrology and meteorological services industries. The company’s hardware and software technologies comprise the single largest wildfire weather monitoring network in the world.  Shawn is helping FTS and its sister companies within the Advanced Environmental Monitoring (AEM) group to help support critical decision making in the power utility industry by providing greater field awareness during times of heightened wildfire risk to the transmission and distribution operations and the surrounding communities

Frank Archuleta, Wright Tree Services

Mr. Archuleta graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Natural Resource Management in 1995 and is an ISA Certified Arborist.  Frank was directly involved in wildland fire for a ten-year period, including four years with the Logan Hotshots and a year working at the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Wildfire Science Laboratory. After that he worked in the habitat restoration and exotic plant management fields, including four years running the National Capital Region Exotic Plant Management Program for the National Park Service.  Frank then went to work for Wright Tree Service as a Safety Supervisor in March of 2017 and accepted the Wildfire Specialist Position for Wright Service Corp. in August of 2019.

Chris White, Owner, Anchor Point Group

Mr. White is the Chief Operating Officer of Anchor Point Group LLC. Mr. White has specialized in Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Management for over 30 years. He started his fire career in 1987 working with both the US and Colorado State Forest Service. After taking on the responsibility of pre-planning for approximately 1,100 subdivisions for wildland fire hazards and developing mitigation plans to reduce wildfire impacts, Mr. White became Colorado’s first county-level Wildland Fire Coordinator in Summit  County. Mr. White has been a member of the Western Governors Association (WGA) Federal Fire Policy Review Committee, WGA Prescribed Fire Policy Committee, NWCG Hazard and Risk Assessment Methodology Committee, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Wildland Fire Committee. Mr. White offers additional technical expertise as a Structure Protection Specialist to Type 1 and 2 National Incident Management Teams. As a certified Structure Protection Specialist, he is responsible for integrating fire-behavior modeling and structure protection tactics to develop structure protection plans for large fire events throughout the US.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Wildfire Mitigation: Wildfire Risk, Safety Culture & Innovations for Utility Operations - Part 1

September 10, 2020 | Online

Buy 4 in-person seats and only pay for 3! For this event every fourth in-person attendee is free!

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before December 31, 1969 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Sponsored By

Introduction to Drones & UAS for Utilities

Introduction to Drones & UAS for Utilities

September 15, 2020 | Online ::

This program is designed to provide utilities who are exploring the potential for utilizing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) with a solid foundation about the capabilities and limitations of the technology.  The workshop will also provide you with the tools to adapt current processes to leverage this rapidly developing technology as well as identify when drones present a real opportunity for ROI. The program will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, each with a specific focus. The morning session will present information about UAS hardware, regulations, use cases and specific considerations your operations will want to address when starting up a large utility drone project. The afternoon session will cover advanced UAS technologies such as autonomous UAS inspections, Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations, and software technology that can help organize and expedite the analysis of the huge quantities of data typically collected with remote sensing technology. 

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the current ecosystem for UAS hardware and command and control systems
• Discuss which use cases currently provide the most ROI and how this may evolve in the future
• Examine what types of payloads are available for drone operations and how these various sensor systems intersect with utility UAS program goals
• Explore the FAA’s regulatory environment that both enables and restricts the use of drone technology
• Describe best practices when starting up a large utility UAS program including managing contractors, creating program documentation, and issues around accessing private property and customer interactions
• Explain the options available for securely transferring data from the field to the party responsible for processing the data
• Look at software that can help extract value from the mountain of data that is usually produced by UAS remote sensing operations
• Explore advanced flight Concepts of Operations (ConOps), particularly BVLOS and autonomous flight operations  
• Discuss guidelines for evaluating current processes that likely will be adapted or replaced in the future
• Adjust/reset current Utility expectations such as Defect Find Rate, data storage needs, etc.
• Examine important new UAS initiatives such as Remote ID and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) 

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.6 CEUs for this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log on each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course

Instructional Methods

Power Point presentations and open discussion will be used

Tuesday, September 15, 2020 – Central Time

8:45 – 9:00 am : Log On and Sound Check

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. :: Introduction to UAS Operations and Use Cases 

Overview of UAS aircraft types and sensor systems

9:30  – 10:00 a.m. :: The FAA and the UAS Regulatory Environment

• Beyond line of sight approval
• 14 CFR Part 107

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. :: Morning Break

10:15 – 11:00 a.m. :: Utility UAS Operations

• Defining the project
• Specifying deliverables
• Creating program documentation
• How do you keep track and communicate with a widely dispersed workforce?

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: Structuring the Project Operations

• How to set up project goals
• Contractors – selecting qualified vendors
• Customers
• Project management
• Safety – How can you structure compensation in order to incentivize productivity without compromising safety?

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. :: Lunch Break

Data Processing and Advanced UAS Operations

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. :: Handling Project Data and Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) Considerations

• Data ethics and privacy
• Mandates for critical data

1:30 – 2:00 p.m. :: Data Processing 

• Analysis of LiDAR data
• Staffing the data center
• Procedure and techniques

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. :: Software for Extracting Value from UAS Operations

• Analysis of digital elevation models
• Creation of autonomous inspection flight plans
• Automated inspections

3:00  – 3:15 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:15  – 4:00 p.m. :: Advanced UAS Operations – BVLOS and Autonomous Operations

• Uploading and managing field data
• Review of inspection assets
• Creation of inspection reports

4:00  – 4:30 p.m. :: What the Future Holds for UAS Technology

• What drones would be acceptable? 
• What cameras?  Or is it a case of meeting a certain resolution requirement?

4:30  – 5:00 p.m. :: Lessons Learned and Program Review

• Transmission structure inspection
• Data analysis
• Review an inspection report

5:00 p.m. :: Adjourn

Chris McMurtry, Solutions Architect, Sharper Shape

 In his role as the Solutions Architect for Sharper Shape, Inc., Chris McMurtry is focused on designing unmanned aerial solutions based around the company’s class leading “full-stack” hardware and software tools. Chris first became involved with drone technology for film and television production work, but he soon became convinced that unmanned aerial technology could do far more than just produce compelling entertainment content. This led to the creation of one of the first UAS services companies that specialized in using drone technology for utility inspections. Since 2013 Chris has been focused on finding the fit for UAS applications in the energy sector, with the goal of helping utilities transform their inspection and maintenance programs.

Paul Frey – Vice President of Sales, Sharper Shape

Paul has over 30 years of engineering and management experience in the utility industry. He started his career at Baltimore Gas & Electric as an intern while still in high school, and finished 34 years later as the Director of Distribution Automation. Just prior to joining Sharper Shape, Paul was the Senior Manager of Operations at the Edison Electric Institute where he set up the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Executive Task Force. While at EEI, he also helped establish the National Response Event framework and led the development of the RAMP-UP Tool, a national resource allocation tool for mutual assistance after storms. Paul has a M.S. in Engineering Administration from George Washington University and a BSEE and Computer Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University.

William Chung – VP of Business Development, Sharper Shape

Will joined Sharper Shape in 2019 to help utilities with their remote inspection processes and data asset management.  He leads the US business development and supports operations for existing US clients and projects.  Will has over 13 years of electric utility experience from Pacific Gas and Electric Company where he most recently worked on Aerial Inspections and the development of machine learning to augment the remote inspection process.  Prior to that, Will held various roles from Distributed Generation, Regulatory Compliance and Audits, Process Improvement, Business Operations, and Grid Innovation.  Will has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of California Berkeley. 

Wesley Pritchett – Program Manager, Sharper Shape

Wesley brings aviation and operational management experience to the Sharper Shape team. Wes served in the United States Military as an aviation maintenance officer and pilot for 8 years with multiple deployments. Following his time in the military, Wes has worked in both finance and the nonprofit world. Wes studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point and received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Introduction to Drones & UAS for Utilities

September 15, 2020 | Online

Buy 4 in-person seats and only pay for 3! For this event every fourth in-person attendee is free!

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before August 14, 2020 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800