Risks and Rehabilitation of Sewer Assets with Info360 Asset

WEN CHEN: Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we are presenting at the presentation titled as Risk and Rehabilitation of a Sewer Asset with Info360 Asset. Presented below is our safe harbor statement.

Your host today, I want to introduce myself. My name is Wen Chen. I'm a supervisor and civil engineer with the city of Oakland Public Works. And my co-presenter is Martha Nunez. She is the Customer Success Manager with Autodesk.

So today, our agenda is to give an overview of the city's sewer collection system, present the issue and challenges we have, and talk about our management practice, and our trend moving towards the cloud. And then the detail will go to Martha to present the Info360 asset implementation. And at the end, we're talking about the next step and our conclusions.

So city of Oakland, the sewer system is approximately 1,000 miles and with 11 pump stations. And it has over 100,000 sewer connections to the sewer collection system and serving over 430,000 residents. And you may not believe the first sanitary pipe was installed back in 1852, 160 years ago. And some of them are still functioning.

So as an average service life, the sewer collection system in the city of Oakland is over 50 years. And we discharge our collection the sewage to East Bay Municipal Utility District, EDMUD, for treatment, along with six other cities in the district. So this gives you an overview of the East Bay collection system.

So the city of Oakland is located at the end of the system or the start of the system. And then we discharge our sewer system into the interceptor. And there are various of the pump stations. And eventually, the sewage gets to the wastewater treatment plant located at the East Bay MUD. And along the interception, there are various of the wet weather facilities-- three of them-- which is to account for any overflow in the storm event that the system cannot treat or store.

So currently, the city of Oakland, we have a lot of challenges. As mentioned, we are dealing with a system that as far as 160 years old, average service life over 50 years old. And constantly, the city is suffering from sanitary sewer overflows. And also, there's significant inflows and infiltrations into the sewer collection system, especially during the storm event.

So particularly here, to reference, the inflow means the runoff coming into the sewer collection system. The infiltration refers to the groundwater penetrating into the sewer system. Eventually, they are transferred, conveyed, to the sewer treatment plant. And that, of course, the inadequate conveyance capacity, and for two reasons. One is the land use. You see, the city has already expanded, and now serving over 400,000 people.

And also because of the aging infrastructure, the blockage and reduced capacity. And there are debris, root intrusion. And sometimes, the homeless dump into the system. And what makes the matter even more challenging is that we have a limited workforce and a very limited funding to manage the sewer asset in the city.

And back in 2014, EPA and the city, together with other Satellite City and EBMUD, we agreed on a term called the Consent Decree. And the Consent Decree mandate that's starting from 2014 to 2035 to improve the sewer system annually to rehabilitate 30 miles of pipelines and the maintenance holes, and also inspect and assess the sewer collection system through mostly CCTV, and also need to perform the root intrusion control over 50 miles per year using the chemical treatment. And for the sewer laterals, the city needs to manage the sewer lateral connections.

So currently, the city, most of the management practice is based on the 2014 EPA Consent Decree. And we developed and built the digital infrastructure since 2016. And recently, we moved to ArcGIS Online and also developed quite a few apps to use the ArcGIS to manage the sewer system. And the city used Granite XP. And also, we are in the pilot with IT Pipe to manage our CCTV.

And we use the CityWorks platform to document and record the service request and work orders this applies. To all the city infrastructure management, and particularly for the sewer collection system. The city started in 2016, become a user of the Info Asset Planner. And now, we are in the way of transitioning to Info360 Asset. And that is our focus today. And currently, the city is conducting a city-wide master plan, and it's a risk-based. And the master plan with a focus on the operation and maintenance plan and also the capital improvement program.

So the focus here today is to talk about the application of the Sewer Info Asset Planner. We use that to delineate the risk in the city. And the table here is to depict the likelihood of the failure. And that, I think this one, the Martha is going to present in more details. Here is the framework that we come up with the factors, and come up with the criteria, and then score them in 1 to 5, and then also present the weighting factor for each factor that we have here.

And then eventually, we assign each of the collection system elements a risk of the LOF. And we do the same thing for the COF, the consequence of failure. And we come up with the same criteria and assign the same score from 1 to 5, and then the weighting factor to come up with a comprehensive of the COF. And to combine this together, we delineated the risk dashboard.

So this is a screen capture of the sewer system risk dashboard that currently, the cities use. As you can see, we have the LOF, COF, and also the combined risk. And also presented at any location that we have here, we have the risk classification. And on the top it, gives us at a glance of the total pipe in the view, and also presented in each risk category.

Also, we apply the Info Asset Planner in our root intrusion management. So we use the model building to select a candidate up to 50 miles of the sewer collection system each year. And then we have the contractor to verify those pipes' condition and come back to us. So in that way, we can compare the risk prediction versus what we have in the field.

And once they are confirmed, and then we apply the chemical foams to weathering their route in the pipelines. And this is a really important preemptive action because the root, they greatly reduce the capacity of the pipe, and of course, a lot of our SSOs, and become a public health hazard to the public. And we monitor the root conditions in two years. And if needed, and then we'll reapply the treatment in the city.

So I'm going to hand this to Martha to talk about the two applications that we had using the Info Asset Planner and also the transitioning of the Info360 Asset. So Martha?

MARTHA NUNEZ: So Thank you so much, Wen, for providing an overview of city of Oakland's challenges and setting the stage to the rest of this presentation. As Wen specified, the city uses Info Asset Planner to currently analyze the risk as well as developing a response plan for all of the assets and their systems.

They recently decided to make the move to our Info360 Asset cloud solution, which essentially has all the same capabilities of the Info Asset Planner desktop solution. However, there are some benefits the city of Oakland saw for our cloud solutions, such as improved information sharing with other stakeholders at the organization, as well as data security based on an unfortunate incident that the city had recently.

They had a ransomware attack. And most of the information at the city was compromised, except for all of the information that was on the cloud at the time. So they made the executive decision to move all their software and solutions to the cloud. The trend towards automation is also a big reason for the move, and I'll talk a little bit more about that later on in this presentation.

So in this second part of the presentation, I want to talk about Info360 Asset and provide a product overview, as well as discuss how we implemented the product on city of Oakland's sewer network to address all of the challenges that Wen discussed earlier in this presentation. So let's start by talking about what is Info360 Asset? It is a cloud-based platform that was developed by our Autodesk team for water and sewer utilities to help them optimize their asset management challenges.

So it's essentially a central database where different sources of data at utilities is stored and analyzed, so information such as GIS, asset condition, and asset inventory data that utilities commonly have, CCTV inspection data, so sewer main surveys, as well as CMMS information, such as the one that city of Oakland has-- CityWorks-- that source work order information service requests, historical incidents, and so on, and hydraulic modeling information.

So all of that data is stored on the cloud on AWS servers. And utilities can simply access it by going to asset.info360.com and utilize all the information to make the best and most informed decisions at the organization.

So what does Info360 Asset do? It has pipeline condition assessment capabilities and risk analysis capabilities. So we have a whole CCTV management functionality where utilities can upload and store all of that historical CCTV information and then use it as one of the likelihood of failure parameters for the risk analysis in addition to other external information, again, from CMMS, GIS, and so on.

And once that risk analysis is developed, users can then utilize all that information to develop a response plan with the use of our decision tree tool. And then once the model results are available, users can share all of that information to their teams by exporting all the information via ArcGIS Online with our Info360 Asset integration to ArcGIS Online as well as exporting it as CSV reports. Or simply by accessing the platform, users can view all that information from there.

So again, why did we move to the cloud? We wanted to address all of different data management challenges that utilities face with our Info Asset Planner desktop solution. So a really big one is limited accessibility. As I mentioned earlier, it was one of city of Oakland's reasons to moving to the cloud.

Generally, we see that with a lot of sewer and water utilities, somebody in the organization develops the model. That model is stored with just one person at the organization with limited accessibility and visibility. Sometimes that person leaves the company, and it is challenging for the utility to make sure that model is up-to-date with the latest data and software version as well.

Lack of resources in general is fairly common, especially in small to medium-sized utilities-- so things such as skilled workforce, like IT specialists, as well as unlimited storage, and slow CPUs. So we hope to address all of those challenges by moving to the cloud.

And lastly, we wanted to follow industry trends. So a lot of systems that are being utilized by utilities are either on the cloud or moving to the cloud. So we wanted to make sure that we enable those integrations with other systems and enable automation as well so that utilities can make the most efficient use of their data.

So I'm going to discuss the Info Asset Planner desktop to Info360 Asset project and how we moved city of Oakland's data into Info360 Asset with four steps. So the first two steps were essentially importing data from the Info Asset Planner model into Info360 Assets-- so GIS data, external table information, and CCTV data. So we pre-process all the CCTV in the Info Asset Planner model to easily bring it into Info360 Asset.

And we also migrated the risk analysis, so we essentially duplicated all the likelihood of failure and consequence of failure analysis as well as the rehabilitation analysis. In the next few slides, I'm going to show how we conducted all those four steps as well as show it in how it looks like in the product.

So I'm going to start out by talking about the GIS and table data import process. This is the first process that we conducted as well as the first process that any user that wants to use Info360 Asset will start with. So we started out by bringing in GIS data. First, we brought in network assets. So sewer pipes and manholes, these are essentially the assets that were going to be managed and analyzed in Info360 Asset by city of Oakland.

But we also imported spatial layers. These are not being managed or analyzed, but they're being used as supporting layers for spatial analysis for the consequence or likelihood of failure analysis. For example, think about it as looking at the proximity of a pipe asset to a road, or a parcel, or a body of water. So we imported all of that information.

We pre-preprocessed all the layers to convert them from their feature class format to GeoJSON format in the WGS84 projection. And we also imported other external tables, again, that were used as supporting data for the analysis, such as root foaming type, hydraulic modeling results from the InfoSWMM model that city of Oakland had, maintenance observations, such as whether the pipe had any grease, debris, or sand during maintenance operations, as well as infiltration and inflow data.

So let's take a look at what that looks like in Info360 Asset. Here, we have the city of Oakland network, as you can see, north from the San Francisco Bay. All the GIS information was imported. And if we zoom in closer, we can view information for a specific asset. And in the table of contents, we can view all the GIS information that we imported.

We can look at an information for a specific asset, such as the asset ID, upstream and downstream node ID, as well as installation dates, any information such as the width of the asset, as well as external data that was joined from external tables. So again, modeling results, maintenance observations, if there were any historical sanitary sewer overflows, and all sorts of different pieces of data that we were going to use as part of the risk analysis and decision tree.

Next, we imported CCTV inspection data. So we did some pre-processing to develop the database that Info360 Asset could consume. But want to give a general overview about CCTV inspection management, since it's such a core piece of functionality that Info360 Asset has. So CCTV inspections are the most widely-utilized condition assessment inspection for sewer pipes, for sewer utilities.

It is simply a video survey that goes from the upstream manhole of the pipe to the downstream manhole along the length of the pipe, recording all the defect information and condition information along it. This defect information is coded and scored based on the a standard developed by the NASCO organization. It is the Pipeline Condition Assessment Program, so PACP.

With this standard, NASCO specified that scores will be scored-- or defects will be scored from 1 to 5, 5 being the most severe. So think about a level 5 defect, something such as a break, a collapse, or a deformation. So all this defect coding and scoring is stored in an access database that we developed and brought into Info360 Asset from the Info Asset Planner model.

This is what it looks like in the product. We chose to bring in new PACP data and simply selected that access database that we pre-processed from the Info Asset Planner model. About a little over 17,000 inspections were imported from the Info Asset Planner model. And once imported, we approved those inspections. Upon approval, all the defects and pipe scores were generated.

So in this example, we're looking at grade 5 defects. Again, grade 5 are the most severe. We have a few broken soil visible defects along this pipe. We got a couple, and then we also have a break. So this pipe is in quite severe condition.

We can view the pipe with the inspection associated with that. And all the defects along the pipe are geocoded based on the distance where those defects were coded. And at the top right, we have the scores that were developed, again, based on that NASCO standard that can be used as part of the risk model moving forward.

So now, let's discuss the risk analysis. Now that we imported GIS information, CCTV, and external data, we can utilize all that information to develop a risk analysis to prioritize the pipes. So in Info360 Asset, we have the concept of components and categories. Components are simply the individual consequence of failure and likelihood of failure analysis. They can be scored from 0 to 10.

An example can be something such as is the pipe in close proximity to a creek? If it is, we're going to give it a value, again, from zero to 10, 10 being the most severe. So the closer the pipe to the creek is going to get a value of 10. And then the categories combine multiple individual consequence of failure and likelihood of failure analysis in the components.

And then it has a weight of the total consequence of failure and likelihood of failure score. So going back to that same example, the category will be proximity to waterways. And within that category, the components proximity to creeks, streams, and lakes will be added and scored, again, from zero to 10.

Next, once the components and categories are created, we can specify how we want to calculate the risk, either added or multiplied. And we can also choose a weight for the total consequence of failure and likelihood of failure analysis, as well as set the risk grade from negligible to low, medium, high, and extreme based on the total risk score of the pipes.

So let's see what that looks like in Info360 Asset. Here, we have our likelihood of failure setup page where we created all the categories and components. In this example, we're going to create a component for the installation year of the pipe. So we're going to choose the different ranges of installation years based on city of Oakland's specifications in the Info Asset Planner model. The older the pipe, the higher the score is going to be.

We created those components the same way. And here, we can simply view a summary of all the categories and components for likelihood of failure. As well as consequence of failure, we have proximity to water, waste category, public exposure, social equity category, emergency response, and construction impact, spill volume, and diameter. Again, all of this comes from the Info Asset Planner model city of Oakland developed.

We chose to multiply the LOF and COF to get the total risk score. And then we chose the different risk grades to set where the pipes were going to fall. And then we run the analysis and viewed all those results in the report table as well as the end results. For example, for this pipe that is in close proximity to a creek and a railroad, let's take a look at how that risk score was calculated.

At the top, we can see that this pipe has a risk of extreme. And then we can view how the individual components were scored. 10 out of 10 is the most severe, so we have a few of the most highest scoring components. It looks like this asset has some capacity issues. It has quite high PACP structural scores. It looks like some grease has been observed for this pipe. And this pipe looks like it's in close proximity to a creek and also a railroad, giving this pipe a risk of extreme.

Next, I'm going to show how city of Oakland mitigates risk with the use of the rehab analysis tool, and how that rehab tree was migrated from the Info Asset Planner model. So we talk about rehab trees. But in this specific case for city of Oakland, it's more of an operations and maintenance decision tree.

So the idea is that the city wanted to prioritize which assets needed to get root foaming based on the different information associated about the assets. So a decision tree is simply a combination of queries with a true and false output. Sum of the queries that we use for city of Oakland, the decision tree was risk results, CCTV findings, historical pipe cleans, rehabilitations, and historical SSOs.

And each pipe in the system is going to go through every single one of these queries to assess whether the query is true or false for that asset and end up in a final action. So the actions that we specified are either the pipe has a likelihood of having roots within it or we should conduct root foaming to this pipe in the near proximity because it's very likely that this pipe has an immediate need for that.

So here, we can see what that looks like in Info360 Asset. We're looking at whether the pipe has a high risk. And this is how the query gets created is simply a dropdown where we can pick and choose the fields that we want to use for the analysis. If the pipe does have a high risk, then we are looking at whether the pipe is an active gravity main. If it is, then does the pipe have a heavy cleaning or is it scheduled for frequent cleaning?

If not, then can we see if the pipe has been rehabbed in the past 10 years? If it hasn't, is it planned to be rehabbed in the near future? And if it hasn't, so if false, can we see if the pipe has been refoamed from within the last couple of years? If it hasn't, then this pipe probably has a high likelihood of roots. And if it has, then let's see if any sanitary sewer overflows have been conducted for this pipe. And if it has, let's make sure that we immediately conduct root foaming for this pipe.

We run the model. And again, we viewed all the results for the decision tree. And similarly to the risk, we can look at a specific asset and see how the decision tree path took the pipe to that final action, so the final action being root foam and alert. And under the decision path, we can see all the queries and the result.

So this pipe looks like it does have a high risk. It is an active gravity main. And it looks like it hasn't been scheduled for frequent cleaning or rehab in the past 10 years. But it does look like this pipe has had a root-related SSO recently. So let's make sure that we conduct root foaming immediately for this pipe.

So now, I'm going to talk about next steps for the city of Oakland project as well as for our Info360 Asset solution. So the next steps with city of Oakland, we are going to be working with the city to make sure that all of their risk and decision tree results are integrated to their ArcGIS online dashboard that Wen talked about earlier in this presentation.

So Info360 Asset integrates with ArcGIS Online. The city is going to be able to log into Info360 Asset directly, and then from there, set the integration to their ArcGIS Online platform that their consultant currently hosts. So we're going to be working with their consultant, making sure that all the information that they need is there, and assist them with this ArcGIS Online integration so that they can utilize that dashboard moving forward and help them make all the decisions at the organization.

And then a few exciting future roadmap items, we are going to be developing AI-based workflows for CCTV defect detection as well as deterioration modeling tool. So users will be able to use historical information, put it into a statistical model, and help them predict how assets are going to fail in the future, as well as API integrations with external systems, as I mentioned earlier in this presentation, and much more. We're hoping that city of Oakland is going to benefit from most of these future roadmap items.

And then if anyone wants to look at what plans we have for the future, you can simply Google Info360 Asset Future Roadmap and view all the exciting stuff that we have planned in the near term. So I'm going to hand it off to Wen to provide some conclusions for city of Oakland, and then how they're going to move forward with their asset management strategy.

WEN CHEN: Thank you, Martha, for your presentation of the Info360 Asset details. So combining city of Oakland experience and working with Martha in the past six months on the Info360, and I would like to conclude this presentation. And for the city, we are going to implement the master planning at the sewershed level.

So maybe I can explain a little bit about the sewer shed is that we are not going to implement the risk mitigation at the pipe level, but more like a combined community, or in the large scale of the sub-basin. In that way, this would be more efficient and effective. And also, we are going to use the Info360 Asset to automate the data input from various sources, taking advantage of the future roadmap.

And right now, the system risk is kind of like a static based on a given set of the inspection evaluation. And also, the city's latest development and other factors are not counted towards the risk calculation. So we hope to automation of the system risk in the future. And for the ArcGIS Online, and we keep developing the different apps. And hopefully, this would seamlessly convey the Info360 results into our ArcGIS Online library. And then in that way, we can come up with a more integrated solution.

And from the Autodesk and the Info360 work team, and I really appreciate working with Martha, and for prioritizing the aging infrastructure to come up with the effective solution. And also, the software itself present the capability for planning for the future. And moving to the cloud, this obviously would bring more data security to the city. And also, we are capable of sharing the data across the team, as well as sharing the data with the outside clients, and also our key stakeholders. And that concludes our presentation today. And both, thank you

MARTHA NUNEZ: Thank you.