Ovality measurements can identify potential risks to a pipe’s integrity, making them a vital part of sewer inspection and maintenance. With a laser profiler and WinCan on hand, wastewater teams can easily gather information about a pipe’s diameter as part of a routine inspection. Inspection teams simply need to gather media, calibrate the Laser Scan module in WinCan and record the data.

Sewer inspection workflows vary from one municipality to the next. They are often built around the structure of the inspection team, but equipment, budget and the size of a sewer system all play an important role in determining what workflow makes the most sense for a given community. With so many different inspection, asset management and mapping solutions on the market today, there is no end to the possibilities. Take a look at the workflows below to get an idea of how WinCan workflows compare to more traditional, manual workflows.

Data takes on new meaning when it’s laid out on a map. Heat maps, iconography and geographical features all help build a clearer picture. The human brain naturally processes images differently than it does letters and numbers, allowing us to gain a unique understanding of data sets and how they interact with each other. In the world of wastewater management, mapping data can make it easier to understand where a sewer system is located, as well as potential risks to the community and infrastructure. 

Like most of America, the village of Addison, IL sits on aging sewer infrastructure. But investment in new tools and technology have helped Addison sustain a healthy system in the face of population growth.

The Chicago suburb’s sewer division has made significant changes to its workflow over the past five years to adapt for new development, but Addison isn’t quite done growing. With the addition of two new subdivisions, the village anticipates added wear and tear on aging sewer infrastructure, and the sewer division is outfitting itself with the future in mind.

As technology continues to shoulder more and more of our inspection workloads, it’s easy to forget that having enough qualified people to operate equipment, code and convert data, manage deliverables and analyze sewer infrastructure is just as important as having the software and equipment itself. But even with the right team, workloads can spike when you least expect it, causing your team to take on more work and stress, with the ensuing risk of delays and mistakes. AI-enabled data services allow your team to leverage the power and efficiency of AI, hands-on verification from data professionals, and fully integrated cloud hosting without breaking the bank or your team’s backs.

WinCan has always evolved to meet the needs of the wastewater industry. Now, in a continued commitment to industry-leading sewer inspection solutions, WinCan is proud to introduce Sewermatics, a new collection of AI-powered services that help you get more out of your inspection data.

In 2018, WinCan partnered with Lucity to bring even more flexibility to the WinCan platform and enhance the asset management capabilities of wastewater professionals around the world. Lucity had been an industry leader in wastewater asset management for nearly 30 years when they partnered with WinCan. Just a year later, they were acquired by CentralSquare, a move that would build on that value with even more robust offerings.

In spite of advances in new sewer pipe material, the evolution of sewer inspection was relatively slow throughout most of the 20th century. Before the advent of camera technology and sewer inspection software, lamp-holes were used to gaze down into sewer mains to ensure water was flowing. If there was no water flowing or if the water was pooling, then the maintenance crews knew there was a problem. These wastewater professionals conducted most of their inspections and maintenance by entering the sewers and looking down main lines with nothing but their eyes and a bit of auxiliary light, but we’ve come a long way since then.

At Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Wastewater Collections Supervisor Rich Schultz and GIS Coordinator Jen Gordon have been working together on a program that utilizes technology to maximize efficiencies while maintaining reliable wastewater services in East San Diego County.

Legacy data provides wastewater professionals the opportunity to review the history of defects for a given section, monitor rates of deterioration, and make more informed decisions on when and how to repair infrastructure. However, the condition of legacy data makes a significant difference in the value that it provides to municipalities. In particular, data security, accessibility and quality are all crucial to successfully managing wastewater infrastructure and sustaining data hygiene.