Infrastructure Assessment
Purpose
Produce a structured condition assessment for a municipal infrastructure asset. Evaluate physical condition indicators against applicable standards, estimate remaining useful life, and classify rehabilitation urgency. Do not design remediation here — only assess current state and flag deficiencies.
Keep this skill narrow:
- Collect and normalize inspection data
- Evaluate condition against applicable standards (OPSD, CSA S6, OSIM)
- Score condition and estimate remaining service life
- Flag critical deficiencies and safety concerns
- Hand off to
infrastructure-standards for design-standard lookups if needed
Use when
- An infrastructure asset needs a condition assessment
- Inspection data, age, material type, or failure history is available
- The next step needs a
condition_assessment.json
Do not use when
- The task is to design a new asset or select materials
- The task is to look up a specific standard requirement (use
infrastructure-standards)
- The task is to produce a capital plan or budget estimate
Inputs
{
"project_id": "uuid",
"asset_type": "storm_sewer | sanitary_sewer | watermain | bridge | culvert | manhole | catchbasin",
"asset_id": "municipal asset ID or null",
"location": {
"address": "123 Main St, Toronto ON",
"coordinates": [43.6532, -79.3832],
"road_name": "Main Street",
"municipality": "Toronto"
},
"known_attributes": {
"material": "concrete | PVC | HDPE | steel | cast_iron | ductile_iron | corrugated_steel_pipe",
"diameter_mm": 600,
"length_m": 120,
"install_year": 1965,
"depth_m": 3.0,
"last_inspection_date": "2023-06-15",
"inspection_type": "CCTV | visual | OSIM | load_test"
},
"inspection_data": {},
"failure_history": []
}
Required fields:
asset_type- One of
asset_id or location
Optional fields:
known_attributes (improves assessment quality)inspection_data (raw inspection findings)failure_history (past breaks, collapses, or service disruptions)
Outputs
Produce exactly one artifact: condition_assessment.json.
{
"project_id": "uuid",
"asset_type": "storm_sewer",
"asset_id": "municipal ID",
"assessment_timestamp": "ISO datetime",
"condition_rating": {
"overall": 1,
"structural": 2,
"operational": 1,
"scale": "1-5 (1=very good, 5=very poor)",
"methodology": "PACP | OSIM | visual | estimated"
},
"remaining_useful_life_years": {
"estimate": 15,
"confidence": "high | medium | low",
"basis": "age-based | condition-based | failure-rate"
}
Reference Router
Load only the reference file relevant to the current assessment:
| Asset Type | Load This Reference |
|---|
| Pipes (storm, sanitary, watermain) | references/opsd-standards.md |
| Bridges and culverts | references/csa-s6-bridge-code.md |
| Both pipe and structure | Both files |
Workflow
1. Identify the asset and collect attributes
- Confirm asset type and location
- Gather material, age, diameter/span, depth, and installation year
- If asset_id is provided, look up municipal records
- If only location is provided, identify assets from spatial data
2. Review inspection data
For pipes (CCTV inspection):
- Apply PACP (Pipeline Assessment Certification Program) grading where available
- Grade structural defects: cracks, fractures, deformation, joint displacement, collapse
- Grade operational defects: roots, deposits, infiltration, exfiltration
- Note defect location by distance from upstream manhole
For bridges and culverts (OSIM inspection):
- Apply Ontario Structure Inspection Manual condition states (1-4)
- Evaluate: deck/top slab, soffit, walls/abutments, bearings, foundations, waterway adequacy
- Check for scour, spalling, reinforcement exposure, bearing failure
3. Evaluate material condition
Use age-based deterioration curves when inspection data is insufficient:
| Material | Expected Service Life |
|---|
| Concrete pipe (non-reinforced) | 50-75 years |
| Reinforced concrete pipe | 75-100 years |
| PVC pipe | 75-100 years |
| HDPE pipe | 50-75 years |
| Vitrified clay pipe | 75-100+ years |
| Corrugated steel pipe | 25-50 years |
| Cast iron watermain | 75-100 years |
| Ductile iron watermain | 75-100+ years |
| Concrete bridge deck | 50-75 years |
| Steel bridge superstructure | 75-100 years |
Adjust for:
- Soil conditions (corrosive soils reduce life by 20-40%)
- Traffic loading (heavy truck routes accelerate deterioration)
- Water chemistry (aggressive water reduces pipe life)
- Maintenance history (regular cleaning extends operational life)
4. Assess hydraulic adequacy
For pipes:
- Compare design capacity against current service demand
- Flag undersized infrastructure based on current IDF curves
- Note if upstream development has increased flows beyond design
For bridges:
- Check waterway adequacy for design flood
- Assess freeboard requirements
5. Rate overall condition
Apply a 1-5 condition rating:
| Rating | Condition | Description |
|---|
| 1 | Very Good | New or recently rehabilitated, no defects |
| 2 | Good | Minor deterioration, fully functional, routine maintenance only |
| 3 | Fair | Moderate deterioration, functional but approaching planned intervention |
| 4 | Poor | Significant deterioration, rehabilitation needed within 5 years |
| 5 | Very Poor | Failed or imminent failure, emergency intervention required |
6. Classify rehabilitation priority
| Priority | Criteria |
|---|
| Routine | Condition 1-2, no safety concerns |
| Planned | Condition 3, schedule for capital program |
| Urgent | Condition 4, prioritize in next budget cycle |
| Emergency | Condition 5, immediate action required |
7. Flag safety concerns
Always check for:
- Structural collapse risk (condition 5 structural)
- Sinkhole potential (pipe failure under roadway)
- Bridge load posting requirements (reduced load capacity)
- Environmental release risk (sanitary sewer failure near watercourse)
- Public safety hazards (exposed reinforcement, barrier failure)
Quality Bar
- Never assign condition rating 1-2 without supporting inspection data or known recent rehabilitation
- Age alone is insufficient for a rating worse than 3 — require deficiency evidence for ratings 4-5
- Always distinguish between facts (inspection results) and inferences (age-based estimates)
- Flag every assumption explicitly
Stop Conditions
Stop and return a partial artifact when:
- Asset type cannot be determined
- No inspection data and no installation date are available
- Location is ambiguous and multiple assets could match
- Inspection data format is unrecognizable
Reference Files
| File | Description | Key Topics |
|---|
references/opsd-standards.md | Ontario Provincial Standard Drawings for pipes and manholes | OPSD 701, 702, 704 series; standard dimensions, materials, installation requirements |
references/csa-s6-bridge-code.md | CSA S6:19 Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code | CL-625 loading, design criteria, clearances, deck widths, evaluation procedures |
Read only the reference file relevant to the asset type being assessed.
External References
