THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
TECHNICAL FEATURES
surveys, freeing up the equivalent of nearly three weeks of inspectors’ time. Significant time and resource savings like this enable businesses to act on the data quickly and undertake improvements with the greatest value.
The automation provided by RATS gives clients a better oversight of their networks and enables them to make proactive data-driven decisions, support future investment planning, and prioritise works appropriately.
Customised applications
While originally designed to align with the UK Manual of Sewer Condition Classification, one of the key strengths of RATS is its capacity for adaptation and customisation to suit exact client specifications. As standard, each application of RATS is configured to the client’s coding scheme, but beyond that, it can be tailored to suit other client needs, including those outside the UK.
Atkins recently worked with a client in the US, where RATS was adapted to work alongside the North American Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP). It has significant differences in defining the location of defects, as well as additional codes denoting the nature of the defect, and the requirement to identify cross-bores. Notably, PACP also uses imperial measurements, so a conversion to metric units was built into RATS in order to streamline the process.
In addition to customisation of RATS, Atkins offers a range of add-ons to suit client requirements. As part of our current review of 350km of CCTV survey data for Thames Water, we are now producing Sewer Rehabilitation Briefs (SRBs) which are produced if an asset meets either of the client’s key drivers: if it is either not structurally sound (or is likely to fail soon) or if the defect identified is likely to be causing flow restrictions. Using a VBA script, the main structure of the SRB document is created automatically, with key asset information and RATS recommendations applied. An Atkins engineer assesses the feasibility of the works, taking in various considerations specific to that particular site. The SRB is then sent directly to the client for approval, and on to contractors to price up and undertake the works agreed.
Thames Water’s Asset Performance Insight Manager, Chris Hinton, illustrated how valuable RATS has been:
“At Thames Water we’re always looking for innovative ideas. Using Atkins’ RATS digital tool and engineering expertise has enabled us to efficiently scale up our planned CCTV survey programme to identify and prioritise sewer rehabilitation, while maintaining high confidence in the proposed rehab solutions.”
An automated future
Our focus now is to investigate the possibility of integrating RATS with emerging AI technologies that are being used for defect recognition and coding. This would significantly remove subjective decision-making and expedite routine inspections and solution planning.
We’re also exploring how we can encompass more client considerations into RATS calculations, particularly the integration of carbon assessment and accounting. This will
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support data-informed decision making across every aspect of proposed improvement schemes, so that the best possible solution can be identified – for customers and the environment.
RATS is driving an exciting, automated future for sewer inspection and rehabilitation, and paving the way for collaborations to maximise the potential of new technologies. Continuous enhancements and improvements will enable this innovative tool to be scaled-up and streamlined, saving clients even more time and resource, while remaining fundamentally flexible in order to meet the specific needs of different sectors throughout the world.
Leakage technology is advancing
Any water loss through leaking pipes is unacceptable in the eyes of the public, and on the launch of a deep-dive leakage report from Ovarro, technology leader for leakage solutions, Barbara Hathaway, explains how technologies continue to advance.
Barbara Hathaway
Across most parts of the world, water utilities have been tackling chronic water losses over recent decades, but the world population is increasing and with this, demand for water, all while we are experiencing more severe droughts. Ideally, in the future, water utilities and municipalities should be aiming for near zero leakage from water networks.
As I explain in Ovarro’s new deep dive report the Future of Leakage, if we are to achieve such an ambitious goal, water utilities need to continue to invest in innovation, support new ideas and share findings. Of course, when it comes to leakage reduction, the sector has not always got it right.
Around 70 years ago, it was thought one solution was to replace corroding metal water mains with new plastic pipes, which would never leak. We now know this is not the case. Plastic pipes can leak and the noise the escaping water generates is quieter, lower frequency and harder to detect than that from a metal pipe.
This created a new challenge, but in response, technology adapted to focus on internal pipe sensors to listen for noise. One example is Ovarro’s Enigma lift-and-shift logger, which was designed 18 years ago, but remains a go-to device for leakage technicians, providing reliable overnight correlation results to pinpoint precise leak locations.
Technology continues to advance. In 2022, LeakNavigator October 2023 | 55
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