Automated Fire Hydrant Testing now available

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Mar 24, 2005

The latest release of Wallingford Software InfoWorks WS automates the testing of fire hydrants, saving the cost and avoiding the disruption of physical hydrant testing.

The latest release of Wallingford Software's InfoWorks WS automates the testing of fire hydrants, saving the cost and avoiding the disruption of physical hydrant testing.

Wallingford Software announces that the latest version of InfoWorks WS, the leading software solution for water supply and distribution network modeling, includes the automated testing of fire hydrants.

Using a model to report on the supply capability of every hydrant in the network delivers major cost and time savings and avoids the disruption of physical testing of hydrants.

The software conducts a virtual walk through a distribution network, reporting on each hydrant in turn.

The details calculated include the maximum flow at a hydrant, the pressures at maximum flow and at required flow, the minimum pressure in nodes within the fire zone during the test, and the minimum pressure in nodes within the system outside the fire zone during the test.

Each of these results is also compared with the requirement, and failures to meet requirements are flagged.

InfoWorks WS also enables engineers to address capacity issues in the network under various fire scenarios, assessing whether the network and the available water can meet both volume requirements and quality levels - fire flows often cause re-suspension of deposits within parts of the network.

Paul Banfield, Sales Director of Wallingford Software, believes the hydrant testing and fire flow functionality of InfoWorks WS will provide savings to users around the world.

"Modeling of a hydrant test can replace the real-world hydrant test that is often a statutory requirement".

"It is quicker, easier, and costs far less".

"For example, the procedure in the US is for a Fire Marshal or City Engineer to open the hydrant and measure the maximum flow and the pressure at the hydrant, and the pressure at control points in the system".

"This testing has two negative effects - it is a time consuming task, and it wastes a lot of water".

"Many municipalities will allow substitution of up to 90% of fire hydrant tests with model results if the model results match test for the remaining 10% of tests, saving time, water, and money".

"InfoWorks provides that level of accuracy and allows municipalities around the world to make such savings.".