Determination of intervention programs for multiple municipal infrastructure networks: considering network operator and service costs

ABSTRACT

In order to find the optimal intervention program for municipal infrastructure networks (e.g. road, gas or water distribution), a combined methodology is necessary to take into consideration the costs of interventions in terms of owner costs, but also potential losses of service before, during and after the execution of the interventions, and the costs due to the loss of service when interventions are being executed. It is also necessary to take into consideration: 1) intervention cost reductions are possible when interventions are executed on multiple networks simultaneously and 2) interventions on one network can increase the failure probability of another network. This paper presents a methodology to determine optimal intervention programs for multiple infrastructure networks simultaneously using a single mathematical representation, taking into consideration these issues. The service loss is modeled using a new generic model applicable to all networks. The methodology is discussed, and recommendations for future work are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Infrastructure
• level of service
• municipality
• intervention program

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Depending on the network, also called predictive or proactive.

2. Business Process Model and Notation.

3. An activity that modifies the infrastructure, which is usually executed to improve the ability of the network to provide an adequate level of service. Interventions are only executed by the network operator. For example, if the failure probability of a certain object exceeds a defined threshold, it will be replaced.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clemens Kielhauser

Clemens Kielhauser obtained his Diploma in Civil Engineering Sciences from the Vienna University of Technology in November 2011 with his Diploma thesis winning the Hans Roth Environmental Award 2012. During his studies, Clemens Kielhauser worked as an intern in the field of project management and controlling. He also has experience as a member of the technical staff in a landfill remediation project. From March 2012 he has been working as a research assistant at the Infrastructural Management Group (IMG) at the Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management of the ETH Zurich. Here, he is responsible for the lectures in Systems Engineering. In December 2012 he started his doctoral studies on the topic of interrelated infrastructure networks in urban areas at IMG, which he finished in spring of 2018. He now continues his research on this topic at the IMG group.

Bryan T. Adey

Bryan T. Adey is the professor of infrastructure management at the Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management (IBI) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland (ETHZ). Prof. Adey obtained his: Bachelor of Engineering from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada in 1995, Master of Science in Structural Engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada in 1997, and Doctorate in Technical Sciences in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2002. Following the completion of his doctorate, Prof. Adey co-founded the consultancy Infrastructure Management Consultants Ltd. (IMC) in Zürich, Switzerland, where he advised owners of large amounts of infrastructure as to how best make decisions as where and when to execute interventions. In 2010, Prof. Adey left IMC to join the ETHZ. Since joining the ETHZ, Prof. Adey has focused his research on establishing the foundation for the automation of infrastructure management, and teaching on developing infrastructure managers that are equipped to both professionally management infrastructure and to enable automation of parts of it in the organisations in which they will work. Both his research and teaching have required the definition and standardization of the infrastructure management process, from setting goals to determining optimal monitoring and intervention plans and evaluating the performance of infrastructure management organisations.