A large manufacturing facility has developed a set of information systems to characterize
and track waste discharges. One of the systems focuses on the assets in the industrial
sewer (IS) system. A spatial decision support system (SDSS) was developed to record
and track information about all waste discharged through the IS, and about the IS assets
themselves. The company's ability to discharge waste is dependent upon information
obtained during the most recent inspection of the IS structures that the waste will flow
through. Accurate and up to date inspection data is critical to the functionality of the
SDSS for regulatory reporting and internal decision making about capital improvements.
Because technology and business rules have changed significantly since the systems were
originally built, the systems are in the process of being redesigned into a single integrated
system with a common database platform. Business modeling is a key component of the
system redesign. There are a number of complex rules guiding the management of IS
assets. To organize business modeling efforts, 7 general business processes have been
identified. These include:
Inspection Data Logging;
Inspection Planning and Scheduling;
Mapping and Spatial Queries;
Reporting;
Sewer Approval Process;
Data Maintenance; and,
Prioritization of Assets.
This paper presents the methodology used to model these business processes
and a case study of the Inspection Data Logging (IDL) business model, and its use in
system design and development. The Inspection Data Logging process includes a number
of interesting factors such as the need to validate data prior to storage in the database, and
the need to categorize the IS assets to track progress with the facility's long term release
prevention program.