SaniChoice can automatically find all valid system configurations from a set of technologies. Because this number is very high, it provides only a limited number of options according to the system settings defined under “Case Settings”. By default, SaniChoice provides 10 systems from 10 different system templates according to the highest appropriateness score.
How are Entire Sanitation Systems Generated?
A sanitation system is defined as a set of sanitation technologies which, in the given configuration, manages sanitation products from their point of generation to the final point of reuse or disposal. A sanitation system is valid if it contains only compatible technologies and every sanitation product either finds its way into a subsequent technology or a sink. Two sanitation technologies are compatible if the output product of one can be the input product of the other or vice versa.
IMPORTANT: sometimes SaniChoice provides systems that are valid based on the definitions, but do not make sense from an engineering perspective (e.g. treating faeces in a biogas reactor). There the systems require a plausibility check and can be excluded if not relevant.
Compare Systems
The main output of SaniChoice is a number of sanitation system options which are locally appropriate, diverse in terms of templates, and of manageable size to be meaningfully discussed with stakeholders e.g. in a workshop setting. For each system, SaniChoice provides the performance for different system evaluation criteria:
- System appropriateness based on the aggregated system appropriateness scores for each criteria.
- System complexity define by…
- Technical maturity defined based on three categories of technology readiness level.
- Capital and Operation Expenditure Requirements
- Resource Recovery and Loss Potentials (for nutrients, total solids, and water)
You can visually and interactively compare different systems regarding various decision criteria through the online dashboard.
Read more on all the system evaluation criteria in the approach.
Additional Criteria
It is important to note that the evaluation criteria provided by SaniChoice are often not sufficient to make a final decision. Further criteria need to be evaluated independently and differ in different applications, but often include a more detailed assessment of the costs, service delivery models and health risks.
Refine your Choice
After having thoroughly explored and compared the systems, you may wish to adapt your case settings. For example, you may want to add an additional constraint or narrow down the selection by including more filters. This can be achieved by going back and refining your choice
Choose the Preferred System with Stakeholders
After comparing the systems with one another, you must reach a common agreement with the various stakeholders involved regarding the selection of your preferred system. Which systems should be implemented?
During this phase, it is important to take into consideration the interests of each stakeholder and make informed trade-offs to find common ground.
Step 5 of the Strategic Planning with SaniChoice – A Step-by-Step Guide provides the method to present and discuss the SaniChoice results with stakeholders to jointly select a preferred sanitation system. The practitioners guide can be downloaded here.
