The Node Header

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† Fields that are only visible to users logged in as ‘Admin’, not visible to those logged in as ‘Operator’.

‡ A range of field that all have Yes/No options only that all refer to physical attributes of point items.


WinCan VX Node Header

The WinCan VX node 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 node header, but not the section header.  The node header is vitally important in HADDMS projects and cannot be ignored 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.

  • Purple - these are data fields that are only used for region items.

  • 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 node 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]

Not all of the fields available here translate into both the point and region shapefiles. Some are common to both, and some are unique to one or the other.



Node Attribute Header

Node †

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 Drainage Asset, Modelling Node or Region Item as is described in the section .

Supplier’s Reference

point/region.SUPP_REF

In Nodes, this is the friendly name for the asset. Maximum 50 characters.

Imported Supplier’s Reference †

Added in WinCan VX v11.0 - This is a read only field that shows the imported value for the SUPP_REF. Additionally, a validation warning has been added to inform users that these two field values do not match. This field does not export to shapefile and is provided for error checking purposes only.

Node Type

point/region.ITEM_TY_CO

This is a mandatory field, 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 ‘Catchpit’ then the material is unlikely to be ‘Bitumen’.

Easting, Northing and Cover Level [m]

point.EASTING

point.NORTHING

point.COVER_LEVE

These three fields are for point items only although it is common to see values in them for region items where the centroid of the object is plotted. They represent the Cartesian coordinates of the node in metres, and 3 decimal places (i.e. mm) is considered an acceptable accuracy for display and export.

Status †

point.STATUS

Represents the validation status of the asset and is not found in continuous items. Pick list user option.

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  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 nodes, 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.

DDMS Reference †

point/region.ASSET_REF

This is the ID of the point 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.  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 ASSET_REF on upload.

Connected Continuous Item

point.SUPP_CONN

This field is mandatory when the ‘Node Type’ is a ‘Connector Node’ and is a critical error on HADDMS upload if it is left blank for this asset type. The underlying idea of a Connector Node is that it is a point where two item connect together such as where a gully leg connects with the main line. In this example, the downstream end of the gully leg is a lateral by definition and the ‘Connected Continuous Item’ for the Connector Node is the SUPP_REF of the continuous item that it sits on. Please be sure to understand the info provided here .

Connected DDMS Item †

point.ASSET_CONN

This is the matching HADDMS reference for the ‘Connected Continuous Item’ listed above and is not mandatory. Maximum 50 characters.

Node Depth [m]

point.DEPTH

This is the depth in metres (3 decimal places = mm) of the node. It should not be confused with the depth of the pipe. In manholes, there are very real situations where the 2 values may be the same, but in most other common point items like catchpits, soakaways and gullies, these 2 values are very different.

Node Invert Level [m] †

point.INVERT_LEV

This is the height above sea level for the lowest point in the node and is typically calculated using the ‘Calculate Invert Levels’ button in the WinCan VX Tools ribbon.

Town or Village

point.LOC_TOWN

Is a free-text field where you can add free text information.  Maximum 50 characters.

Road Name

point.LOC_ST

Is a free-text field where you can add free text information.  Maximum 50 characters.

Division or District

point.DISTRICT

Is a free-text field where you can add free text information.  Maximum 50 characters.

Location

point.LOC_TYP_CO

This data field defines where the point asset is located.

Steps ‡

point.STEPIRONS

For all node types.

Indicates if the point item has access steps of any type.

Steps.jpg

Ladders ‡

point.LADDER

For all node types.

Does the point item have a ladder for access?

Headwall ‡

point.HEADWALL

For all node types.

A Headwall is a structure around an inlet or an outlet, usually made from concrete or brick.

Screens ‡

point.SCREENS

For all node types.

Screens can be found on many different point item types, particularly inlets, outlets and outfalls.

Sign ‡

point.SIGN

For all node types.

Indicates if there is a sign that illustrates the location of this point item.

Guardrail ‡

point.GUARDRAIL

For all node types.

Refers to whether or not there is a guardrail around this point item. The Headwall photo above has a Guardrail.

Safety Chain ‡

point.SAFETY_CHA

For all node types.

Safety Chains can be found inside pipes and in node point items. The purpose of these is to allow someone to grab onto them for safety in the case that they loose their footing get washed away by the flow:

Safety Bar ‡

point.SAFETY_BAR

For all node types.

Much the same as a Safety Chains, but steel bars across the point item.

Vortex Separator ‡

point.VORTEX

For all node types.

A Vortex Separator is sometimes referred to as a ‘Cyclone’ and often has a conical shape. Water usually enters the device in the centre of the chamber and is then forced to swirl outwards towards the outside edges where the outlet pipe sits, and during this swirling motion, the silt settles out to the bottom of the chamber:

Vent Pipe ‡

point.VENT_PIPE

For all node types.

A Vent Pipe is a fresh air vent to high level for ventilating the drainage system, often found on petrol interceptors:

Benching ‡

point.BENCHING

For all node types.

Does the point item have any benching?

Channel ‡

point.CHANNEL

For all node types.

Whether or not the point item has a channel.

Trapped ‡

point.TRAPPED

For gullies only.

Refers to whether or not the gully has a water trap. Gullies that have a sump are usually trapped:

Side Entry ‡

point.SIDEENTRY

For gullies only.

Side Entry refers to gullies where the gully catchment pot is to one side (usually off the carriageway) of the flow inlet area:

Sump ‡

point.SUMP

For gullies only.

The sump of a gully is the part below the highest outlet pipe:

Flow Control Device ‡

point.HYDRO_FLOW

Indicates the presence of any flow control device listed below. A flow control device is any device that in some way controls the flow in a channel or pipe. This can include both slowing down the flow and speeding it up. If the answer to this field is ‘yes’, then at least one of the following devices must be present.

Flap Valve ‡

point.FLAP_VALVE

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Flap Valve is a self-sealing valve that opens when there is flow behind it and closes when there is no flow. These can be found inside point items and often at headwalls.

Penstock ‡

point.PENSTOCK

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

Penstocks can be very difficult to tell apart from Sluice Gates. The significant difference is that a Penstock has the ability to completely close off the flow of water:

Hand Stop ‡

point.HANDSTOP

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Hand Stop is a similar device to a Penstock except that it does not have a handle and geared thread action, and instead is simply raised and lowered by hand:

Sluice Gate ‡

point.SLUICE_GAT

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

Sluice Gates can be very difficult to tell apart from Penstocks. The significant difference is that a Sluice Gate will never completely stop the flow of water and will always incorporate some kind of overflow:

Weir ‡

point.WEIR

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Weir is a raised structure at the bottom of a channel that holds the flow back and allows it to overflow to a lower level. It is not uncommon for weirs to have water store behind them and no flow downstream during dry rainfall conditions:

Flume ‡

point.FLUME

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Flume is a design restriction in the shape and width of a channel that accelerates the velocity of the flow without holding back debris usually with a drop in altitude and can be used for flow measurement. The Weir photo above can also be seen to have a flume built into it on the far side and when the weather is very dry and the water level in the river is very low, the weir will most likely dry up completely and the remaining water will flow down the flume.

Orifice Plate ‡

point.ORIFICE

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

An Orifice Plate is a designed restriction added to the flow channel that is often used as a measurement device, and can be removed or resized as required:

Throttle Pipe ‡

point.THROTTLE

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Throttle Pipe is a designed restriction in a flow channel that can be used for flow measurement. In the image, the flow is from left to right and the channel gets smaller and then larger in the direction of flow, thereby accelerating the flow through the device.

Baffle ‡

point.BAFFLE

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A baffle is a flow restricting device that can be man-handled and adjusted to suit flow conditions, usually be adding or removing wooded boards to the baffle plate.

Hanging Wall ‡

point.HANG_WALL

Can be ‘Yes’ only if ‘Flow Control Device’ is ‘Yes’.

A Hanging Wall (or Hang Wall) is a solid fixed structure (often concrete across an open channel or across the flow channel inside a point item that holds back the water flow slightly and catches floating debris like plastic and wood:

 

No. Landings

point.NO_OF_LAND

An integer count of the number of landings inside the node.

Node Ownership

point/region.OWNER

A user pick list selection for the ownership field which is defaulted to ‘Highways Authority’ for new assets in the project.

Land Ownership

This is not a HADDMS fields but can be useful for rehabilitation planning and other analysis. The field has the same pick list options as the ‘Node Ownership’ field above.

Year Constructed [yyyy]

point/region.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.

Use

point/region.SYSTEM_TYP

The use of the point or region asset. Default value is ‘Surface Water’.

Construction Material

point.MATERIAL

The construction material for the main structure of the node, not of a specific part of the item. User pick list selection.

Construction Style

point.MH_CONTUC

A description of the construction technique used in this point item. User pick list selection.

Lining

point/region.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 point items that are lined at manufacture.

Lining Material

point/region.LINING_MA

If the asset is lined, then specify the lining material. Else, leave it blank.

Lining Type

point/region.LINING_TY

If the asset is lined, then specify the lining type. Else, leave it blank.

Strategic Importance

point.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.

Location Plan

This is not a HADDMS translated field. It is a field that contractors are encouraged to use to record the drawing number or name that they are using when they are working on site from printed or electronic drawings.

Final Outfall Reference †

point/region.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.

Capacity [m3] †

region.CAPACITY

Only used for region item data. This is the capacity in cubic metres of the region item. Integer data entry.

Raised Bank †

region.RAISED_BA

A Yes/No user pick list option for region items only.

Inundation Plan †

region.INUND_PLAN

A simple Yes/No user pick list option to indicate whether the region item has an inundation plan. An inundation plan shows flooding that could result from a hypothetical failure of the item.

Original Scheme †

point/region.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

point/region.CONSTRAINT

This is an odd name for a General Remarks field but the name does keep it nicely separated from the ‘Remarks’ field on the right hand side which is used for comments about the inspection, not the asset. This field has a 254 character limit.

Node 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.

Client’s Scheme Ref †

point/region.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.

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.

Inspection Direction

The direction of the inspection along the asset, either upwards or downwards. This has a default value of ‘Downwards’ applied in WinCan VX as this is the normal way to inspect nodes in the UK.

Company & Operator

point.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

point/region.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

point/region.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 †

point/region.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 depth 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.

Quick Service Grade †

point/region.SERV_GRADE

This field is the same as the field above but for the Service Grade.

Inspected Depth [m]

The depth of this inspection in metres, 3 decimal places.

Vertical Ref.

A non-HADDMS transferred field which defines the reference point from which all observations node parts and node connections are measured from. Contains a default value of the cover inline with normal UK practices.

Circular Ref.

This field describes the reference point in the point item where all clock positions are measure from as a clock reference. Default value is at 12 o’clock in line with HADDMS documentation, unlike WRc standard where it is at 6 o’clock.

North Direction

A field that can be used to describe which direction is North relative to the Circular Ref. above.

Longside Orientation

This describes the direction of the long edges of a rectangular chamber relative to the Circular Ref. The user pick list for this field only has 6 clock positions rather than 12 because 2 and 8 o’clock are the same thing in this respect.

Pre Cleaned

point.PRECLEANED

A simple Yes/No pick list option for this inspection.

Date Last Maintained

point.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

point.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 †

point/region.ORIGIN_DAT

The source of the data that was used to create this data on the HADDMS system.

Other Source †

point/region.OTHER_SOU

This field is only to be used where the selected value for ‘Data Source’ above is ‘Other’. Maximum 254 characters.

Flow Control

point.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

point.PRECIPITAT

A user pick list selection for this inspection for describing the weather conditions.

Temperature

point.TEMPERATUR

A user pick list selection for the ambient temperature during this inspection.

Inspection Method

point.METHOD

A user pick list selection for this inspection which describes how the inspection was carried out.

Standard †

point.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 †

point.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 †

point.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 †

point.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 †

point.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 †

point.PHOTO_VOL

This is the same as ‘Video Image Volume’ but this time it is for photos.

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:

  • Handheld

  • Mobile Phone

  • CleverScan

  • etc.

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.

Remarks

point/region.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.

 



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:

  • point.ATT_DOCS

  • region.ATT_DOCS


Point/Region Fields In Other Locations

There are some fields that map into and out of the point shapefile that are not found here in the node 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 node user area):

    • point.SERV_GRADE

    • point.SERV_PEAK

    • point.SERV_MEAN

    • point.SERV_TOTAL

    • point.STRU_GRADE

    • point.STRU_PEAK

    • point.STRU_MEAN

    • point.STRU_TOTAL

  • Chamber details (found in the node part chamber area):

    • point.CHAM_WIDT

    • point.CHAM_LENGT

    • point.CHAM_SHAP

  • Cover details (found in the node part cover area):

    • point.COVER_SHAP

    • point.COVER_DUTY

    • point.COVER_WIDT

    • point.COVER_LENG

    • point.COVER_HING

    • point.MANFACTER

    • point.GRATING

    • point.REM_BARS

    • point.OTHER_SHAP

  • Shaft details (found in the node part shaft area):

    • point.LENGTH

    • point.WIDTH


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