Published June 2007

Branching Out

By Ted J. Rulseh (page 62)

Survey software from flexidata lets municipal managers assess the condition of laterals and store the information in central databases.

Video inspection of mainline sewers is the rule for municipalities. Now, as more information comes to light about inflow and infiltration (I/I) from laterals, communities need to inspect those pipes as well.

Mainline cameras with lateral-launch capability, increasingly prevalent, eliminate the extra step of inspecting laterals from cleanouts. Pipe survey software is following suit, enabling the capture of data on lateral condition along with mainline surveys, using the same basic reporting tools and standard defect codes.

flexidata Lateral Survey software from PipeLogix of Palm Desert, Calif., is a tool that supports lateral investigations made directly from the mainline or from cleanouts. Joan Stone, president of PipeLogix, presented the software’s range of capabilities using a demonstration module by way of an online meeting service.

Walk-around

flexidata pipe survey reporting software (current version 6.2.2) has been on the market for nine years and is available in Full Reporting and Lite Reporting versions. Lateral Survey works with either version. The software operates with Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP and will run on virtually any computer capable of digital video (system requirements include Pentium microprocessor, one gigabyte of RAM, and a 40- to 60-gigabyte hard drive).

Lateral Survey is integrated with the flexidata reporting software, which in turn integrates with geographical information systems (GIS) and with Hansen infrastructure management software. The software stores pipe surveys within projects, which is the way most municipalities organize their work.

The software receives digital or analog feed and converts them to MPEG format (the system supports MPEG 1, MPEG 2 or Windows Media Format (WMF). Users can select PACP or WRc standard defect codes or flexidata codes. The system also has a New Zealand mode.

Operation

Stone began the demonstration with a browser screen listing survey databases, each composed of projects. She opened a database containing two projects, opened a project, and entered mandatory information, indicated by red field labels and including defect mode, client, and project title.

With the project open, the user can select a mainline survey, lateral survey, manhole survey, or inclinometer survey. Stone selected to view mainline surveys and chose a specific survey from a list of completed surveys to illustrate the process for inspecting a lateral from the main.

The mainline survey screen showed a list of observations down the left side. These included the locations of laterals (designated by the PACP code TFA). Stone selected a lateral location, then clicked an LS icon in the toolbar atop the screen, which gave the option to Edit a survey or create a New survey (Figure 1).

The Edit option brought up information from a previous survey of the lateral. The form included the entrance point, whether the survey was conducted upstream or downstream, pipe diameter, material, location in feet from the upstream or downstream manhole and surface conditions — similar to the data entered for a mainline survey.

A click on a video camera icon revealed the video from the prior survey. Again a list of defects displayed in the window, and a mouse-click took Stone directly to video images of one of them. From the recorded video, Stone acquired a still picture and saved it into the survey file.

Notes can be typed into the file; in addition, the operator can select standardized statements that let supervisors know what work needs to be done on the pipe (example: “Heavy debris; pipe needs to be flushed”).

Stone also demonstrated a drawing­ program that enables inspectors to sketch out the surface conditions in the area of the lateral, noting access problems or other issues of potential concern to a repair or cleaning crew.

Returning to the original mainline survey, Stone selected another lateral that had not been surveyed previously. A lateral survey form opened with basic information from the mainline pipe already in place (address, mainline identification, lateral location on the mainline, etc.). Stone filled in the mandatory fields.

With a few clicks she set the video camera at the starting point, noted the water level in the pipe, and began the video survey. Observations were easily entered by PACP code; the system automatically brought up the PACP-required fields for each observation — for example, the o’clock positions for a circumferential crack (Figure 2).

For lateral inspections from the main, the software can accommodate the footage counter feeds from both the mainline and lateral launch cameras. Once a lateral survey is completed, a built-in burn function enables the user to create a CD or DVD to share the survey information with a free player program, flexiplayer. The data will include the mainline survey and all the lateral surveys, along with all video, pictures and reports.

When the recipient loads the CD, the mainline survey appears in a graphical representation as a tree diagram showing the laterals branching off from the main (Figure 3). Laterals that have been surveyed are marked with plus signs. Selection of such a lateral allows access to all the data from the lateral survey.

Stone demonstrated a GIS module available with flexidata software that lets users import from Shape files to create maps. The user has the option to import a map of the entire city or a map of the immediate area to be inspected. Stone opened a new lateral survey form and clicked a map button. A basic map appeared showing segments of pipe. A click on a lateral brought up a display of information contained in the Shape file; another click inserted the information into a lateral survey form (Figure 4).

The map display highlights pipes already inspected so that the camera van operator can easily track progress on the inspection project.

The GIS module also can be used to display maps in the form of aerial photographs, in which the operator can zoom in or out.

The system also includes lateral Detail forms that contain detail solely on the lateral asset — street names, crossing streets, GPS coordinates, pipe size and length, pipe material, and other data. This feature lets the community create a basic infrastructure management database (Figure 5).

Stone also demonstrated how the flexidata software integrates with the widely used Hansen infrastructure management applications. Work orders for group projects that include lateral inspections can be created and exported into the flexidata pipe survey system. Completed surveys with updated information then can be exported out of flexidata back into Hansen (Figure 6).

Observer comments

Municipalities increasingly find they must reach beyond mainlines — their traditional responsibility — for I/I control. Laterals contribute substantial I/I and as such must also be inspected — at least to the point of the private property line and in some cases (depending ­on the nature of the problems) for the full length of the lateral.

The Lateral Survey software from flexidata provides a convenient way to collect information on laterals and store it as part of the mainline survey. The software is a useful adjunct especially for communities that inspect laterals from the main. It is versatile enough, however, to enable reporting on lateral inspections from cleanouts, using push cameras, independent of the mainline survey.

The software appears highly intuitive. The graphical representation (tree diagram) of the mainline in the CD/DVD format makes it easier for the recipient to locate laterals that need attention.

Integration not only with the mainline survey software but with GIS and infrastructure management software makes this program a useful part of a community’s overall collection system and asset management initiative.

Man­ufacturer comments

Stone describes the basic lateral survey software as easy for operators to learn. “To use the basic program, it is not difficult to create a database, create a project and do survey work,” she says. “To customize the program is a little more involved, but it doesn’t take people long.

“Usually we can walk someone through setting up and getting operational within 45 minutes to an hour. It doesn’t matter if they’re doing lateral or mainline surveys. The basic functions are all the same.”

Training on the program varies with the user. Communities that purchase the PipeLogix training package receive two days of in-the-field instruction. A support program comes with the software purchase and includes training through web-based demonstrations. About 40 percent of users purchase the training program.

Additional training is required for communities that want to use the GIS and Hansen interface functions.

COLE Publishing invites manufacturers of innovative equipment to provide demon-strations of their technologies for reporting in this monthly feature of Municipal Sewer & Water. To arrange a demonstration, e-mail editor@mswmag.com or call 800/257-7222.