Fuzzy-FMECA Decision-Making Tool for Assessment and Analysis of Performance of Urban Sewerage Networks

Abstract

Sustainable and effective management of urban sewerage networks (USNs) require relevant, appropriate, and effective decision support tools. This article proposes an innovative decision-making methodology, namely, the fuzzy failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) method, based on the fuzzy logic of risk, severity, and detectability indexes as defined in FMECA. Fuzzy-FMECA is based on rules that connect the concepts of inductive reasoning, logical implications for inferred knowledge of USNs using linguistic or numerical descriptions of the risk, gravity, and detectability indexes. The application of the proposed methodology to a practical case study of the USN of Oued M’Kacel in the city of Algiers, Algeria, proves its effectiveness. Furthermore, the performance of USNs from the proposed fuzzy-FMECA is compared to the performance from FMECA. The results show that the fuzzy-FMECA method can help sewerage managers assess the rehabilitation and prioritization of USNs in a more effective way.