Storm Management Information Overview
This section describes the Storm Management operating modes and related information displays:
Storm Management Modes
Storm Management has two major modes of operation: Non-storm and Storm. A given control zone is in a storm mode if it is part of at least one active storm.
Non-Storm Mode
Non-storm mode applies to everyday operations. When calculating estimates, crew resources are not taken into account because it is assumed there are enough crews available to handle all events. All control zone views operate in non-storm mode until explicitly placed into storm mode.
Storm Mode
Storm mode is useful during and after a storm or other high volume outage period. In Storm mode, the estimate calculations factor in crew availability.
Study Mode
Study mode, which is an option when in Storm Mode, enables you to manipulate parameters that affect the estimate calculations, such as outage forecasting, manual overrides, and crew information without altering the current real-time calculations. Also, once in study mode, the user can export parameters from the study session back into the real-time session. Study mode is only valid while the storm is active. If another user ends the storm while you are in study mode, you will see a message that the zone is no longer in storm mode.
Storm Information
The Storm Information pane displays information about active storms (see
Using Start Storm Dialog Box).
The Storm Information pane displays the following fields:
• The Storm Name drop-down list displays the list of storm names. This field is not editable and is populated by information entered into the Storm Name field of the Start Storm dialog box. If there are multiple active storms, you can select one to see the information about that storm on the Storm Information pane.
• The Storm Start field displays the starting date of the storm. This field is not editable and is populated by information entered into the Start Date field of the Start Storm dialog box.
• Storm Level is a drop-down list of severity levels of the storm. It is initially populated by the option selected on the Storm Level drop-down list of the Start Storm dialog box. If you modify the Storm Level for a control zone that has child zones as part of the same storm, the Storm Level for all of those child zones will be changed to the modified value as well.
• Special Condition is a drop-down list of special storm types. It is initially populated by the option selected on the Special Condition drop-down list of the Start Storm dialog box. If you modify the Special Condition for a control zone that has child zones as part of the same storm, the Special Condition for all of those child zones will be changed to the modified value as well.
• Use This Storm's Values For Calculations check box displays if the storm's information is used in calculating Estimated Restoration Times. If a control zone is in storm mode, there is one and only one storm that is used in calculations. You cannot deselect this check box when it is checked. To change the storm used for calculations, select another storm in the Storm Name drop-down list and then select its check box.
Storm Report
The Storm Report is the main Storm Management pane. It provides an overview of the historical averages, actual averages, and estimates for each outage type in the currently selected control zone. Each time you select a different control zone from the Zone Selection tree, the Storm Report pane refreshes to display the information for the newly selected zone.
The Storm Report pane displays the following columns:
• The Outage Types column contains the name of the Storm Management outage type category.
• The Actual Outages column contains the actual number of unrestored events of the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone.
• The Total Outages column contains the total number of forecasted outages of the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone. If the currently selected control zone is operating storm mode, this value may be assigned or calculated as a percentage of the Actual Outages column using the Storm Management outage forecasting functionality. If the currently selected control zone is operating in non-storm mode, the value of this column is equal to the value of the Actual Outages column, because the outage forecasting functionality is not available in non-storm mode.
• The Travel to Assess column contains the average number of minutes between dispatch of an assessment crew and the arrival of that crew on the job site. The number outside of the parentheses is the historical average used in the Storm Management estimate calculations. The number in parentheses is the actual average that has been occurring in the field over the past 2 hours.
• The Assess column contains the average number of minutes taken to assess the effort needed to restore/repair the event. The number outside of the parentheses is the historical average used in the Storm Management estimate calculations. The number in parentheses is the actual average that has been occurring out in the field over the past 2 hours.
• The Travel to Repair column contains the average number of minutes between dispatch of the repair crew and the arrival of that crew on the job site. The number outside of the parentheses is the historical average used in the Storm Management estimate calculations. The number in parentheses is the actual average that has been occurring out in the field over the past 2 hours.
• The Repair column contains the average number of minutes taken to restore/repair the event. The number outside of the parentheses is the historical average used in the Storm Management estimate calculations. The number in parentheses is the actual average that has been occurring out in the field over the past 2 hours.
• The Clean column contains the average number of minutes taken to by the repair crew to clean up after the event is restored before going to the next job. The number outside of the parentheses is the historical average used in the Storm Management estimate calculations. The number in parentheses is the actual average that has been occurring out in the field over the past 2 hours.
• The Total Time to Assess hrs:min column contains the raw amount of time required to assess all outages of the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone, in hours and minutes. The very basic formula for calculating this value is the following: (Travel to Assess + Assess) * number of Actual Outages. However, if any outage forecasting or manual overrides are currently applied, or if the simulation has any of the outages projected to be assessed at a time that would use a different Travel to Assess or Assess time other than what's currently displayed in the Storm Management window, then that basic formula no longer holds.
• The Estimated Assessed By column contains the estimated date and time at which the last of all outages with the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone will be assessed.
• The Total Time to Restore hrs:min column contains the raw amount of time required to repair all events of the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone, in hours and minutes. The very basic formula for calculating this value is the following: (Travel to Repair + Repair) * number of Actual Outages in non-storm mode, or (Travel to Repair + Repair + Clean) * number of Actual Outages in storm mode. However, if any outage forecasting or manual overrides are currently applied, or if the simulation has any of the outages projected to be repaired at a time that would use a different Travel to Repair or Repair or Clean time other than what's currently displayed in the Storm Management window, then that basic formula no longer holds.
• The Estimated Restored By column contains the estimated date and time at which the last of all outages with the corresponding outage type in the currently selected control zone will be restored.
• The Forecast Mode drop-down list enables you to select what kind of outage forecasting you want to apply. This field is only enabled when the currently selected control zone is one at the simulation level operating under storm mode. List options include:
• % Change - Allows the % Change cell, which is beneath the Actual Outages column, to become editable, enabling you enter a percentage greater than 100, but smaller than 32,768. This increases the value in the Total Outages column for each outage type by that percentage.
• Value - Allows the Total Outages cell for each outage type row to become editable. It also disables the % Change cell under the Actual Outages column.
Summary Information
The Storm Management Summary Information pane provides an overview of the estimates for both the selected zone and the Company level zone. Each time you select a different control zone from the Zone Selection tree, the Summary Information pane refreshes to display the information for the newly selected zone. (If you select the Company level zone, the Summary Information table contains only the one row of Company information.)
The Summary Information pane displays the following fields:
• The Zone column contains the name of the Company level zone and the currently selected zone.
• The Est Assessed By column contains the estimated date and time when all assessment within the control zone will be complete.
• The Est Restored By column contains the estimated date and time when all events within the control zone will be restored.
• The
ERT Override field displays the alternate estimated restoration time, if a published or non-published control-zone wide alternate estimate is currently being applied to the selected zone. See
ERT Override Dialog Box for more information.
Zone Selection
The Zone Selection pane is available in both Non-Storm and Storm modes. Storm Management information is displayed on a per control zone basis, supporting views for the top three levels of the control zone hierarchy in the operations model. The top-level (usually the "Company" level) control zone view displays when Storm Management starts up.
Selecting the Control Zone to View
You can view the information for another control zone by selecting that zone in the Zone Selection tree. The data displayed applies to the selected zone and all of its children. However, some components may be disabled if the currently selected control zone is not at the simulation level.