Development of Productivity Standards For Collection Systems Maintenance Activities.

The wastewater and stormwater collection system in the City of Edmonton Alberta Canada serves a population of 626,000 and services an area of approximately 700 km2 (270 square miles). Drainage Services of the Asset Management and Public Works Department is responsible for the management of the wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in the City of Edmonton. The collection system consists of 4,600 km (2900 miles) of pipe, 56,000 manholes, 47,000 catchbasins, 42 stormwater management ponds and 62 pumping stations. The Drainage Operations Section maintains the collection system including all inspection, cleaning and repair activities.Following an audit conducted by the City Auditor's Office in 2000, it was concluded that work crew efficiency could be improved and that substantiated productivity standards were required for the various maintenance activities. The productivity levels in use at the time of the audit resulted from historical information that had accumulated over the years and could not be supported by known industrial engineering principles. Drainage Operations accepted the Auditor's recommendations to develop and implement engineered productivity standards, to improve the efficiency of crews performing maintenance activities. In November 2001 a contract to develop the required productivity standards was awarded to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada. This paper presents the methodology used to develop the engineered productivity standards and improved work methods for crews performing collection system maintenance activities.