Heath is a Florida native currently living in Pensacola and graduated from the University of Florida in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. Heath has been working for HDR for the past 15 years, and currently serves as Florida’s Area Business Class Lead for Pipelines and Pump Stations. Heath specializes in the design of water and wastewater conveyance projects with a special interest in Pipeline management and condition assessment. All of his non-engineering time is spent with his wife and five children.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), there are more than a quarter million water main breaks annually in the U.S. that results in a loss of nearly 25% of our treated potable water supply. The number of breaks and subsequent water loss can be minimized by proactively assessing critical water supply pipelines. The key to maximizing the value of assessments of water pipelines is to be sure that the data collected will provide the information needed to make critical decisions regarding pipeline management and renewal. With new assessment and renewal technologies emerging nearly daily, many utility owners find it challenging to efficiently determine which assessment and renewal methods are the right ones for their specific pipeline.

While in the past, when methods for assessment, renewal and long-term management were limited, simple matrices were an adequate tool for making these types of decisions. However, with the ever-increasing number of emerging techniques, more advanced decision logics or business process tools can be used to filter through a large number of options and scenarios, given specific pipeline criteria, system operational limitations, and utility owner metrics. These business processes can support a consistent, uniform, and consultant/vendor bias free selection of assessment and renewal methods, while also driving cost efficiencies.

Determining which assessment method to use on a specific pipeline is key to a successful assessment. Different pipeline materials fail in different manners. As such, the decision regarding which method of assessment is most applicable should partially be driven by the failure mechanism of the pipe material. Similarly, renewal methods are also driven by a myriad of factors, including pipe material, geometry, diameter, etc. Each assessment and renewal method has limitations, and understanding these limitations is equally as critical when determining their applicability to a specific pipeline. All of these decision criteria must be considered in addition to system operational limitations when making a determination regarding assessment, renewal and management.

As part of a comprehensive linear asset management program, business processes that standardize the selection of assessment and renewal methods allow for program efficiencies, and ultimately cost savings. This paper will discuss the development and implementation of three business processes including: assessment method selection, renewal method selection and long-term pipeline management that will help to drive overall system reliability and minimize downtime.