B&N Insights: Artificial Intelligence, Real Solutions: Identifying Sewer Defects with AI
For decades, the sewer inspection process has remained largely unchanged: crews capture CCTV footage, and engineers manually code defects using more than 200 NASSCO standards. While equipment and coding standards have improved over time, the process itself has stayed labor-intensive, subjective, and time-consuming.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is offering a smarter, faster way forward.
This article explores how AI is being applied to modernize the defect identification and coding process in sewer inspections. By scanning CCTV footage and automatically identifying defects with associated NASSCO codes, AI tools are helping reduce video review time and improve data accuracy. These tools learn over time, becoming more accurate with every verified inspection, and store results in a structured database that supports better asset management and capital planning.
Importantly, AI doesn’t replace human expertise; it enhances it. Engineers still play a critical role in verifying results and training the AI to improve its performance. This human-in-the-loop approach ensures quality and consistency while allowing teams to focus their time on higher-value decision-making.
As sewer systems age and infrastructure needs grow, AI has the potential to transform how we inspect, evaluate, and plan, making the process more efficient, transparent, and repeatable.
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