Back to WinCan VX DDMS User Guide
Chapters
Page Contents
† Fields that are only visible to users logged in as ‘Admin’, not visible to those logged in as ‘Operator’.
WinCan VX Section Header
The WinCan VX section (and lateral) header is quite different from the WRc versions due to the fact that this is a different inspection standard, but there are some similarities because both standards follow the guidelines laid out in BS EN 13508.
The WinCan section and node headers are split into two sides, left and right in all standards for all territories around the world. The difference between the two sides is that the left side is all about the asset and the right side is all about the inspection.
In this section we will look in detail at the section header, but not the node header. The node header is vitally important in HADDMS projects and cannot be ignored, but the general theme of the fields follows the section header and many of the fields only have simple Yes/No option lists so do not really need any detailed explanation.
In the WinCan VX headers there is a consistent colour coding to the field captions:
Grey – a regular data entry field.
Blue – a WinCan field that is not needed by the standard but is either needed by the software for data management or is a ‘nice to have’ data field in the reporting.
Green – a field that WinCan VX takes care of for you. You can of course overwrite the data in the field at any time, but for now you don’t need to worry about it and it will be taken care of in the background as you work through the inspections.
Yellow (or whatever colour is defined in the User Settings) – a mandatory data field that can be mandatory if;
WinCan VX cannot function correctly without it, or
leaving it blank will lead to a critical upload error with the shapefiles going into HADDMS.
Info – there are some fields that are conditionally mandatory by HADDMS like the ‘Connected Continuous Item’ (SUPP_CON) in the node header which is mandatory when the ‘Node Type’ (ITEM_TY_CO) is ‘CN’. There are no special colours for these fields, but the validator will detect them as critical errors when they are left blank.
Open a new blank section header and you will see the following fields split into left and right hand sides as described below.
Note – hovering your mouse pointer over the cation of a field will display the ‘tip-text’ for that field which will help to explain what this field refers to and also which HADDMS data field it refers to.
Where relevant, we have included the HADDMS shapefile that this WinCan field maps to and from using the format [Shapefile].[Field Name]
† These fields are only visible to users logged into WinCan VX as Admin and not to those logged in as Operator. Contractors are advised to use these login types efficiently because there will be many fields that the CCTV crew simply does not need to see, and they will be hidden when they are logged in as ‘Operator’, but everything is visible to users logged in as 'Admin'. Keeping a good control on this makes life a lot easier for regular CCTV inspectors.
Section Attribute Header
Section †
This is nothing more than a numeric counter inside the WinCan database.
Asset Style
This a very important field for WinCan that cannot be empty. It describes whether the WinCan object is a Section, Lateral or Surface item as is described in the section Understanding Object Types.
Inspection Status
This is a pseudo-HADDMS field that sits in limbo between the HADDMS data and the internal requirements of WinCan VX. It is the field that has been described already in the section WinCan VX Project Setup and although it has no direct value in the HADDMS data fields, it does have a significant effect on the scoring values produced by WinCan VX so that they match with the HADDMS scoring results. Under the normal scoring of pipes, structural and service inspection grades are assigned values form 1 to 5 in a similar (but not identical) way to WRc projects, but in HADDMS data there are two additional grades – 0 for where the asset has not been attempted and 9 for where the inspection was attempted but was not successful. So, good use of this field will drive good scoring results.
PLR Suffix
This also is not a HADDMS required field, but follows exactly the same logic as the PLR Suffix field in WRc inspection data albeit with different values. In the HADDMS setup, the default value is ‘.1’ so after you create a pipe with upstream node CP1 and downstream node CP2 then the Supplier’s Reference for the field will be automatically created by the software as CP1.1 which is the extremely important ID of the asset. You should use increasing values of ‘.2’, ‘.3’ etc to describe multiple lines between similar assets in the same way they you do with X, Y, Z etc in WRc projects. This does not apply to node assets. Maximum 2 characters.
Supplier’s Reference †
continuous.SUPP_REF
In Sections, Laterals and Surface items it is concatenated from the upstream node SUPP_REF and the PLR Suffix at all times by the software as described in the previous section. Maximum 52 characters (50 characters for the Upstream Node ID plus 2 for the PLR Suffix).
DDMS Reference †
continuous.PIPE_REFER
This is the ID of the continuous item on the HADDMS database. The field in WinCan VX is read-only because of the round-tripping principles. It does not matter what you decide to change the Supplier’s Reference to during your processing work, but if the DDMS Reference exists already on the system, then it must remain as it is. You will notice that when you create a new ‘uncharted’ asset that this field is blank and remains read-only, and also for the two nodes that are connected to the object. This is how HADDMS identifies uncharted assets, because the incoming data on upload has a SUPP_REF field value but it does not have an PIPE_REFER value, and as a result HADDMS automatically creates the PIPE_REFER on upload.
SMIS Reference †
continuous.SMIS_ID
This field contains the value for the SMIS (Structures Management Information System) code for the asset. This is not normally used by CCTV contractors but it may be useful to see it in the data if it exists in the import dataset. Maximum 50 characters.
Total Length [m]
continuous.LENGTH
This is the full length of the continuous item from end to end along its geometric shape in metres to 3 decimal places.
Town or Village
continuous.LOC_TOWN
Is a free-text field where you can add free text information. Maximum 50 characters.
Road Name
continuous.LOC_ST
Is a free-text field where you can add free text information. Maximum 50 characters.
Division or District
continuous.DISTRICT
Is a free-text field where you can add free text information. Maximum 50 characters.
Location
continuous.LOC_TYP_CO
This data field defines where the asset is located.
Warning - care should be taken by operators here because it is common to make mistakes like assigning the value ‘Left Verge’ to a pipe where it actually crosses the carriageway. The common mistake that people make here is that they think of where they are standing and the location of the manhole that they are inspecting from and enter this data but in reality, this field refers to the location of the pipe and not the manhole.
Upstream Node
continuous.SUPP_REFUP
This is the SUPP_REF of the upstream node. Maximum 50 characters.
Upstream DDMS Node †
continuous.UPSTR_REF
Is read only because it is the HADDMS reference of the upstream node and is defined in the node data.
Upstream Node Type
point/region.ITEM_TY_CO
Is the Node Type of the upstream asset.
Upstream Pipe Depth [m]
continuous.UPSTR_DEPT
Is the depth of the pipe from the cover level at the upstream end. Up to 3 decimal places.
Warning – this is often incorrectly measured on site as the depth of the manhole. This is a pipe inspection, not a node inspection where the depth of the pipe and the depth of the node are two very different things, particularly where the chamber is a catchpit or a backdrop exists (always take the depth of the top rodding eye of the backdrop, not the lower exit point). Unit of measurement is metres, as defined in the caption.
Upstream Pipe Invert Level [m] †
continuous.UPSTR_INVE
This is the height above sea level for the continuous item at the upstream end. This is not something that the CCTV operator usually needs to worry about and for this reason, the field is hidden from view when the user is logged into WinCan VX as an Operator and is only visible to users logged in to the application as Admin.
Info for data processors – there is button in the Tools ribbon bar called ‘Calculate Invert Levels’ which will auto populate this field when the chamber cover level is defined in the node data and the pipe depth is defined in the section data.
For this reason, it is not a good idea for operators to enter zero when the level is not known. It is better to simply leave it blank and then the ‘Calculate Invert Levels’ tool will skip the calculation for this asset because it has no validity.
Downstream Node
continuous.SUPP_REFDN
Similar to Upstream Node, but for the downstream end.
Downstream DDMS Node †
continuous.DOWNSTR_RE
Similar to Upstream DDMS Node, but for the downstream end.
Downstream Node Type
point/region.ITEM_TY_CO
Similar to Upstream Node Type, but for the downstream end.
Downstream Pipe Depth [m]
continuous.DOWNSTR_DE
Similar to Upstream Pipe Depth [m], but for the downstream end. Up to 3 decimal places. Please be sure to understand the information given here Being Smart with Z Values.
Downstream Pipe Invert Level [m] †
continuous.DOWNSTR_IN
Similar to Upstream Pipe Depth [m], but for the downstream end. Up to 3 decimal places.
Connectivity Certainty
continuous.CERT_CONN
This field has a simple Yes/No pick list option and is mandatory because it is a critical error on upload to the HADDMS database if it does not have a value. The field is used to describe if the connectivity between the upstream and downstream nodes in this continuous item can be confirmed.
Flow Direction Certainty
continuous.FLOW_DIR
This field has a simple Yes/No pick list option and is mandatory because it is a critical error on upload to the HADDMS database if it does not have a value. The field is used to describe if the flow direction between the upstream and downstream nodes in this continuous item can be confirmed.
Info - his may sound easy, but becomes more difficult in situations like where there is a culvert under the road with no visible flow, so how can you tell which is the upstream end and the downstream end of the asset. There are times when this needs to be confirmed by the office processing and cannot be deduced on site.
Asset Ownership †
continuous.OWNER
Under most circumstances this will be ‘Highway Authority’ but there may be special cases where this is not the case. Default value is ‘Highway Authority’.
Info - in a recent update from Mott MacDonald, 2 new data options have been added to this field:
HE - Highways England.
LA - Local Authority.
Use
continuous.SYSTEM_TYP
The use of the continuous asset. Default value is ‘Surface Water’.
Info - WinCan VX places a default value of ‘Surface Water’ into this field for all newly created assets because it is rare for HADDMS inspections to be of foul sewers, but not impossible. Where trunk roads go through cities or built up areas, there can be foul sewers that run under the road and need to be inspected even though they are the responsibility of the water company.
Type of Asset
continuous.ITEM_TY_CO
This is a mandatory field, again because HADDMS throws a critical error if it is left blank. There are a number of validation rules in WinCan VX that refer to the logical use of this field. Example include if the ‘Type of Asset’ is ‘Pipework’ then the material is unlikely to be ‘Gabions’.
Porous
continuous.POROUS
Again, a simple Yes/No option pick list. Refers to whether or not the pipe material is porous.
Info - this can be extremely hard to assess during CCTV inspection and should not be confused with ‘Perforated’.
Perforated
continuous.PERFORATED
Another simple Yes/No option pick list. This should be entered as ‘Yes’ if you can clearly see perforation holes in the pipe. If they are there, then they are usually evenly spaced and all around the pipe, and their purpose is to allow the water to drain away to the surrounding ground when it rains. This is normal an easy field for CCTV operators to complete.
Asset Shape
continuous.SHAPE_1
This is the shape of the continuous item.
Width [mm]
continuous.WIDTH
This is the asset width in integer mm. WinCan VX offers the user a pick list of common sizes, but the user can also free type a value of their choice if the one they need is not in the list. Integer data input value.
Info - for regular below ground pipes, this is the priority dimension, or the dimension that is always filled in first when the shape is not uniform (i.e. circular or square). From this, the height is the secondary dimension field.
This is the opposite way around to WRc header principles where the Dia/Height is the primary dimension and the Width is the secondary dimension.
Height [mm]
continuous.HEIGHT
The below ground pipe height when the shape is not uniform. Integer data input value. Integer data input value.
Pipe Dia [mm]
continuous.PIPE_DIA
The pipe width, only used for combined continuous asset types which include a pipe as detailed above. Integer data input value.
Hint - As an imediate and not exclusive piece of advice - the Pipe Dia field should only be used when the continuous item is a combined asset with 2 parts such as a Combined Surface and Sub Surface Filter Drain or a Combined Pipe and Channel Drain (there may be others) where one part is a pipe and the other is something else.
So, for a regular Pipework or Culvert asset (also others) the pipe diameter or width should go in the Width field, its height goes in the height field and the Pipe Dia field remains blank.
For a Combined Surface and Sub Surface Filter Drain, the width of the filter media goes in the Width field, the Height remains blank and the width or diameter of the pipe inside the filter media goes in the Pipe Dia field.
Asset Material
continuous.MATERIAL
The asset material. This should generally be considered as mandatory in typical CCTV pipe inspections, but may not be required for all asset types. For example, there is no appropriate material for a Grassed Surface Water Channel or Swale, so in this case leave the material field blank and set the ‘Surface Material’ to Turf.
Info - where the asset has more than 1 material (i.e. in combined surface and sub-surface filter drains so there is a material for the pipe and for the filter media), enter the pipe material here and enter the other material into the ‘Constraint’ field.
Lining
continuous.LINED
This is a simple Yes/No pick list which is tied closely into the following 2 fields with some strict logical validation rules. As an example, the validator will give you an error if you enter the value ‘No’ into the ‘Lining’ field and then enter a material value into the ‘Lining Material’ field. This makes no sense because there cannot be a lining material if the pipe is not lined. This logic includes pipes that are lined at manufacture.
Lining Material
continuous.LINING_MA
If the asset is lined, then specify the lining material. Else, leave it blank.
Lining Type
continuous.LINING_TY
If the asset is lined, then specify the lining type. Else, leave it blank.
Strategic Importance
continuous.STRATEGIC
This field contains both the old and new variables so that it gives useful information to the user for imported data. Users should only use the first 5 options in the pick list.
Joint Length [mm]
continuous.PIPE_U_LEN
The length in mm of the manufactured pipe units that make up the asset. Integer data value input. The HADDMS minimum expected value is 100 mm.
Year Constructed [yyyy]
continuous.CONSTR_YR
The year that the asset was constructed, if known. If this is not known, do not try to enter a Z or any other characters, leave it blank. The data input format is a year in numbers only.
Final Outfall Reference †
continuous.DOWNSTREAM
It is common for most highways drainage assets to flow the water to a discharge point such as a river or ditch. This field is for the SUPP_REF of the asset where the final outfall is, and may be quite some distance from the current inspection location for the CCTV crew.
Surface Material
continuous.SURFACE_MA
This is the surface material above the pipe and should always be used when the asset type is combined surface and sub-surface filter drain or is a fin drain.
Original Scheme †
continuous.ORIG_SCH
This is another field that is seldom used by CCTV contractors and mostly used by the areas and the HADDMS team. This is available to admin logins for information in case there is imported data in the field. Maximum 50 characters.
Constraint
continuous.CONSTRAINT
This is an odd name for a General Remarks field but the name does keep it nicely separated from the ‘Comments’ field on the right hand side which is used for comments about the inspection, not the asset. This field has a 254 character limit.
Section Inspection Header
Inspection †
This is a numeric counter inside the WinCan database for the asset inspection which starts at 1 and increments with each inspection added to the asset.
Catchment ID
This is the WinCan VX identifying key for tor the catchment in the project.
Warning - it is not advisable to edit this value in the header. The WinCan VX job data can be found in the Jobs panel of the Project Tab, where edits can be made on a job at a time, not a sub-part to a job.
Client’s Scheme Ref †
continuous.SUPP_SCH
This is the catchment ID from the area team and should not be edited. This field is read only so edits can only be made in the Jobs panel in WinCan VX.
Warning - if this field is left blank in a job record then any/all object inspection linked to it will not be exported into the shapefiles. It will not stop the export process, but will block the export of the selected assets. This is because HADDMS will not accept any asset records where this field is blank.
Contractor’s Job Ref †
This is the contractor’s job number for this piece of work, and would normally be the same in all jobs because each job in WinCan VX refers to a catchment. This field is read only so edits can only be made in the Jobs panel in WinCan VX.
Inspected Length [m]
The length of this inspection in metres, 3 decimal places.
Inspection Direction
The direction of the inspection along the asset, either upstream or downstream.
Company & Operator
continuous.INSPECTOR
This is a free text field with 12 characters. The suggested way to fill this is with a short code that describes the company followed by the CCTV inspector’s initials, so as an example 'WCE PW' would be describe WinCan Europe Paul Woodhouse in less than 12 characters without actually naming the operator and therefore protecting their identity reasonably well.
Date
continuous.DATE_OF_SU
The date of the current inspection. This is filled in automatically by WinCan VX when you create a new inspection record of an asset as the date that the record was created, but imagine a situation where the header was created on a night shift at 23:50 (i.e. before midnight) and then the actual inspection wasn’t started until 00:13 the next day, so the date is incorrect.
This is also taken care of for you by the software because the date and time is updated when you enter the start observation code or you start the video recording.
Also, if you are post processing video files and maybe coding them in the office a few days or weeks after the actual inspection was done on site, the date is automatically detected from the video file meta data creation date and is set to the actual date that the video was recorded in the background.
Time
continuous.TIME
The time of the current inspection in hours and minutes. This field behaves in the same way as the Date field above with auto-updates based on logic scenarios.
Quick Structural Grade †
continuous.STRU_GRADE
This field allows users to input user assessed grade values when following the Quick Assessment Guide and allows values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 9 where 9 is the value for ‘Attempted but Not Possible’.
The grading for all assets in HADDMS is fully automatic and these values are ignored usually except in one special case - when the value in ‘Inspection Status’ is set to ‘Inspected’ and the inspected length is blank or zero and there are no observation codes in this inspection, then the value in this field is copied into the shapefile because there is no way to calculate a grade in the normal way by computation and this fulfils the requirement of the Quick Assessment Guide.
Info - it is recommended to use this field when grading surface continuous items where no observation codes are entered.
Hint - can an asset have a structural grade of 9 (i.e. attempted but not possible) and a service grade of say 5?
Yes, if a ditch is full of silt then its service grade may be quick assessed as 4 or 5 but because of all the silt it is not possible to asses the structural condition of the asset.
Quick Service Grade †
continuous.SERV_GRADE
This field is the same as the field above but for the Service Grade.
Info - it is recommended to use this field when grading surface continuous items where no observation codes are entered.
Pre Cleaned
continuous.PRECLEANED
A simple Yes/No pick list option for this inspection.
Date Last Maintained
continuous.DATE_MAINT
A date entry field for this inspection where you can either double click in the field to automatically enter today’s date or type a date of your own using the computer number keys in the format ddmmyyyy.
Inspection Purpose
continuous.PURPOUS
A user pick list for this inspection which has similar values to the corresponding field in WRc templates. This field has a default value of ‘Sample Survey' specified.
Data Source †
continuous.ORIGIN_DAT
The source of the data that was used to create this data on the HADDMS system.
Other Source †
continuous.OTHER_SOU
This field is only to be used where the selected value for ‘Data Source’ above is ‘Other’. Maximum 254 characters.
Flow Control
continuous.FLOW_CTRL
A user pick list selection that describes what (if any) flow control measures were used to enable this inspection of this asset. Default value is ‘No Flow Control’.
Weather
continuous.PRECIPITAT
A user pick list selection for this inspection for describing the weather conditions.
Temperature
continuous.TEMPERATUR
A user pick list selection for the ambient temperature during this inspection.
Inspection Method
continuous.METHOD
A user pick list selection for this inspection which describes how the inspection was carried out.
Standard †
continuous.STANDARD
A text field for the inspection standard used for this inspection. This field has a default value of ‘CD535 DDMS’ applied. Maximum 18 characters.
Video Media Storage †
continuous.VIDEO_STOR
This field is used for selecting the type of media used for saving the video file(s) for this inspection. Default value is set to ‘Media File’.
Video Location System †
continuous.VIDEO_TIME
The video time referencing system used against the observation codes in this inspection. This is set by default to ‘Time code’ for new inspections because this is how this is always handled inside WinCan VX for all standards, and because the only other option apart from ‘Other’ (i.e. Tape counter) is a hangover from old analogue video tape recorders which don’t exist any more in the CCTV industry.
Video Image Volume †
continuous.VIDEO_VOL
This is another field from the past which is used to hold the name of the media volume that the current inspection is saved on. In years gone by, this would have been the name of the DVD or VHS cassette that this inspection media was saved on where there were multiple disks or tapes. Nowadays, it has little use.
Photo Type †
continuous.PHOTO_STOR
This field describes the type of photos used in this inspection and has a default value set for new inspections, again because the alternative pick list option is a legacy option that has no relevance nowadays.
Photographic Volume †
continuous.PHOTO_VOL
This is the same as ‘Video Image Volume’ but this time it is for photos.
Inclination Method
This is not a HADDMS field and contains a pick list that describes the level of effort and accuracy used when making an inclination test on the pipe. If there is no inclination test, then leave it blank.
Vehicle
Another field that is not used in HADDMS data, but contractors find it useful for filtering and managing data in merged projects. Suggested best practice is to enter the registration number of the CCTV van.
Camera
Also not used by HADDMS. A free-text field to describe the camera used on this inspection. Suggested best practice is that you type text which describes the type of camera used rather than it’s brand and/or model number:
Pan & Tilt Mainline
Forward Facing Mainline
Pan & Tilt Pushrod
Forward Facing Pushrod
Pole Zoom Camera
etc.
Preset Length [m]
Not used in HADDMS data. This is an important field for eliminating distance dimensional errors in CCTV inspections of pipes. More information is available in the MSCC5 (The Manual of Sewer Condition Classification, 5th Edition, WRc).
Client Defined 1, 2 and 3 †
These fields can be used for any specified data from the client or that is required by the contractor for managing their data. Maximum 100 characters each.
Comments
continuous.REMARKS
A free-text field that is used for remarks regarding this inspection with a maximum 254 characters. This field should not be confused with the ‘Constraint’ field on the left side which is for comments regarding the asset. This field is printed on the pdf reports.
Further Work Required
A simple Yes/No pick list option which is not used by HADDMS but is very useful for rehabilitation planning and filtering in WinCan VX. It is often likely that the client will request information of this type over and above the data requirements of the HADDMS database.
Recommendations
Maximum 100 characters free-text field which is also printed on the pdf reports.
Hint - user should be very clear and concise when using the Comments and Recommendations field because of limitations on space on the printed report. Comments should be short and to the point, without waffle. Examples might be Comments: ‘Line has many roots’ and Recommendations: ‘Root cut and full length liner’.
† These fields are only visible to users logged into WinCan VX as Admin and not to those logged in as Operator. Contractors are advised to use these login types efficiently because there will be many fields that the CCTV crew simply does not need to see, and they will be hidden when they are logged in as ‘Operator’, but everything is visible to users logged in as 'Admin'. Keeping a good control on this makes life a lot easier for regular CCTV inspectors.
Hidden Fields
There are a small number of HADDMS shapefile fields that are not available in the WinCan VX data entry areas because they have little or no use to contractors and are normally used by the areas or by Mott MacDonald. However, on import of data at the start of the round tripping process, there can be valuable information in these fields, but it is not ignored. So, the data is still imported into our database and it is exported back out again at the end of the process.
These fields include:
continuous.ATT_DOCS
Continuous Fields In Other Locations
There are some fields that map into and out of the continuous shapefile that are not found here in the section/lateral header. These are typically fields that are handled automatically by the software and can be found in other areas of the user interface, but under normal circumstances need not be worried about.
Scoring Fields (found in the Ratings panel view in WinCan VX in the section or lateral user area):
continuous.SERV_GRADE
Note - this field is available in the header but as described its user defined value is only used in special cases where the asset has been inspected but has a zero or null inspected length and has no observation codes.
continuous.SERV_PEAK
continuous.SERV_MEAN
continuous.SERV_TOTAL
continuous.STRU_GRADE
Note - this field is available in the header but as described its user defined value is only used in special cases where the asset has been inspected but has a zero or null inspected length and has no observation codes.
continuous.STRU_PEAK
continuous.STRU_MEAN
continuous.STRU_TOTAL
Backdrop height field (found in the node inlet or outlet data area for the point asset where the backdrop exists and is referenced against the SUPP_REF of the continuous item):
continuous.DOWNSTR_BA
continuous.UPSTR_BACK