User Manual

V2.0.0408.02

O.D.

Developed by
Sammy L. Wong
Prof. E. N. Allouche
Table of Contents
Objectives 1
Background and Operating Rules 1
Set-up the program 3
The Interface 4
Getting Started 9
Actions And Options 10
Winning the game 16
Printing the final report 18
Know more about SimSEWER 19
Index 21
Objectives

The SimSEWER Version 2.0 is a simulation game that assists the player in becoming familiar
with concepts of buried infrastructure management as well as various techniques of sewer
rehabilitation. The player will be asked to manage the network so it will remain within an
acceptable condition for a designated time period using pre-determined levels of financial
resources.

Background and Operating Rules

You are a junior municipal engineer who has just been hired by the City Drainage Department.
One of the sewers under your responsibility is a 36 year old, reinforced concrete pipe (RCP)
gravity-driven trunk sewer connecting the South Point pumping station to the PinkRoad
wastewater pollution plant. It mainly transports industrial and residential sanitary waste. The
average daily flow is 60 million liters (700L/sec). The sewer is 4.6 km long and consists of 64
segments of varying lengths and diameters. The current condition is based on a recent survey
conducted by a consulting company that assigned each segment a rating between 4 and 1 using
the following scale:

4 = Excellent
3 = Good
2 = Borderline
1 = Poor
You know from the consultant’s report that the condition of the sewer deteriorated by a value
equal to 0.333 each year (i.e., it takes nine years to move from Rating 4 to Rating 1). Your
ultimate goal is to maximize the ‘health’ of the trunk sewer represented by its overall score. The
score is given by the following equation:

n
Score   (Section Length) * (Section Rating)
1

Where ‘n’ is the total number of sections in the network. Every year you are given a fixed budget,
from which you must pay maintenance costs. The balance can be used for capital investments
(either replacement, manhole-to-manhole rehabilitation, or spot repair). Alternatively, you can
invest the balance in the bank and earn interest. You are NOT to borrow money. Maintenance
costs are a function of the condition of the particular pipe segment:

1
 Rating Default Maintenance Costs
per Linear Meter
4 10
3 30
2 50
1 75

These costs will vary with inflation rate.

If a pipe segment reached Rating 1, it should have been replaced with a new pipe before any
other capital investment could take place. As far as capital investments, you can choose one of
the following three options:

Option Description Default

Cost ($ per m)
Replacement with a new pipe. Segment is assigned
Replacement $1,300
Rating = 4
MH to MH rehabilitation using CIPP. Can be used
CIPP only if segment has a rating of 2 or 3. Segment is $1,100
assigned Rating = 4
Repair of major cracks using an injection technique.
Can be used only if segment has a rating of 2 or 3.
Spot-Repair $400
Segment is raised by up to one rating (e.g., from 2 to
maximum 3).
MH to MH rehabilitation using the Fold and Form
Fold and Form method. Can be used if segment has a rating of 1. $1,000
Segment is assigned a rating of 3

The following ‘Rule Matrix’ summarizes the impact of the above mentioned construction methods
on the rating of a given segment:

Current Rating
Method
1 2 3 4
Replacement 4 4 4 ---
Rehabilitation --- 4 4 ---
Spot Repair --- 2-3 3-4 ---
Fold and Form 3 3 --- ---
*Shaded area indicates new rating after capital investment

There are other rules that will be discussed in the section – Actions and Options.

While following the above rules, you are required to use a limited amount of funds in a limited
amount of time to maximize the “health” of your sewer.
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Setup the program
To setup the SimSEWER, simply run the setup.exe in your SimSEWER CDRom. The setup
wizard will bring you through the setup procedures as easy as 1-2-3.

(1) Click OK.

(2) If you do not want to change the directory, click the setup icon to begin the setup procedure.

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(3) Click OK. The SimSEWER will be installed into your hard drive.

The Interface
This is the general view of the SimSEWER interface. There are two components: Title Bar and
Map.

Menu

Title Bar

Map Controls

Map

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Title Bar
The Title Bar provides the control of finishing the current year and going on to the next year. Also,
it displays current year, the current score, and average sewer condition rating. By clicking the
faces, you may talk to each of the personnel in your company: your manager, engineer advisor,
sewer inspector, and financial advisor.

Game Engineer Financial Game Info

Control Advisor Advisor Your Title Your Name

Your Sewer Next Turn

Manager Inspector Button

Map
Your sewer network is shown in the map. With the map, you have full control of rehabilitation
ability using pop-up manual, and a ful visibility of your sewer condition by the various colors of
your pipes. The pipe colors and their implications are shown in the following table.

Color of the Pipe Status Descriptions

Blue Normal Excellent Condition
Blue Purple Normal Good Condition
Red Purple Normal Borderline Condition
Red Normal Poor Condition
Green Rehabbed Already Rehabbed in this turn
White Hidden

The map is fully controllable. In the map control bar, the coordinate of the mouse is displayed in
the left hand side followed by the label control, which will label the manhole or/and pipe when
pressed. You may also choose a category in the first combo box to only display the pipes with a
specified condition.

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 Only poor is
displayed in red

The map may be zoomed in or out by choosing a ratio in the last combo box. Also, you may zoom
in on the map by right clicking anywhere in the map but not on the pipe. You may also scroll the
map vertically or horizontally by moving the mouse towards the edge of the map.

By right clicking the pipe, you will have a choice of rehabilitation in the pop-up menu. Once you
rehabilitate one of the pipes, the color of the pipe will change to green followed by a
corresponding cost displaying in the adjacent area.

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 Pipe with poor condition is
displayed in red

This is the rehab cost.

Pipe is just rehabbed

Pipe with excellent condition is

displayed in blue

Pipe List Window

The Pipe List window provides the control of rehabilitation and replacement actions in a more
convenient way. Sewer information, including current and next year’s condition statuses, is shown
in this window. Also, by double clicking the individual pipe, you may see the individual sewer
rehabilitation history and its deterioration curve. To switch back to the map, click M in the title bar.

Rehabilitation
Selection
Method

Sewer List

Problem
Sewer with
red colour

Current Condition Rating Maintenance Rehabilitation Next Year Condition

Cost Method and Cost Rating and Score 7
Financial Window
This window gives you the financial information. You may see your current and last year capital,
expenditure, and balance. To show this window, you may click the face of your Finance Advisor
in the Title Bar, or you may click Window > Finance in the menu. Click Chart, you may see the
financial charts such as cash flow. Click OK to close the window.

Economy Window
This window shows the current economic situation including interest rate, general inflation rate,
and maintenance inflation rate. To show this window, you may click E in the Title Bar or Window
> Economy in the menu. These rates normally affect the way you invest your money. Click OK to
close the window.

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Current Unit Price Window
This window shows the current cost of maintenance and rehabilitation. These values vary with
inflation rate. To show this window, you may click P in the Title Bar or Window > Unit Price in the
menu. Click OK to close the window.

Getting Started
Run the program
To run the program, go to Window Start > Programs > SimSEWER, click SimSEWER.

Before starting the game

The player may pre-set some game parameters: interest, inflations, and the game options (i.e.
time limit), before the game has been started. If you leave these parameters and game options,
these variables will be set as default values throughout the game as following:

Interest rate: 4%
General Inflation: 2.5%
Maintenance Inflation: 2%
Game Option: Limited Time of 20 Years

Starting the game

To start the game, go to the menu bar and click Game > New. Choose the proper SimSEWER
data file by clicking Browse. The sample data file named SimPipe.sim is located in the folder
called SimSEWER\Data. Set all parameters as default, and then click Start. “Files are loaded
successfully” will be prompted out. Click OK to start the SimSEWER.

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Actions and Options
Once you start the game, you are promoted to the position of municipal engineer trainee
(EngTrainee). You have a pre-determined amount of money every term ($700,000 if you set as
default) and you have choices of rehabilitating the sewers using various kinds of techniques,
including replacing any poorly maintained sewer you want or saving your money to gain interest.
There are two ways to rehab your sewers: in Map or in Pipe List Windows.

Rehabilitation or Replacement Operation In Map

The map provides a more visualized effect of how your pipe conditions are. The color of the pipe
indicates the condition, which varies from blue (excellent condition), to purple (fair condition), to
red (poor condition). To switch between the map and the pipe list, click M or D in the Title Bar.
Or alternatively, click Pipe > Map or Pipe > Data in the menu.

Take Action
To rehabilitate or replace the pipe in the map, simply right click on the desired pipe, a pop-up
menu with available methods will be shown. Click the desire method to rehab the pipe. The rehab
cost will be shown on the map for two seconds. The amount will be deducted from your account
automatically. The color of the rehabilitated pipe will be changed to green.

Change Your Mind

To choose an alternative method for the rehabilitated pipe, simply repeat the procedure. You may
change your decision as long as you do not end the term (click Next).

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Cancel The Action
If you want to cancel the action, you need to go to the Pipe List Window. See the following
description.

Rehabilitation or Replacement Operation In Pipe List Window

The pipe list window provides a more convenient way to rehabilitate your pipe. You may
rehabilitate more than one pipe at the same time. There are two ways to undertake the
rehabilitation or replacement of your pipe: mouse or auto.

Mouse
1. Choose the Mouse option in the Pipe List Window.
2. To select a single pipe, click on the pipe. The pipe will be highlighted.
3. For multiple selections, right-click on the first pipe that you want to select, hold the button
and drag down until you reach the end of the pipe that you want to select. The selected
pipes will be highlighted.
4. Then, select one of the options by clicking one of the method icons. The selected pipes
will therefore be rehabilitated or replaced in the next year. The expected condition rating
and cost of that rehabilitation or replacement are calculated automatically in accordance
with the current prices.
Fold and Form

Not Selected

Replacement Spot Repair

CIPP

All
1. Choose All in the Pipe List Window.
2. All pipes will be highlighted.
3. Then, select one of the options by clicking one of the method icons. The selected pipes
will therefore be rehabilitated or replaced in the next year. The expected condition rating
and cost of that rehabilitation or replacement are calculated automatically in accordance
with the current prices.
4. No action is done if the pipe(s) among the selections are not satisfied with the
rehabilitation or replacement condition.

Auto Replace
1. Choose Auto Replace in the Pipe List Window.
2. All pipes with a condition rating of one will be replaced.

Auto Rehab
1. Choose Auto in the Pipe List Window.
2. All pipes with a condition rating of one will be rehabilitated using the Fold and Form
method.
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Undo the rehabilitation or replacement
1. You may follow the same procedures as the mouse selection or by selecting all.
2. Make sure that you click the Not Selected icon. The selected pipes will therefore be clear
of all rehabilitation or replacement.

Results of the action

Once you select the rehabilitation or replacement of the sewer, the cost and the next year status
will be calculated in accordance with the following rules.

Not Selected (Do Nothing)

1. Condition rating will be declined by one every three years.

2. Maintenance cost will be applied according to the current
condition rating.
3. Automatically apply to any sewer.

Replacement

1. Next year, the condition rating will become 4.

2. Maintenance cost will still be applied according to the current
condition rating.
3. Rehabilitation cost will be applied according to the current
replacement cost.
4. This option can be applied at any time to any sewer with a
condition rating not equal to 4.

CIPP

1. Next year, the condition rating will become 4.

2. Maintenance cost will still be applied according to the current
condition rating.
3. Rehabilitation cost will be applied according to the current CIPP
cost.
4. This option can be applied to any sewer with a condition rating
not equal to 1 or 4.
5. This option can only be used once after every replacement.
6. The pipe with CIPP cannot be repaired using spot repair.

Spot Repair

1. Next year, the condition rating will be increased by a value

between zero and one depending on: (a) number of spot repair
done previously since last replacement, (b) the current condition
rating, and (c) a random factor.
2. A maintenance cost will still be applied according to the current
condition rating.
3. A rehabilitation cost will be applied according to current spot
repair cost.

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 4. This option can be applied to any sewer with a condition rating of
2 or 3.
5. This option can be used multiple times but it cannot be applied to
a sewer that has been rehabilitated using CIPP. Also, the effect
of this option is reduced with the number of repetitive application.
After using spot repair for 5 years, the condition rating will almost
remain unchanged.

Fold and Form

1. Next year, the condition rating will increase to 3.

2. A maintenance cost will still be applied according to the current
condition rating.
3. A rehabilitation cost will be applied according to current
replacement cost.
4. This option can be applied to the pipes with condition rating 1 or
2 only.
5. This option can be used only once. Therefore, a replacement is
needed.
6. A pipe already rehabilitated with CIPP cannot be repaired using
fold and form.

History of your sewer

You may click History in the pop-up menu when you right click a pipe or double click on an
individual sewer in the Pipe List Window to see the history of that particular sewer as following.
For there, you may able to see the individuality of its condition rating, maintenance cost,
rehabilitation cost, and what you have done to that sewer.

In the Pipe Info window, you may click Chart to see the deterioration curve for this particular
pipe. Also, the total maintenance and rehabilitation cost that you have spent are summarized
here.

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Save your money
You may choose to save the money instead of doing any rehabilitation or replacement. You do
not need to do anything. All money that you have not spent in the current year will be
automatically transferred to next year with an applicable interest rate. This means you have
saved your unused money automatically. In the Finance window, the rollover field indicates the
sum of your current balance plus the interest income.

Before going to the next turn

You may check several things before you decide to finish this year. You may not go back or undo
the rehabilitation or replacement once you click Next.

Manager

To know how the manager feels, click the Manager picture in the Title Bar.
Your manager will always be concerned about his business status. The
business status is represented by the term Deficit. After you click his picture,
you will see a Deficit Chart. The Deficit will go up and down which represents
the amount of money required to bring your sewers to the maximum condition
rating of 4. The less the deficit, the better state your business is in.

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Engineer Advisor
Click Engineer Advisor to know more about the technical aspects of the
rehabilitation and replacement technology. The description of each
available method will be provided. The engineer advisor will report the
history of your individual sewer or you may view it by double clicking the
pipe in the Pipe List Window.

Inspector
Click Inspector to know about the actual status of your sewer. The inspector
will provide an inspection report. The report shows the actual CCTV
images. Click on the images to enlarge them. Also, you may find the
description of the images. There is no image available if your sewers are in
good condition or above.

Financial Advisor
Click Financial Advisor in the Title bar to see your current financial status.
The report provides a chart of your balance, expenditures, and capital.
This chart is for your reference of your cash flow so that you have an
idea of what you will do next.

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Go to next year
When you finish the term, click Next in the Title Bar to go to next year. Notice
that you cannot go back to the previous year. All rehabilitation and replacement
actions will be confirmed once you hit Next.

To smoothly go to the next year, you have to meet the following criteria:

1. Always have a positive balance when you click Next. If you have a negative balance and
click Next, you will be asked to end the game. Choose No to cancel the Manager
Dialogue box and adjust your investment. If you cannot attempt to obtain the positive
balance, click Yes to end the game.

2. Each pipe must not be left at the condition rating of 1 for more than two consecutive
years. Those pipes that are at the second year of a condition rating of 1 will turn to red in
the Pipe List Window as well as in the map. You have to replace them before you start to
invest your money to others.

Pipe #7 needs to be
replaced immediately.

Winning the game

You win the game only if you are not fired. Therefore, to win the game you have to meet the
criteria of going to the next year and reaching the pre-set time limit, or SimSEWER limit (year 50),
whichever is less.

Your manager will fire you in any year if you cannot go on to the next year. You may give up (quit)
the simulation at anytime by clicking Game, Give Up in the menu bar.

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A game report will be shown after you are retired or fired. The report will show you your game
statistics, deficits, financial performance, etc. You can also print the report to a file. See Print final
report for details.

If you choose Game, Exit in the menu bar, no report will be shown.

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Print final report
To have your own record of the game report, you may print the summary of the game to a file.
The SimSEWER generates two files: *.txt and *.dat.

The txt file is the report of the game. The *.dat file is a file with only raw data of the variables at
each year. You may import the *.dat file to MSExcel and plot your own summary charts.

To print the report to a file, simply click Print To File in the Game Over dialogue box. The Print To
File dialogue box will be shown as follows:

Input your file name here

If you use your CD Rom to run the SimSEWER, select one of your folders in your hard drive
where the report files will be saved in. Enter a file name in the appropriate field, click Print button.
You may use Note Pad or any word processor to open the report file. The following is a sample of
the report:

****************************************************************
SIMSEWER V1.5 Final Report

Developed By: Sammy Wong

Prof. Allouche
Developed On: Mar 2002
****************************************************************

Player : Mr. SimSewer

Date, Time : 3/9/024:05:39 PM
Game Ends At : Year 11
Final Score : 10105.2
Avg Condition: 1.8
Total Length : 5,470.7 m
Unit : Million Dollars

Game Initial Options

====================
Interest Rate : .04
General Inflation: .02
Maint. Inflation : .025
Budget : 700000

Performance
===========
Year Capital Exp'd Balance Deficit Score
--------------------------------------------------------
1 0.70 0.26 0.44 2.02 17,224
2 1.18 0.15 1.03 2.75 15,653
3 1.80 0.15 1.65 3.63 13,829
4 2.46 0.28 2.18 4.54 12,006
5 3.02 2.37 0.65 5.49 10,182

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Know more about SimSEWER
Initial Setting
In order to modify the default settings, click Option in File Setting window before loading the pipe
data.

Option
You may set the time horizon from 10 years up to 50 years by simply moving the scroll bar.

Economy
If you feel that the budget you have is not high enough to run your business, here you will have
chance to adjust. Also, you may adjust the interest rate and inflation rate. You also can click the
Random or Time Dependent option to increase the difficulty because the SimSEWER will assign
these values randomly.

Rehab Cost
Again, you may adjust the cost of each rehabilitation method. You have your own freedom to
assign the cheapest method to the replacement.

Maintenance Cost
You may adjust the cost of annual maintenance cost. However, you have no control to the order
of the cost. You may also click Cost Adjustment Factor to adjust all maintenance cost
simultaneously.

Overall Strategy
There are three basic strategies when running the simulation: Reactive Mode of Operation, The
‘Worst First’ Mode of Operation, and The Proactive Mode of Operation.

Reactive Mode of Operation

This is a reactive mode currently practiced by many Canadian municipalities. Simply allow your
network to degrade. When a segment reaches a rating of 1, replace it.

‘Worst First’ Mode of Operation

The ‘Worst First’ is the one advocated by the NRC and WRc prioritization methodologies. During
each cycle, first address all segments with a rating of 1, then those with a rating of 2, and so on.

Proactive Mode of Operation

The proactive mode of operation is the one recommended by the Sanitary Sewer Management
System (SSMS) that was developed by the Trenchless Technology Center at Louisiana Tech
19
University. You have a free hand in investing your budget any way you would like. The only rule
is that maintenance costs must be paid first following the replacement of all segments with rating
of 1. The balance is yours to spend/invest. The goal is to maximize the final score. You must
attempt several strategies in order to develop a systematic investment plan.

Sensitivity Analysis
Run the SimSEWER several times using various initial economic conditions to discover the
effects of economy. For example, keep all other factors as well as the strategic plan constant;
only alter one variable such as interest rate. Try to summarize the results to see how sensitive the
interest is.

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Index

A I R
Auto Selection, 14 inflation, 11 Reactive Mode, 21
Initial Setting, 21 Rehab Cost, 21
B Inspector, 17 Rehabilitation, 4, 13
balance, 17 interest, 11 Replacement, 4, 13, 15
interface, 6 retired, 19
C rollover, 16
L run, 11
capital, 17
CIPP, 15 label control, 7
S
color, 7
Color, 7
M save, 16
Current Unit Price, 11 Maint Cost, 21 scroll, 8
Manager, 17 Sensitivity, 22
D Map, 7 Setup, 5
map control bar, 7 setup wizard, 5
Deficit, 17 Spot Repair, 15
method icons, 14
Spot-Repair, 4
E
N strategy, 21
Economy, 21
Economy Window, 10 Next button, 17, 18 T
Engineer Advisor, 17 time horizon, 21
expenditure, 17 O
time limit, 11, 18
Option, 21 Title Bar, 7
F
Financial Advisor, 17 P W
Financial Window, 10 Pipe List Window, 7, 9 Worse First’ Mode, 22
fired, 18 popup menu, 13
Fold and Form, 4, 15 print, 20 Z
Print final report, 20
H Print To File, 20 zoom, 8
History, 16 Proactive Mode, 22

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