RSMS Forecasting Instructions

Table of Contents (click on any section to jump to section)

v.) Remember Selected Repair

vi.) Work with a Selection of Roads

H. Analysis Options

i.) Copy/Duplicate an Analysis

ii.) Export to CSV

I. Configuration Menus

i.) General Settings

ii.) Repair Cost Configurations

iii.) Priority Equations

J. Reports

K. Other

A.) QA/QC RSMS Data

Before exporting any data from ArcGIS Online into the SADES RSMS Forecasting software, all QA/QC must be done in ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Collector, or ArcMap. You may use any of the above methods to review the data for completeness and accuracy. Some of those checks are listed below:

All road surface widths have been completed
- A road segment with no road surface width will be unable to have costs assigned to that segment.
All distresses are completed
- If the distress was not present on the segment, be sure that the "Severity" field is populated with "No Defect" or else the software will not recognize that segment.
Every road has the same "Town Name" applied. This should be in all capitals and spelled correctly
- A road with a misspelled, lower case, or missing town name will be excluded from the analysis.
All necessary roads have been assessed
- After importing the dataset into Forecasting, no new road segments can be added without having to start over

B.) Export RSMS Data from ArcGIS Online

Once you are sure that the data on the ArcGIS Online SADES RSMS layer is complete and accurate, the next step is to export the entire layer as a CSV file. Follow the steps below to do this:

1. Go to www.arcgis.com

2. Click "Sign In" on the top right:

3. Enter your ArcGIS Online credentials and click "Sign In"

4. Click "Groups" on the top navigation bar:

5. Navigate to the SADES RSMS Group and click the group name or thumbnail

6. Once in the SADES RSMS Group, find the feature layer titled "SADES_RSMS_NoMorZ" and click on the name (not the thumbnail). The icon looks like this:

7. This will open the item details page similar to that shown below:

8. On the right side of the page in the list of menu options, select "Export Data". Then select the "Export to CSV" option:

9. In the prompt, enter a file name of your choice and a "tag" (keyword), then click "Export":

10. After clicking export, (this process may take a few minutes), the page will refresh and you will be redirected to the item details page for the CSV File. This screen looks like this:

11. On the top right menu, click "Download". This will download the file in a "zipped"/"compressed" folder to your default downloads folder.

12. Located the folder in your default downloads folder, and "extract" or "unzip" the folder to a known location on your computer.

13. Open the file in the folder in Microsoft Excel.

14. Continue on to Part C. Check CSV for Commas

C.) Check CSV for Commas

Before importing this CSV file into the Forecasting website, all commas need to be replaced with "slashes" in Microsoft Excel. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. With the CSV file open from Part B, open the "Find and Replace" menu in Microsoft Excel. (Crt+F for most computers)

2. Click "Replace" on the top ribbon. Fill in "Find what:" with a comma and fill in "Replace with:" with a slash. Click "Replace All".

3. When Microsoft Excel has completed the replacement, you will receive a "sucess" prompt like the one below.

4. Go to "File" and "Save As". Name your file what you would like. Change file type to "CSV (comma delimited)"

5. Click "Save" and exit Microsoft Word. Continue on to Part D. Access and Login to RSMS Forecasting Website

D.) Access and Login to RSMS Forecasting Website

The next step is to navigate to and log in to the RSMS Forecasting website. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to www.nhsades.com. Click "Links" on the top menu bar.

2. Click on the big, dark blue button labelled "SADES Road Surface Management System (RSMS) Forecasting"

3. This will open a new window with the RSMS Forecasting site. You will be prompted to enter your username and password here. Enter your credentials and click "Login"

4. Once you have logged in successfully, you will see this screen:

5. Follow the steps outlined in Part E. Import Dataset

E.) Import Dataset

Once you have completed all of the above steps, you are now ready to import the dataset into the forecasting program. If you have not completed Parts A-D in their entirety, now is the time to do so. Once you import your dataset, there will be no more opportunities to edit your RSMS data. When you are ready to import your dataset, follow the steps below:

1. Click "View Datasets" under the heading "My Datasets"

2. Click "Create New" under the heading "Dataset List"

3. Enter a name for the dataset, usually "TOWN NAME - YEAR" (ex. Brookline - 2018). Then fill in the town name of the town you wish to perform forecasting for. (be sure to spell correctly)

4. Click "Choose File" next to "Dataset Filename". Then navigate to the location of the CSV that was saved in Part C (with no commas)

5. Select the correct CSV file and click "Open"

6. Click "Insert" to create the dataset.

7. If successful, you will see your dataset listed on the screen like below:

8. Follow the steps in Part F. Create Analysis below:

F.) Create Analysis

Once you have completed all of the above steps, you are now ready to import the dataset into the forecasting program. If you have not completed Parts A-D in their entirety, now is the time to do so. Once you import your dataset, there will be no more opportunities to edit your RSMS data. When you are ready to create an analysis, follow the steps below:

1. While in the "Dataset List" view, click "View Analysis" next to the dataset of your choice.

2. Under "Analyses" click, "Create New"

3. Insert a name for your analysis next to "Analysis Name". Enter a "Start Year" for the analysis. Start year is the first year of the analysis for which repairs will be applied. LEAVE ALL OTHER FIELDS AT THE DEFAULT VALUES

*leave as

default values

4. Click "Insert" to create the analysis. If successful, you will see the analysis now listed on the "Analyses" screen.

G.) Work in Analysis Screen

Once the analysis has been successfully created, there are many actions you can perform from the analysis screen. Some of those options are listed below, click on any one to jump to that particular sub-section.

i.) Open Analysis

ii.) Filter by Street

iii.) Filter only Paved Roads

iv.) Assign a Repair

v.) Remember Selected Repair

vi.) Work with a Selection of Roads

i.) Open Analysis

1. Click "Open Analysis" on the Analyses list screen next tot he analysis you wish to open.

ii.) Filter by Street

1. Once you have opened an analysis, at the top of the analysis page, click the drop down next to "Filter By Street"

2. Select the Street Name that you wish to focus on.

Now the analysis screen just shows all road segments that make up the filtered road.

3. To undo, click the drop down menu next to "Filter By Street" and select "[All Streets]" at the very top of the list of street names. The filter is now removed.

iii.) Filter only Paved Roads

1. Once you have opened an analysis, at the top of the analysis page, click the drop down next to "Filter By Surface Type"

2. Select "Paved" to only view Paved Roads

3. To undo, click the drop down menu next to "Filter By Surface Type" and select "[All Surface Types]". The filter is now removed.

iv.) Assign a Repair

1. In the analysis screen, locate the road segment for which you'd like to assign a repair to, on the far right of that segment's row, click "Details"

2. This will open the repair screen as shown below:

3. The software will recommend some repair strategies based on the condition of the road segment. However, to view all options for repairs, select "Show All Repair Options"

4. When you have decide on which repair to apply, click the check box under the corresponding year of treatment on the row of the desired repair. In the example below, a "Crack Seal (Major)" was applied in 2020 and 2023.