Increasing Productivity and Compliance Through Improved Engineering Data Integrity

Challenge

Seattle City Light is the public utility providing electrical power to Seattle, Washington, and its metropolitan area. In operation since 1910, it is the 10th
largest public utility in the United States and was the first municipal utility in the nation to own and operate a hydroelectric facility.

Without a single source of truth, searching the company’s 300,000 documents and drawings and tracking revisions was a difficult endeavor. Before using Meridian,
the organization faced key challenges:

  • Inconsistent drawing properties made for inaccurate search results
  • Lack of clear workflow processes created inefficiencies
  • Relatively loose change control led to costly delays

Solution

Seattle City Light has 45 engineers and designers using Meridian to make controlled changes to engineering information. Meridian also provides viewing access to the latest versions of these documents to 85 users in Operations, Project Management, Dam Safety, and Construction.

  • Automatic bi-directional title block syncing between AutoCAD and Meridian
  • Configurable file attribute assignment with consistent metadata for accurate searches
  • Web-based access for field crews to view current drawings or construction plan sets
  • Easy file revision comparisons for pinpointing changes quickly

Results

Having used Meridian for almost 20 years, Seattle City Light has been able to implement controls and workflow processes that allow all parties to search and find up-to-date asset information. These controls streamline annual audits and ensure compliance with state archival laws, as well as FERC, NERC, and CEII regulations. Maintenance and other non-AutoCAD users can also find what they need quickly and focus on their work instead of wasting time searching for information.

  • Expedited project delivery due to streamlined workflows
  • Increased employee productivity through faster search and retrieval
  • Streamlined collaboration between Engineering and Operations
  • Ensured compliance with FERC, NERC, and CEII regulations

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