COF Configuration

To get started, select COF from the header main navigation menu and then select 'Configure' from the dropdown menu.

How to Configure the Consequence of Failure

Setting up the Scenario

From the Configure screen, you can set up a new scenario or edit an existing scenario. If you are using this feature for the first time, you will see Fracta’s default scenario that you can start with.

Setup a New Scenario

To set up a new scenario, click on the 'Create Configuration' button and create a name for your scenario then click 'create'. You can also base your scenario on an existing scenario or create one from scratch.

Editing an Existing Scenario

To edit an existing scenario, go to the configure toolbar menu item. A list of existing scenarios will be displayed. Choose the scenario to be edited and click on the setting icon for that scenario.

Inside each scenario, you can turn on and off individual COF cost factors using the toggle switch on the scenario management page. In general, the cost factors are grouped into direct cost factors and indirect cost factors. The consequence of failure direct costs are related to pipe and road restoration, whereas the indirect costs represent social and environmental costs that can be attributed to damages caused by the failure of a pipeline.

Fracta’s research will guide some default values for cost inputs (based on national standards and averages), but cost values can be edited based on individual utility needs and will make your COF results more accurate for your location.

Description of Cost Factors

Direct Cost - Repair and restoration

The first consequence of failure (COF) factors is the direct costs, which includes overall cost of repair(pipe cost and construction materials), equipment costs and labor. You can enter costs for a standard repair job that usually entails trench repair, or an intense repair job that involves jacking/ bore drilling or other more expensive procedures.

After inspecting the relevant geospatial information, you can configure the pipe repair cost according to the utility’s repair history to match historic cost information, or use the default cost setting from Fracta.

Indirect Cost – Customers Without Water

One of the most important indirect cost factors is interruption of water service after pipeline failure. Currently, the Fracta COF application estimates this social impact using the diameter of the water pipe and population density surrounding the pipe. The primary cost input here is the amount lost per person in case of a typical break.

Conventionally this calculation is done using a hydraulic model and we are working on introducing that functionality soon to make your COF results more accurate!

Indirect Cost – Property Damage

Another indirect cost is property damage from water main breaks. Some water main breaks result in inundation or structural damage of buildings and surrounding property. The extent of the damage can be associated with pipe sizes and population density.

Property damage claims can vary from one break to another and we only need 2 simple inputs from you to estimate approximate costs for the pipe network. First, we need an average cost of a property damage claim for a pipe break in a residential neighborhood, and second we need an average cost of property damage when it happens for a major arterial line. Based on these two cases we are able to scale the values as per diameter and population density using our algorithm.

Indirect Cost – Critical Facilities

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines critical facilities as “those buildings and facilities that are essential for the delivery of vital services or protection of a community”. For water utilities, these facilities include schools, hospitals, police stations, and fire stations.

You can use Fracta’s default values for critical facilities or apply your own values. Typically, the larger the pipe surrounding the facilities, the more impact it can be expected.

Just as in the case of loss of service to customers, loss of service to critical facilities also follows a hydraulic model, conventionally speaking. We are working to bring this to you in the form of two new features: One that accounts for connectivity between pipes and second that takes into account backup connections that service many critical facilities. Watch out for software updates for these features.

Indirect Cost – Traffic Disruption

When a pipeline break disrupts the road and other forms of transportation options, traffic disruption is another social cost that utilities need to consider. Depending on the size of the pipe, the impact can be escalated. You can choose the default values or include another value based on your utility’s location.

Indirect Cost – Environmental damage

In addition to common social impacts, such as water and traffic interruption, some utilities are concerned about potential environmental impacts of water main breaks. The most prevalent environmental impact of water main breaks are fish kills caused by chlorine release into natural water bodies. These damages can translate into costs as legal fines or restoration costs. Therefore, Fracta uses proximity to natural streams and lakes as a way to capture this concern.

The cost factors can be associated with streams and lakes and we scale them as per pipe diameter using our algorithm.

Running the COF Analysis

After populating and turning on all of the COF factors that you would like to implement for the scenario, click save and then return to the scenario management main page.

Click the 'play' button to begin running the analysis for a particular scenario.

Once a COF analysis starts, you will not be able to change the cost factors inside each category until the analysis finishes.

The COF analysis uses geospatial information to find pipelines that are near relevant geospatial drivers, then adds the direct and indirect cost factors for the total COF value for each pipe segment