Transmission & distribution (T&D) water mains are, to a certain extent, a forgotten asset class. They do not fail often in comparison to small diameter pipes, but when they do, they can impose significant impacts and costs. The cost of understanding asset-related risk can be considerable, as can the cost of risk mitigation, especially renewal.
PARMS T&D is designed to meet the ongoing decision support needs for this asset class via:
The structure of the software is similar to that of PARMS Retic, but additional analysis is required to develop supplementary lines of evidence with respect to the likelihood and consequence of failure.
These lines of evidence are developed via modelling undertaken outside of the software, with results then embedded into the decision support system for on-going use.
PARMS T&D incorporates the capacity to feedback information gained from condition assessments so that prioritisation models are recalibrated as new data becomes available.
PARMS Critical is a framework that evolved out of insights gained during a project WISER Analysis delivered for the Australian water sector on the development of business cases for renewal of critical civil assets.
The PARMS Critical framing is generic being applicable to all critical civil assets. PARMS T&D implements the framework for critical pressure pipes.
The framework itself can be conceptualised as a stepwise approach to decision support and business case development grounded in an on-going and iterative risk-based filtering of critical asset.
All critical assets are analysed together and thereby prioritised in terms of their criticality and various lines of evidence relating to the likelihood of asset failure. 'At risk' assets are then further analysed and business cases for renewal and risk management then developed.