PARMS Retic

PARMS Retic is an integrated suite of computer-based models developed in conjunction with the Australian water sector to help manage the renewals of water supply reticulation pipes.

The PARMS software allows management strategies to be analysed over the strategic planning horizon to understand long term budget needs, the level of renewal needed to meet strategic goals, and the implications of increasing or decreasing expenditure.

By virtue of its design philosophy and robust framing, PARMS underpins asset management aligned with ISO 55000.

The software is tailored for use by individual utilities through the development of bespoke deterioration curves based on analysis of the utility’s asset and failure data. Cost models and settings are also defined based on utility-specific data.

While consideration of failure consequences is more associated with critical (T&D) assets, PARMS Retic provides the facility to integrate a broad range of consequence and other risk factors to help in the prioritisation of capital spent. Consequences such as traffic disruption and customer impacts are also an integral part of the strategic simulation.

PARMS has been used by utilities across Australia to analyse their rehabilitation strategies and then cost-effectively target renewals. It is accepted by regulators as representing good practice and has been shown to provide significant financial and economic benefits in comparison to legacy approaches. For example, one study found that a utility could have achieved the same asset management outcomes at 60% of the cost by using PARMS, representing a saving of tens of millions of dollars over a five-year period.

The strategic modelling allows the impact of a range of management levers to be analysed:

Policy Focus	Detail
Changing renewal triggers	Changing the number of pipe level failures that trigger renewal Changing the number of shut-off block level interruptinos that trigger renewal Specifying a failure/interruption rate limit below which renewal is not undertaken Compound policies combining failure/interruption numbers with a rate Implementing benefit-cost analysis to determine if a pipe should be replaced
Making additional & preferential replacements	Target a specified replacement length of pipe when undertaking renewals Target an extra % of pipe when undertaking renewals Focus on materials for preferential renewal (e.g. replace AC when there is an oppertunity to do so)
Setting budget constraints Other network management options	Specifying zero renewal budget for a period Restricting renewal spend to a specified limit Specify different budget limits over different periods Inserting shut-off valves to reduce the number of customers impacted by pipe failures when pipes are above a specified length Manage pressure in zones whe pressure reducing valves

Data Exploration and Visualisation

Modelling of Cost (Totex) Streams

Impacts on Customer Service Levels (Customer-Interruptions/Customer)