scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment of Asset Management Decisions for Wastewater Infrastructure Systems—Implementation of a System Dynamics Model

Systems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Mohammadifardi ◽  
Mark A. Knight ◽  
Andre A. J. Unger
Keyword(s):  
System Dynamics ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Wastewater Infrastructure ◽  
Sd Model ◽  
Wastewater Collection

The goal of this case study is to demonstrate the application and utility of a developed System Dynamics (SD) model to assess the sustainability of strategic decisions for managing the wastewater collection (WWC) pipe network system for a medium-size municipality in Southern Ontario. Two asset management scenarios, suggested by the research-partnered municipality, are adapted based on the acceptable maximum fraction of pipes in the worst condition (ICG5) being equal to (1) 10% of the network-length/year, and (2) the initial 2.8% of network-length/year for the entire life cycle of the asset. The urban densification scenarios are restricted to a 50% urban densification rate. The least maximum rehabilitation rates of 1.41% and 1.85% of network length/year are found necessary to keep the ICG5 pipes fractions below the selected 10% and 2.8% thresholds, respectively. The maximum and minimum user fee-hike rates for WWC and wastewater treatment (WWT) services are adjusted to support the financial self-sustainability aspect. Results from the SD model, as presented over a 100 year simulation period, show that an accelerated rehabilitation strategy will have a lower financial cost with the lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study highlights the implications of integrating asset management of wastewater-collection and -treatment systems. Applying such an integrated SD model will help decision makers to forecast the future trends related to social, economic, and environmental performances of wastewater infrastructure systems, and evaluate the behavior of interrelated and complex WWC and WWT systems to find synergistic cost-saving opportunities while at the same time improve sustainability.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment of Asset Management Decisions for Wastewater Infrastructure Systems—Development of a System Dynamic Model

Systems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Mohammadifardi ◽  
Mark A. Knight ◽  
Andre A.J. Unger
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Wastewater Infrastructure ◽  
Sd Model

This paper presents the development of a novel system dynamics (SD) model for better understanding the interrelation and feedback mechanism between the wastewater collection (WWC) and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) systems. Causal loop diagrams (CLDs) are developed and discussed to depict and understand feedback and inter-connections between physical, financial, and consumer sectors. The developed SD model is then extended to include the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as a proxy for the environmental sector and for an environmental sustainability assessment of strategic decisions related to asset management planning of wastewater infrastructure system. It also adds new policy levers, such as population growth and urban densification in the social sector, and minimum fee-hike rates in the finance sector to enhance the representation of real-world conditions in the asset management planning. This new SD model will enable decision-makers to assess the sustainability impacts of their strategic decisions on wastewater systems, find synergistic cost-saving opportunities, and improve the sustainability performance of their asset management plans.

scholarly journals System Dynamics Model for the Improvement Planning of School Building Conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4235
Author(s):  
Suhyun Kang ◽  
Sangyong Kim ◽  
Seungho Kim ◽  
Dongeun Lee
Keyword(s):  
System Dynamics ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Investment Efficiency ◽  
School Building ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
Sd Model

As the number of aged infrastructures increases every year, a systematic and effective asset management strategy is required. One of the most common analysis methods for preparing an asset management strategy is life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Most LCCA-related studies have focused on traffic and energy; however, few studies have focused on school buildings. Therefore, an approach should be developed to increase the investment efficiency for the performance improvement of school buildings. Planning and securing budgets for the performance improvement of school building is a complex task that involves various factors, such as current conditions, deterioration behavior and maintenance effect. Therefore, this study proposes a system dynamics (SD) model for the performance improvement of school buildings by using the SD method. In this study, an SD model is used to support efficient decision-making through policy effect analysis, from a macro-perspective, for the performance improvement of school buildings.

Infrastructure Decay Modeling With the Input-Output Inoperability Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vhance V. Valencia ◽  
Alfred E. Thal ◽  
John M. Colombi ◽  
William E. Sitzabee
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Multiple Networks ◽  
Infrastructure Network ◽  
Asset Managers ◽  
Infrastructure Interdependency ◽  
Interdependent Infrastructure

Asset management and infrastructure interdependency concepts are found to be useful in the study of infrastructure decay. As such, infrastructure decay is modeled with the input-output inoperability model (IIM), which is a method of analysis that captures cascading effects of a disturbance in interdependent infrastructure systems. This paper presents an extension to the IIM that simplifies the construction of the interdependency matrix central to the model and integrates the use of component decay curves for each component in the system. The revised model results in the ability of infrastructure asset managers to recognize the effect of decay across an entire infrastructure network or multiple networks.

scholarly journals Sustainability assessment of restoration plans under climate change by using system dynamics: application on Urmia Lake, Iran

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 938-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Ebrahimi Sarindizaj ◽  
Mahdi Zarghami
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Urmia Lake ◽  
Water Resources Systems ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Average Water ◽  
Basin Water

Abstract During the last decade, Urmia Lake has lost most of its surface area. As a result, finding management practices to restore the sustainable ecological status of Urmia Lake, the world's second largest hyper-saline lake, is imperative. In this study, the sustainability of different plans under climate change was assessed using system dynamics. The plans were evaluated with respect to sustainability criteria including reliability, resiliency, and vulnerability measures. According to the results due to different management practices, on average, water consumption should be reduced by at least 30% to restore the lake. The results revealed that only hybrid plans which incorporate multiple management practices, instead of focusing on just one approach, can be influential. Among the hybrid plans, that of increasing irrigation efficiency, reducing cultivated area, changing crop pattern, and inter-basin water transfer was identified as the most sustainable plan. About eight years after applying this plan, the lake will achieve its ecological level and will remain sustainable. Considering comprehensive factors, the proposed model can help watershed managers to take the necessary measures to restore this vital ecosystem. The results of this study can be applied to water resources systems with the same problem, especially those in semi-arid regions with multidisciplinary aspects.

Impact of Asset Management in a Green Supply Chain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hajihashemi ◽  
Reza Alizadeh ◽  
Janet K. Allen ◽  
Farrokh Mistree
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Greenhouse Gasses

Abstract With increasing concerns about global warming caused by greenhouse gasses (GHGs), organizations have become more responsible for their operations. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), companies with a supply chain (SC) generate about 42% of GHGs in their transportation (30%) and inventory systems (12%), which makes mitigating climate change through a green supply chain (GSC) management a reasonable solution. To design a GSC, we model the SC as a customer and store network, with customers driving in cars to and from stores and the retailer resupplying the stores from a central warehouse. The number and location of stores are determined to find a low-cost and low emission configuration for the SC. The key findings are (1) SCs with more small stores generate less emission than ones with fewer large stores; (2) when minimizing the operating cost is more important than mitigating GHG emissions, fewer large stores are preferred than having more small stores; (3) a SC with two warehouses reduces the number of open stores in a large area such as Puerto Rico. Our contributions are (1) building a model of a GSC based on population data; (2) modeling a GSC in a two-echelon network which can be solved simultaneously using the k-median approach; (3) evaluating the effect of multiple warehouses on the overall GHGs emissions; (4) managing the incompleteness and inaccuracy of the data through implementing the compromise Decision Support Problem construct to identify satisficing solutions. The model mentioned earlier highlights the important parameters that impact the green GHG emissions reduction from a SC that describe in this paper. We also discuss how this approach can be employed for other design problems, including manufacturing and healthcare.

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