SewerAI Testimonial: Melchor Mateo, P.Eng. — RF Binnie & Associates

RF Binnie & Associates is one of British Columbia's most respected civil engineering firms, with decades of experience delivering municipal infrastructure projects across the province. Their work spans water distribution, wastewater collection, and stormwater management — and sewer condition assessment is a core part of their service offering to municipal clients.

In this testimonial video, Melchor Mateo, P.Eng., a senior engineer at RF Binnie, walks through how his team integrated SewerAI's AutoCode AI computer vision technology and PIONEER cloud platform into their sewer assessment workflows — and the measurable impact it has had on productivity, accuracy, and client deliverables.

About RF Binnie & Associates

RF Binnie & Associates is a leading civil engineering consultancy headquartered in British Columbia, Canada. The firm provides a full range of municipal engineering services to local governments and utilities throughout the province, with particular expertise in underground infrastructure — including sewer rehabilitation planning, CCTV inspection program management, and condition assessment reporting.

As municipalities across BC face aging sewer infrastructure and growing inspection backlogs, RF Binnie has been at the forefront of adopting technology-driven approaches to deliver faster, more accurate, and more cost-effective assessments for their clients.

The Challenge: Scaling CCTV Inspection Review Without Sacrificing Quality

Traditional CCTV sewer inspection review is a time-intensive process. Trained technicians must watch hours of pipe footage, manually identify and code defects according to NASSCO PACP standards, and compile findings into structured reports for municipal clients. As inspection volumes grow, so does the burden on engineering staff — creating bottlenecks that can delay project delivery and increase costs.

For RF Binnie, finding a solution that could accelerate the review process while maintaining the rigorous quality standards their municipal clients expect was a top priority. That search led them to SewerAI.

Integrating SewerAI's AutoCode AI into the Assessment Workflow

SewerAI's AutoCode is an AI-powered computer vision engine purpose-built for CCTV sewer inspection footage. It automatically detects, classifies, and codes pipe defects in accordance with NASSCO PACP standards — dramatically reducing the time engineers and technicians spend on manual review.

Melchor describes the integration process as straightforward. RF Binnie was able to incorporate AutoCode into their existing inspection workflows without significant disruption, uploading CCTV footage directly to the PIONEER platform and receiving AI-coded results that their engineers could then review, verify, and finalize.

Key aspects of the AutoCode integration highlighted by RF Binnie include:

• Automated defect detection across a wide range of PACP defect codes, including structural, O&M, and construction observation defects
• Consistent coding quality that reduces variability between individual reviewers
• Significant reduction in the time required to process and review inspection footage
• A human-in-the-loop review model that keeps engineers in control of final deliverables

Productivity and Accuracy Gains

One of the most compelling outcomes Melchor highlights is the productivity improvement RF Binnie has experienced since adopting AutoCode. By automating the initial defect detection pass, the team can process significantly more footage in the same amount of time — freeing up senior engineers to focus on analysis, rehabilitation planning, and client communication rather than repetitive coding tasks.

Accuracy has also improved. AutoCode's AI model is trained on millions of pipe inspection observations, enabling it to detect subtle defects that can sometimes be missed during manual review — particularly in long inspection runs where reviewer fatigue is a factor. The result is a more thorough and defensible condition assessment that RF Binnie can confidently deliver to their municipal clients.

The PIONEER Platform: Streamlining Data Management and Client Collaboration

Beyond AutoCode, RF Binnie has leveraged SewerAI's PIONEER cloud platform to transform how they manage inspection data and collaborate with municipal clients. PIONEER serves as a centralized hub for all inspection footage, AI-coded observations, and condition assessment reports — replacing fragmented file-sharing workflows with a structured, accessible, and auditable system.

Melchor notes that PIONEER has made it easier to share progress and findings with municipal clients in real time. Rather than waiting for a final report at the end of a project, clients can log in to PIONEER and review inspection results as they become available — improving transparency, enabling faster decision-making, and strengthening the overall client relationship.

Additional PIONEER capabilities that have benefited RF Binnie's workflow include:

• Centralized storage and organization of CCTV footage and inspection records
• Automated generation of NASSCO PACP-compliant condition assessment reports
• GIS-integrated mapping of inspection results for spatial analysis and rehabilitation prioritization
• Secure, role-based access for engineering staff, field crews, and municipal clients

NASSCO PACP-Compliant Deliverables

For engineering firms working with Canadian municipalities, the quality and compliance of condition assessment deliverables is non-negotiable. NASSCO PACP (Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program) is the industry standard for sewer pipe condition assessment in North America, and municipal clients expect reports that fully conform to its coding and scoring methodology.

Melchor confirms that the deliverables produced through SewerAI's AI-assisted process meet the PACP compliance requirements their clients demand. The combination of AutoCode's AI coding and the PIONEER platform's reporting tools produces structured, auditable outputs that hold up to scrutiny — whether for internal asset management purposes or for regulatory reporting.

Why RF Binnie Recommends SewerAI

At the close of the testimonial, Melchor offers a clear recommendation to other engineering firms and municipalities considering SewerAI. His endorsement is grounded in practical experience: RF Binnie has seen real, measurable improvements in how they deliver sewer condition assessment services, and those improvements translate directly into value for their municipal clients.

For firms looking to scale their inspection programs, reduce turnaround times, and deliver higher-quality PACP-compliant reports, SewerAI's combination of AI-powered coding and cloud-based data management represents a compelling solution — one that RF Binnie has validated in the field across multiple projects in British Columbia.

Watch the Full Testimonial

The full testimonial video (~5 minutes) is available on YouTube. Watch Melchor Mateo's testimonial here to hear firsthand how RF Binnie & Associates is using SewerAI to modernize sewer condition assessment in British Columbia.