InfoWorks ICM Generation V1.1

InfoWorks ICM is able to model manholes, pipes, inlets, natural channels and man-made channels. The resulting model contains common hydrology and can include both catchment and floodplain data.

This holistic approach to catchment modelling is especially important in the United Kingdom, where legislation and future asset management planning requirements mandate that planners use an integrated model when considering how to assess the more complex elements of flooding across an entire catchment.

InfoWorks ICM supports the running of simulations on standalone workstations, within a workgroup sharing computer resources, and within an enterprise system with dedicated servers and central storage. Users can monitor and control the progress of selected simulations and the queue of simulation jobs on a straightforward user interface. They can schedule simulations on their own local computers as well as remote computers, setting them to run as soon as possible or after a specified time. Simulations on remote computers can continue even when users have disconnected their own local computers. The simulation load can be balanced on an individual machine or within named groups of machines, giving equal priority to all users.

The new simulation server also allows users to store results locally or share them on a central server. Simulations can be left to complete and their results uploaded to the central server without further user intervention.

An easy-to-use scenario manager allows the user to quickly apply different "what if" scenarios to the base network model. This enables the user to maintain a single model of the drainage system and quickly construct, apply, and evaluate different scenarios as they relate to that model. Scenarios can be cut, copied, and pasted between different branches of the inheritance tree, allowing the user to quickly combine different scenarios to address a particular modelling concern.

The scenario manager also allows for the addition and deletion of network elements, such as pipes, pump stations and storage tanks, as well as network sub-models for each scenario. This enables the modeller to analyse sewerage master plans with future growth and land use changes in mind. A batch simulation feature facilitates efficient examination of alternative modelling scenarios by allowing the user to select which scenario(s) to analyse and then automatically run them.

Early reaction to InfoWorks ICM has been highly enthusiastic. Alan Wisdish, principal modeller at Atkins in Nottingham, UK, says "The ability to take the best elements of sewer and river models simultaneously to represent all flow paths makes ICM a necessity for integrated studies."