Advanced criticality assessment method for sewer pipeline assets.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Infrastructure Asset Management
• Risk Assessment

Background:

• Effective water and wastewater infrastructure management relies on risk assessment for prioritizing asset management decisions.
• High-risk assets are characterized by a high probability and high consequences of failure.
• Current methods for estimating failure probability often rely on calendar age, which overlooks operational and environmental influences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel approach using "real age" for more accurate estimation of infrastructure asset failure probability.
• To address the limitations of using solely calendar age in predicting asset deterioration.

Main Methods:

• The study proposes the concept of "real age," adjusting an asset's age based on its specific operational and environmental conditions.
• This contrasts with the traditional method that uses calendar age as the primary predictor of asset failure.

Main Results:

• Real age can be higher or lower than calendar age, reflecting diverse deterioration patterns.
• The "real age" methodology offers a more precise estimation of an asset's probability of failure compared to calendar age alone.

Conclusions:

• Implementing the "real age" concept enhances the accuracy of probability of failure estimations in asset management.
• This approach provides a more robust foundation for optimizing decisions regarding water and wastewater infrastructure maintenance and replacement.