1. What’s New: ACPA Apps and Online Resources
Corey Fraser
What’s New: ACPA Apps and Online Resources
Good afternoon,
You have seen and heard throughout the school, our theme of Proud past devoted to the future. We started with the Legends and Vision of our industry. Well this session will tie in perfectly with the Vision of our Industry. They talked about increased efforts in Marketing. The product used to basically market itself, but now with increased competition from competitors we need to stay relevant. What the ACPA technical and marketing Committees have done is help us move to the 21st century. By giving us these creative tools such as apps and online resources, that maybe all engineers and decision makers do not need, but will help promote our products and make us more visible in the market place. That being said, we are going to look at some of the tools the ACPA has been working on to achieve this…

2. The starting lineup is…
Introduction
Concrete Pipe and Box Culvert Installation Manual
Installation Cost Comparison Tool
Pipepac
Compare Flow
Whats Next?
So what will we be discussing today, I usually do not give these inside look into what I will be going through but the last several presentation I sat in, they had this. I liked it from an audience member because I knew when the presentation was drawing to a close. That’s why I went ahead and placed it in here, to give y’all an idea of when I’d be done.
So we will start with an overview of what apps are, then go into the web resources ACPA has developed which include the Concrete Pipe and Box Culvert Installation Manual, the Installation Cost comparison Tool, Pipepac, Compare Flow and then we will take a look at what’s next on the plate for ACPA .

3. App Definition:
Shortened form of 'application.' A piece of software in a computing environment. Popularized by Apple Computers Inc. with the introduction of the iPhone.
Mainly implemented because the majority of the Apple user base is too dumb to even be able to use two mouse buttons, let alone pronounce a four syllable word.
–Urban Dictionary
To begin this slide, I would like to do a poll:
Who has never heard of or used an app?
An application or app for short is just a piece of software that can be downloaded to your phone or tablet.
Most are great for wasting time, such as games (candy crush, angry birds), videos (Youtube and netflix) and “other” (put a cat on it)
Almost any app you can imagine has been developed and yes most are great for wasting time.
However, some are very useful and can make the user more productive…(gotomeeting, maps, calendar)
Our apps..hopefully fall into this ladder category.

4. Developing a Successful App
Entrepreneur’s Essentials for Apps
Solve a Problem
Make it Intuitive
Start Marketing in Advance
The ACPA along with any other developer wants the app to be successful
And according to Entrepreneur, there are 4 essentials for Successful Mobile Apps
1. Solve a problem. Every successful product solves a problem that a great number of people experience. We all know that vitamins have a positive impact if you take them regularly. Yet, if you miss a dose, there's no harm done. However, if you've got a bad headache, an Aspirin becomes a must have product, without which, you'd suffer far longer.
Your app needs to be the Aspirin that people need.
There are two ways to look at problems that can be solved. You can solve either the intrinsic problems (think the Flashlight app) or the ones that are enhancements (think Solar, a weather app with a sleek user-friendly interface). Each of these approaches works equally well as long as it satisfies a need for consumers.
2. Make it intuitive. Are you making life simpler for your user? Is your mobile app intuitive? Can people figure out how to use your app within seconds to minutes without any guidance?
You want to offer users a fantastic experience. Take for instance, Clear app, which entered the hugely competitive market of to-do list apps. Coupling a great concept with fantastic usability is what made it a big hit in the app store.
A great user experience also means making sure your app is free of bugs and crashes. According to a report by Compuware, only 16 percent of users will try a failing app more than twice.
3. Start marketing in advance. Don't make the mistake of starting your marketing plan once your app is developed. Successful apps are promoted way before they even hit the app store.
Let's talk about the Clear app again. This app started to get tech blog coverage based on demos, previews and teaser videos even before it went to market. Within nine days of its launch, 350,000 copies sold.
Divide your marketing plan into three phases: pre-launch campaign, launch campaign and post-launch campaign. Create banner images that will go up on your app store profile page. Use absolutely stunning screenshots of your app in the app store description. Write a fantastic app description and use the right keywords. These are just a few examples of all that you can do to gain visibility among your target audience.

5. Concrete Pipe and Box Culvert Installation Manual
The first app we will discuss is the concrete pipe and box culvert installation manual.
How many of you have seen our paper-version of this installation manual?
This is the same manual that was developed by the Technical Committee and put in paper form, we are not trying to reinvent the wheel
Rather, put it out in different mediums to reach more people.
Now, that it is free to download and store on your phone, it becomes much more accessible.

6. What is it?
Best Practices for Installation of Concrete Pipe and Box Culverts
Focuses on the pipe soil system
Addresses critical factors of entire system
Before I get ahead of myself, I would like to give some info on the manual itself.
While focusing on the construction of the pipe-soil system, this manual also addresses those factors critical to the completion of the entire system, from delivery of the concrete pipe to the jobsite, to the acceptance of the installed pipeline.

7. Who are the intended users?
Contractors
Inspectors
Engineers
The obvious intended user is the contractors. The manual was built for the contractor to improve installations across the country.
It can also help inspectors in the same regard. Inspectors can refer to the manual if they see the installer using questionable methods.
The manual contains appropriate ASTM and AASHTO Standards that can be used when calling out correct pipe classes and field testing methods.

8. How do you access it? eBook search for Concrete Pipe and Box Culvert
Apps Page of ACPA Website
The app is relatively easy to access.
For tablets and phones, you can go to the app store for androids and the iBook store for apple to find the book.
A search for Concrete Pipe and Box Culvert should be sufficient for finding the book.
Once you have found it, just hit the download button.
It can also be found on our website on the apps page. From here, you can choose either iTunes or Google Play to download
Or you can get a free pdh version for the computer from Google Books.

9. Demo
Website > Google Books > Preview this Book > Table of Contents > Pipe Installation > Box Installation > Specifications > Appendix
Any questions on the eBook before I move on?

10. Installation Comparison Calculator
Next, we will take a look at the Installation Comparison Calculator.
Unlike the Installation Manual, this is a relatively new toll that has been created. We first put it on our website Summer of 2013.
Has anyone in the room used this app or promoted it to engineers?

11. What is it? Tool to evaluate cost of backfill
Compares Concrete Pipe versus Plastic Pipe
Based on AASHTO Standard Trench Details
First, lets discuss what the tool is actually used for.
As the name states, ii is a tool to evaluate the cost of a pipe installation.
It directly compares RCP verses HDPE pipe using AASHTO minimum trench limits.
Pipe prices are manually entered for the pipe materials, backfill material and disposal costs.

12. Who are the intended users?
Specifiers
Contractors
These may not be the intended users per say, but who you want to target when using the program.
Who has been told how much cheaper it is to specify HDPE?
I heard this one at trade shows before…Man it’s just so much easier to install that HDPE Pipe.
So I asked, Really, even with the additional lifts over the crown of the pipe?
And of course he had no idea what I was talking about. He thought they were installed exactly the same way.

13. Where can you find it? Runs on the ACPA Website
Now that we have an idea of what the app can do, you need to find it.
It is on the ACPA website…Actually on the site. It runs directly on ACPA’s site.
The app is basically an excel program converted into an app.
The calculator is not available as a phone app as of now,
however, the tool can be downloaded onto your pc and ran as an excel file, so you can have offline access.

14. Demo
Website > Mention the blurp at the top of the page RCP vs. Plastic > The Installation Tool uses areas to calculate the volume of native soil that needs to be discarded and the amount of backfill material necessary to fill that void > Example using 48” Diameter $50 and $60 for RCP and $40 for HDPE, 300 linear feet, Cost of Backfill Material Assumption $18, Cost of Native material disposal fee $30 > There are no tricks here, it just uses those minimum requirements for trench width that are laid out in AASHTO.
Any questions before we move on?

15. Pipepac
Next, we will discuss another veteran piece of software that we have given a facelift recently.
Who has used or seen the Pipepac program?
It is currently free to download version 3.1 from our website, the problem being that it doesn’t work on anything higher than Windows Vista.
So, we were having several downloads, then I get a call asking why it would not work and if I could do some runs in the program for them.
The ACPA wised up a bit and decided to make Pipepac a free web application, that runs directly off a website. The initial cost was much higher then upgrading the disks, however,
A new disk will not have to be upgraded every time there is a new Windows or AASHTO changes their loading patterns. In other words, it will be cheaper for us in the long run to keep the program up to date and available for all users.

16. What is it?
Software for selecting the correct material for buried infrastructure systems
Includes Three Independent Programs:
3EB
CAPE
LCA
PipePac® Software helps you select the right material for buried infrastructure systems and lets you determine the real cost of materials over the design life of the project. Integrated analysis is offered using three independent programs: (3EB) to select pipe class, CAPE (Cost Analysis of Pipe Envelope) and LCA (Life Cycle Analysis).
STRUCTURAL CACULATION (3EB) Structural Calculation - 3EB computes earth loads on concrete pipe in accordance with the methods presented in the Concrete Pipe Design Manuals of the American Concrete Pipe Association, the Ontario Concrete Pipe Association and Tubecon. 3EB analyzes underground pipelines for standard installation conditions, trenches, embankments, and jacked and tunneled pipe. Loads are derived using the indirect design method that relates the supporting strength of the buried pipe to the strength obtained in a Three-Edge Bearing test (thus the 3EB acronym) through the use of bedding factors. The program analyzes all standard live loads such as aircraft and railroad loadings, as well as AASHTO and Canadian truck loads.
COST ANALYSIS OF PIPE ENVELOPE (CAPE) Reduce cost and eliminate waste with CAPE. With a CAPE analysis, you get a more realistic picture of the bottom line. CAPE aids in estimating the material costs of the embedment zones for both rigid and flexible pipe, and allows for the comparison of different embedment scenarios.
LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS (LCA) What is the real cost of the materials you are specifying over the design life of the project? Total cost are calculated using present value, annualized costs, or future value methods. LCA's ease of use decreases the time and costs of conducting economic analyses, and promotes more cost effective project designs.

17. Who is the Target Users? Consultant Engineers Colleges DOT Engineers
On top of our industry using the program, the second most downloads come from consultant engineers.
This program and Boxcar are the two programs I get the most calls about. Consultants like it because a municipality will tell them they need a Class 4 pipe, when the consultant would like to place a Class 3. They will call me and ask if there is literature or something they could use and I direct them toward Pipepac. The design will normally come out on the low end of a Class 2, so it is already over-designed.
Tell story of San Francisco.
Colleges seem to love this program. Does anyone travel around doing ASCE lunch and learns or presentations at Universities? They like it because it can make their senior projects and classes much easier. Its a good opportunity for us to have young engineers using our resources. Some colleges have called and put the disk version on all the computers at their campuses.
DOT Engineers for the most part have fill height tables that they refer to when specifying our product. This program can be useful if trying to get them to update their fill height tables.

18. Where to access the software?
It is is simple to access the program, the web address is
There are a couple complications as of now though. For some odd reason, the program can run on the internet browser Google Chrome but when it is tried on internet explorer, the program crashes. The developers have pushed this problem onto us because they can’t host the program on their servers. So now, Josh Beakley is working with our IT guys to host the program on our server. I believe we can still keep the domain name of pipepac.com. That being said, I have Google Chrome, so I can use it

19. Demo
Plans to incorporate entry into homepage, for a better understanding of who is viewing the app. > Thanks to the Concrete Pipe Associations in Canada for their sponsorships to get this program developed. > Go through a three edge bearing design, showing every input.
Any questions?

20. Compare Flow
So now we will get into the Piece de Resistance of the presentation, our first legitimate phone app.
Who has downloaded the app and gone through some flow calculations?
Everyone should have it!
Lets take a look at what the app does…

21. What is it? ACPA’s first phone app
Compares flow capacity of pipes using Manning’s equation
Inputs include Diameter, Slope, Number of Barrels and Manning's n
As I mentioned earlier, this is ACPA’s first app that can be downloaded in the iTunes and android market. The app came out of the technical committee and originally only solved for the constant of the geometries in manning's equation. It is meant to be a quick comparison tool to evaluate different geometries and pipe materials in the pipe sizing process.
After the original came out, most were in agree-ance that he slope needed to be added in, so the actual flow rate would be calculated.
SO this was the first major update to the app, which was added around July, 2013.
So the program has the ability to compare round, elliptical, box culverts.
It includes the typical inputs needed for manning's equations, diameter, slope, manning's n, while also offering multiple barrels to be evaluated.

22. Who is the Target Users? All Engineers College Students
This app is well rounded enough that it can be useful for any engineer that works with storm drainage.
It is meant to compare different pipe shapes and materials, you aren’t going to design the actual project using this program.
It’s great for at lunch or the bar when discussing options to pull up and show.
Plus, most everyone loves apps, and for engineers to have an app they can use in their field is exciting. There are endless productivity and bookkeeping apps, but engineers do not have that many specifically made for them. So they want to download it regardless of if they will use it.
Any presentation I give, regardless of what it is, I will promote the app and the audience might be bored out of their mind when I am talking about indirect design but as soon as the app is mentioned they are all writing down the name and how to download it.
This is another good way to get our name out among young engineers. I know when I was going to school, having an app to check my homework in hydrology class would have been nice. I might have made better grades.

23. Where is it? iTunes and Android Market
Links on ACPA Website and Facebook
We have tried to make the app available through different avenues. We are promoting it on our ACPA website and Facebook pages. This will take you to iTunes or Google Play to download the app to your account.
You can also download it directly form the iTunes and Android app store. You simply do a search for Compare Flow in the app store and download.

24. Demo
Open App > Read and explain liability statement > Explain Flow Capacities Screen > Show the about screen and go through it > Compare Circular Concrete Pipe, Elliptical, Flexible and show results of each
I personally think iEngineering did a nice job on the layout and design of the program. If we look back at the essentials to make the app successful, I think we have achieved them all. We are in a slightly different situation, since this is a free app. But it solves a problem…I have done some searches for other app’s using Mannings equation and I couldn’t find any. It is intuitive, you could learn to use this app within the first 10 minutes of using it, if not sooner. Lastly is the marketing efforts. We have sent several blasts of the release and are promoting it on our website and facebook. It sits at about 1000 downloads currently which is not bad. I think we could get many more if y’all start mentioning it when visiting clients and Owners. It’s very easy to drop in a presentation or at a lunch. And going back to what I have seen, you will get a good response… something like of y’all have an app, cool where can I get it.

25. What's Next? Installation Cost Comparison added to Compare Flow
Any Ideas?
Technical and Marketing Committee
Now, continuing with this Pipe School’s theme and the Vision of our Industry. What is next for the app world of the ACPA.
Currently, we are working to add the installation Cost comparison tool to the Compare flow app. It would be on the second page, where you have the option of the Flow Capacities, About and the ACPA website. This should be a cheap addition to the current app with minor costs (that’s what we hope). It also makes sense logistically, you compare pipe sizes in compare flow, then you can take those diameters and see the installation costs associated with them.
Personally, I would like to see the Three Edge bearing Portion of Pipepac made into an app for tablets. I think the program lends itself well to an app format and it would make it easier if you are in a meeting at a remote location with no available internet. That’s just an idea I had while putting this together…
But if you have any good ideas or suggestions, feel free to bring them to the ACPA’s Technical or marketing Committees.

26. Questions?