USask-city research aims to improve supply chains, shorten water main break repairs

Dr. Hamed Samarghandi (PhD), a professor of management science in USask’s Edwards School of Business with a degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering, pointed to the recent water main break in Calgary that resulted in a water supply crisis for the entire city, as one of the inspirations for this project.  

By categorizing the risk of failure in current city pipes and preparing an inventory and warehousing system to store future replacements, Samarghandi said Saskatoon can have a more cost-effective solution for handling issues that may arise.   

“Going from reactive to proactive, that’s the main reason for the project,” he said. “Also, the type of research we’re doing might end up saving the city money. Proactive ordering and storage in the warehouse might in fact save the city money due to the inflation effect. We will consider this matter in our models.”  

Samarghandi is working with Amanda Munshaw, an engineering manager with the City of Saskatoon’s technical services department. Munshaw said this joint venture aims to help develop a strategy for Saskatoon to maintain its vital infrastructure.   

“Access to safe water is a basic human right. The recent large-scale water main break in Calgary has raised public awareness of the risk large municipalities face with respect to water services,” Munshaw said. “Increasing supply chain pressures, such as product availability and long lead times, can cause delays in repairing large diameter water mains. This project aims to help the City of Saskatoon develop a risk-informed strategy for critical large diameter parts, thereby increasing the availability of Saskatoon’s water distribution system.”  

Samarghandi said Saskatoon has done well in planning and preparing for water pipe failures already – but as Munshaw pointed out, the issues faced by the City of Calgary have made municipalities across Canada re-evaluate the contingencies they have in place.   

“Another goal is to disseminate the knowledge that we gather in this project to other municipalities in Saskatchewan, to see if they want to modify that research based on their needs and use a similar system,” he said.   

The Research Junction initiative is a collaboration between the City of Saskatoon and USask’s Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives to support the development of joint research projects that address contemporary urban issues for the benefit of Saskatoon residents. Thanks to funding from this initiative, Samarghandi and Munshaw were able to bring in a master’s student to assist with the work and have begun to lay out a plan for the scope of the final project.   

Both lead investigators lauded the Research Junction program and said the connection between the city and the university has opened interesting doors for the research.   

“The USask research co-ordinator connected the city with a USask researcher with just the right background to tackle the problem, providing supply chain, engineering, and reliability analysis skills. I’m excited for the research to get started,” Munshaw said. 

-30-

For media inquiries, contact:

Victoria Dinh 
USask Media Relations   
306-966-5487 
victoria.dinh@usask.ca