title: A balancing act: the consulting engineers' pragmatic view of process modelling.
abstract: Modelling: what do we know, what do we want to know and why? The practical application of models to real projects is often circular because these questions weren't asked prior to making the decision to model the plant under study. Modelling wastewater treatment plants can provide insight into the inner workings of the process that might not be attainable any other way, but is that added process knowledge always needed or necessary and what criteria does one use to determine the level of effort required? These complex modelling decisions require education, communication, and improved understanding amongst both modellers and clients. This submission explores the use of models by consultants for consulting purposes and the balancing acts (time versus knowledge and cost versus benefit) that the consulting engineer must manage when embarking on any modelling project.
authors.affiliation: Primodal, Inc., 122 Leland Street, Hamilton, L8S 3A4, Ontario, Canada. copp@primodal.com
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Copp
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Burbano
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Narayanan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kinnear
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Melcer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brischke
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D012307:Risk Factors; D012498:Sanitary Engineering / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors