Leveraging the Dataverse to Enable Living Data Management from Design to Operations

Data developed during design and construction of a facility is foundational to startup, training, operations, and maintenance activities. However, many times managing the vast array of data and information from its many sources throughout design and construction is not given the same intentional and thoughtful approach as other design and construction deliverables (e.g. contract drawings and specifications). The result is often a virtual junk drawer of various data and information sets that then have to be organized and structured near or during the operations phase to properly populate systems of record (e.g. work management system, operations and maintenance manual, asset registry, record document repository) for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the new facilities. This less than ideal approach leaves many project and program teams scrambling to resource and complete the necessary data uploads to the systems of record creating unnecessary operational, maintenance, and equipment warranty risks. To address this all too-common challenge, the Portland Water Bureau (PWB), as part of its overall Smart Utility vision and proactive asset management strategy, decided to make the most of the opportunities that exist to take a living approach to data collection throughout the design and construction phases for their greenfield 135 mgd water treatment plant (WTP) with connecting raw and finished water pipelines. The approach enabler a Data Collection Tool (DCT) that leverages data structure and outputs from the WTP and pipeline design CADD/BIM models along with the selected asset management asset hierarchy structure to collect and organize the data and information necessary to support population of PWB's new Asset Management System, fixed asset registry, and development of their interactive electronic operations and maintenance manual (eOM). To take advantage of this once in an asset lifetime opportunity, PWB is leveraging Microsoft's Power Platform to build a data backbone with Dataverse in Azure and a user interface in PowerApp, to create a program level tool for the collection and management of data across the host of design, construction, program, and owner contributors from design completion through construction. In this presentation, we will show the DCT user experience and workflows from the perspective of design engineer, program manager, utility/owner team, construction contractor, and admin roles. We'll review the process of loading data and information such as BIM exports, asset hierarchies, vendor manuals, and more. Finally, we'll review the development process in PowerPlatform, and highlight some of the operations, maintenance, and training opportunities as well as costs of this platform.