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Overcoming common modelling frustrations

Georgina Palmer, Hydraulic Modeller at Jacobs


 

Introduction

As a hydraulic modeller, I often find myself repeating processes I’ve done many times before. Modelling projects can be quite formulaic, so combined with desired deliverables often being similar, there is big potential to streamline those processes.


In addition, there are modelling tasks that I, and I’m sure many others, find frustrating and inefficient. How many times have you tried to run a model you’ve been sent and found that it isn’t possible due to missing files?


Within the world of modelling, there is an increasing desire to run more simulations in even less time, so we need to be as efficient with the hours (and budgets!) we are given as possible.


Flood Platform was developed by Jacobs in response to a need to provide robust solutions to modelling challenges. It offers solutions for model management, visualisation, simulation, analysis and collaboration in addition to a number of other useful tools.


Initially developed for internal use 15 years ago, it has been continually refreshed and improved upon since then. It’s now time for others to experience its capabilities and learn how they can resolve common modelling challenges.


Incoming Models 

Rather than building models from scratch, we often inherit them and use them as a starting point. Before making any updates, it’s important that we understand exactly what we already have and if it is fit for purpose. The laborious task of unzipping various folders onto project drives and servers and checking their contents will be particularly familiar to those of you who review models. 


Flood Platform provides a solution to this. The model management tools can unpack your incoming model files quickly and effectively, sorting them into file types for you to investigate. During upload, the Flood Platform system runs a number of background checks and will highlight issues in your folders, such as missing files that are required to run your model. No more will you have to cross your fingers as you set a model running in the hope that a client has sent you everything you need in the correct file structure!


You can also click through the uploaded model files and view the majority of them within the Flood Platform interface, which speeds up the review process. For example, a tlf file which details the simulation parameters and inputs used within a TUFLOW model can be viewed without having to download and open it separately.



Being able to view and check everything within one platform, rather than searching around and digging through folders, plus the advantage of knowing that everything you need to run a model is present before you press ‘Go’, will bring peace of mind to modellers and create time savings that will benefit budget managers too.


At Crunch Time ...

I think it's rare in modelling projects that we don’t come under time pressure at some point. Perhaps due to unexpected model instability or because we’ve been waiting for a topographic survey. In short, we’ve all ended up in a position where we need to run as many simulations as possible in a short period of time, and they need to run successfully without interruption.


Flood Platform can assist here. It makes use of cloud compute to enable many numbers of simulations to be run coincidentally. So, there’s no longer a need to choose which simulations take priority and which you’ll have to sacrifice; Flood Platform gives you the ability to run them all at once.  


You can view live model performance data, such as number of wet cells and negative depths during the simulation, and you can be notified if the model run becomes unstable and crashes. These features are particularly valuable in a time crunch, as you can check that your simulation is progressing as expected within the Flood Platform interface, and you can set up notifications that will ping your phone if your model run crashes. Notifications like this will save me having to log on over the weekend to check the status of simulations, for which I’m sure my family will be grateful!



Flood Platform can also be used to view simulation results once they’re available. A selection of dashboards are available to examine details such as mass balance errors and can produce plots of model convergence at the click of a button. Historically, These processes have required navigation through several folder locations to find the correct result output file, copying of data across to formatting software to produce graphs, and repetition of the same task for multiple simulations. Flood Platform gives you everything you need to interrogate essential metrics and start your model review within the software.


Ready to Share? 

In my experience, the most painful part of a hydraulic modelling project has often been the handover of files to clients, both for mid-project review and at project completion. As model files are usually quite space-intensive, there’s complexity in transferring files externally. There are options available, but they require zip folders, copying to certain locations, or sharing links to give specific permissions to view. All of the above take time that we don’t always have to spare.


Successful collaboration can be the difference between a project’s success or failure, and as such, it has been a key focus during the development of Flood Platform. The result is a system that promotes easy data sharing and opportunities for engagement throughout the project lifecycle.


You can grant external clients access to your Flood Platform model workspaces so they can simply log in and see your model and results in the browser without needing them to copy anything anywhere or download specific software packages. You have full control over exactly what they see; security is a priority, and user permissions can be controlled granularly within the interface. Sharing results has never been so simple. 



Users with permission can interrogate model results and leave comments, both spatially and temporally, to draw attention to any areas of concern. This makes the review process much easier - you'll know exactly where to focus your efforts rather than spending time trying to understand what the reviewer is referring to in their email. Over time, your project workspace will capture actions and decisions, so you’ll have a history to look back on and comments to refer to when questions undoubtedly arise down the line.


In Summary ... 

The modelling industry is constantly evolving, but one key theme I’ve seen over my time within it is an increasing need to optimise workflows to maximise outputs. In order to do this, we need to resolve the challenges we face in our day-to-day roles. A good place to start is by addressing frustrations that are common across the discipline and many of our projects. Flood Platform, which has been developed specifically with the needs of modellers and clients in mind, offers features and capabilities to do just that.


 



 
 

Georgina Palmer


Georgina is a Hydraulic Modeller at Jacobs. She has experience working on projects for a range of clients using a selection of modelling packages, and is keen to promote a culture of communication, sharing and collaboration within the modelling industry.




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