Choosing the best pipes

The importance of feedback from stakeholders is underlined by the researcher’s plan to gather data from participants of various water-related conferences.

This will capture a large variety of people in the industry from suppliers to contractors, water authorities and consultants, and these hard data and subjective evaluations will help point to options that best suit the local context.

“We will then do a cost-benefit analysis, where we use a mock design of a pipe system over certain terrain, and get a detailed analysis of the cost,” added Tan.

“We can gauge the number of connections, joints, elbows and all the accessories and get a detailed analysis of the material and installation costs.

“Then, we would try to extend the analysis to 10 or 20 years. We need some ways to estimate the maintenance cost of the piping so that we can present an actual picture of the cost-benefit analysis over a 20-year period.”

As the research is in its early phase, the team is still deciding the mechanisms on how to weigh each criterion, as it involves various aspects such as quality of the water, the durability of the pipe, maintenance and transportation costs of the pipe, and the environmental impact.

“We are getting different stakeholders to give their input on how to weigh all the criteria because some may be more important than others,” Tan said.

Tan drives home the sanctity of research conducted by those in academia, as it is geared towards an impartial outcome.

“A university can give a more objective approach than a company. We want to try to be as independent as possible. It is of maximum value to society, and the industry, if an objective evaluation is done and then decision-makers like the water authorities and consultants can see which options are better,” said Tan.