2014/May · AWARE-P Suite Documentation

Quick start guide

Failure analysis

2

Failure analysis

Failure Analysis predicts future pipe or

sewer failure rates for a given network,

e.g. in the context of prioritizing pipes

for intervention, or estimating risk or

cost metrics.

It offers a choice of two statistical

models, Poisson and LEYP, to predict

the probability of failure of individual

elements or groups of elements.

Input files required:

• a failures data file, containing a record

of pipe/sewer failure events;

• a pipe data file, with the complete

inventory of pipes/sewers.

Where to start?

To start a Failure analysis, click on an

existing file from the list, or hit the

Create New button (top right).

A word on file types

Failure Analysis uses its own file type to

store the analysis: the Failure analysis

file.

Additionally, it retrieves failure records

from another file type, the Failure

Analysis failure data file; and pipe/

sewer register data from a third file type,

the Failure Analysis pipe data file.

Dependencies

Each Failure Analysis file has a formal

dependency on both data files

mentioned above.

Baseform Core keeps track of file

dependencies even when individual

files are renamed or moved.

3

Start a new Failure analysis

After typing a name for your new Failure

Analysis file and pressing the Create

button, the program opens in the Main

Window.

The first step in a new analysis is to add

the two input files: Pipe data and Failure

data.

Begin by clicking on the Pipe data tab,

at the top of the window.

4

Add a Pipe Data file

In order to add pipe data, you can create a

new Pipe Data file, or link with an existing

one.

To create a new Pipe Data file, simply type

in a file name, then hit Add New. This leads

to the Pipe Data editor.

To link with an existing Pipe Data file,

select the desired folder, select a file from

the list, and hit the Link button.

In the example above, there is one file called

“Pipes database”. Linking to it takes us to

the Pipe Data editor.

5

The Pipe Data file editor

The Pipe Data file editor shows the data

contained in the file selected (in case it is a

new file, there will be no data).

You can either:

• edit data by clicking directly on any row

(then confirming/canceling the edit or

deleting the row, to the right);

• add new rows of data by clicking the Add

Row button; or

• download the table to an MS®Excel®

spreadsheet format on your computer –

then edit or add data by copying from an

appropriate source, before uploading

again.

6

Now add a Failure Data file

Just like when adding a Pipe Data file, you

can create a new Failure Data file, or link

with an existing one.

In this example, we will link with the existing

Failure Data file shown (“Failures

database”).

The process is exactly similar, and leads to a

Failure Data editor with the same features

and capabilities, including direct editing

and MS®Excel® spreadsheet download and

upload for copying or editing large amounts

of data.

7

Running a Poisson analysis

Now go back to the Summary tab, select

Poisson in the Simulation area on the

left, and hit the Run Simulation button.

A table with descriptive statistics is

shown in the main area. These are not

model results and simply describe the

pipe and failure data selected.

The bottom table shows Poisson model

aggregated results: probability of failure

(per year, per km), by pipe material.

Detailed, pipe-by-pipe results can be

accessed by clicking on the Results by

pipe tab at the top.

8

Now a LEYP analysis

LEYP, a more sophisticated and

demanding model, is also available.

Select LEYP in the Simulation area on

the left, type a target year for the

prediction (2015 in the example), and hit

the Run Simulation button.

The bottom table now shows the LEYP

model aggregated results, by pipe

material: predicted failure rates, and

LEYP model parameters with

information on model fit (reliability).

A simulation log can be viewed in the

Simulation area, with model progress

and statistics, including run times.

As with Poisson, pipe-by-pipe results

can be accessed by clicking on the

Results by pipe tab at the top.

9

Results by pipe

Clicking on the Results by pipe tab at the

top gives access to a full list of pipes and

their estimated probability of failure (probl./

year) and failure rate (fails./year).

The list can be sorted by any of the columns,

using the selector on the right.

Results may be downloaded to an

MS®Excel® spreadsheet format.

10

Linking a network model

If a network simulation model

(Epanet .inp) is available for the network

under analysis, it is possible to link the

failure analysis to it.

Go the Network info area on the left,

click on the Select Network button,

navigate to the desired folder, and

choose a .inp file.

This makes available the failure analysis

results in the Network Model tool, when

invoking the .inp file, which enables full

2D and 3D mapping visualization,

alongside all hydraulic analysis results.

The pipe-by-pipe results are also

graphically displayed on the map shown

in the Network info area on the left.

11

Managing your file

Hitting the Manage File button in the

File Info area of any tool brings up the

File Info Viewer of the Data Manager.

Here, a file may be renamed, moved,

copied, duplicated or downloaded in a

backup format.

If you wish to save your current analysis

file with a different name (‘Save As’), use

the Duplicate As option.

12

2014/May · AWARE-P Suite Documentation

For more details and technical background on

this or any other tool of the AWARE-P Suite,

please refer to baseform.org