Based in Calgary, Enmapp provides field data collection services to some of the world’s largest energy companies for pipeline construction and maintenance. Enmapp provides pipeline data collection services and delivers construction progress reports and analytics for their customers.
The tools of the trade have been the same since anyone can remember. In addition to binders full of paper maps and forms, each crew would bring the GPS gear. Typically, GPS kits could cost up to $70,000 per crew. While the hardware costs were high, the customer required sub-meter accuracy and these were the trusted tools to deliver that accuracy.
Like the gear, the workflow had always been the same. Each day the crew would collect the data, and then return to the hotel where they would upload and post-process the data. Then office staff would examine the data for anomalies and corrections, dispatching crew to recapture data where needed and eventually delivering static reports to the customers. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Over time though, Enmapp remained convinced there was a better way. The performance of the GPS devices paled in comparison to worker’s phones. Then there was the high cost of data loss and rework when standalone devices failed. And the time it took to deliver customer data with all the post-field work processing and manual review. And the costs were increasingly out of line with the mobile revolution of Apple and Android solutions.
Enmapp had always been considered an innovative provider of technology and services. So they considered developing their own GPS surveying solution but decided they didn’t want to develop and maintain commercial software on an ongoing basis. After surveying GPS solutions in the marketplace, they believed they had found a way to jettison the old guard GPS with proven, modern commercial products. Of course they needed a field trial to ensure it would work as they hoped.