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BY HOWARD HODDER, MGIS, GISP, MCKIM & CREEDAs municipalities, utility providers, facility managers (e.g,. colleges and universities)

and DOTs deal with such issues as aging infrastructure, funding priorities, population growth and even sea level rise, the need for an asset management program becomes

increasingly important.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING AN ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

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THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN

Planning an Asset Management SolutionBY HOWARD HODDER, MGIS, GISP, MCKIM & CREED

ARE YOU AND YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE READY FOR THE FUTURE? Asset management is a complex topic spanning multiple disciplines and industries, each with their own unique definition. Municipalities, private utilities, DOTs, universities and facility management campuses have a lot to consider as they best position themselves to implement a successful solution for their infrastructure assets, such as:

• Can the plan be implemented? Can you achieve your goals in coordination with your available budget and timeframe? How can you do more with less?

• How can you capture and leverage the institutional knowledge that may walk out the door with your retiring employees?

• How can decisions/spending/communications be more transparent with your public/customers and/or decision/budget makers?

Comprehensive asset management solutions enable decision makers to catalog essential data that helps forecast, plan and budget for necessary infrastructure improvements. This data includes but is not limited to:

• accurate locations of all owned/maintained assets such as manholes, valves, hydrants, inlets, pipes, headwalls, outfalls, and street lights;

• inventories and conditions of roadways, bridges, signs, traffic lights, trees, etc.;

• dates when infrastructure was constructed, installed, inspected, and repaired;

• maintenance and rehabilitation planning and expenditures; and

• the value of your infrastructure.

CHOOSING AN ASSET MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

Once the value and reason for infrastructure asset management have been established, the next step involves developing, selecting, and implementing an asset management solution. There are many solution providers and possibilities with varying functionalities and large cost differences. However, there are a few simple factors that stand true across the board: plan first, collect and validate your data and, though the technologies and processes may change, recognize that the overall project will never end.

PLAN FIRST

Planning is the most important step in any asset management solution development process. Spending the time, effort and monies on this task will pay dividends down the line. Remember,

EDITOR’S NOTE: MCKIM & CREED RECENTLY EXPANDED ITS GIS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES WITH A FULL-SERVICE TEAM OF GIS PROFESSIONALS AND A NEW OFFICE IN HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA. HOWARD HODDER LEADS MCKIM & CREED’S GIS SERVICES.

The need to plan first—and plan well—cannot be stressed enough. Do the homework, perform due diligence, ask questions, and exhaust resources.

PLANNING

DESIGN

PROCUREMENTCONSTRUCTION

OPERATION

MAINTENENCE

In its broadest sense, asset management refers to any systematic approach of caring for, upholding the value of, or disposing of assets. Assets can be tangible, like buildings, streets and water, or intangible, such as intellectual property or employees. Infrastructure asset management programs apply financial, economic, engineering and other management practices to physical assets with the objective of providing the required level of service in the most cost-effective manner. This includes a life cycle approach that starts with planning, data collection and analysis; and encompasses design, construction, operations, and maintenance/repair/replacement of physical and infrastructure assets.

INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET LIFECYCLE

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planning helps define the understanding of the project. Planning also assists with the development and selection of the required building blocks necessary to implement a solution(s) that provides both short- and long-term positive returns on your investment (ROI). The planning stage guides the decision-making and purchasing processes to maximize the ROI while considering such factors as time, the reduction of re-work and, ultimately, finances and budget.

Planning is the stage where you get to ask questions. Not just questions about what solutions are available on the market and what they cost or how long it will take to install, but difficult organizational questions. Questions like:

• What data is currently available? • What is the quality and completeness of available datasets? • What are the short- and long-term goals? • Who and how will staff and/or even the public need or want to

interact with the selected solution? • What can we really afford now versus what can wait a little

while? • Is there flexibility to start small, and advance as the needs

dictate and budget allows?

Questions can go on and on and, depending on the answers to those initial questions, additional inquiries will be and should be completed.

Also, during the planning stages, entities must consider many different factors such as asset inventory, existing and future planned programs (e.g., construction and expansion, existing capital improvement plans, etc.) and the roles and responsibilities of who does what. This includes the evaluations of existing administrational and operational processes and procedures.

Absolutely essential to the planning process is the involvement of all levels of staff. Do not just ask the boss who assigned the task to pick and implement a solution. It is essential to take the time and make the effort to query the potential end users of

the proposed system. This will provide insight on what major functions the system needs to be able to perform, as well as what data is available for population/migration. Buy-in by operational staff is crucial to solution implementation and its overall success. Change management is extremely important and critical, and it will directly correlate to the final success or failure for the selected solution.

RECOGNIZE THAT DATA IS KING

The most important component of any asset management system is the data. Of course, there are the hardware and software components, as well as the end users’ processes and expectations, but the most important, and often most costly element, is the data. Without the data, the other components are lifeless. And without quality data, analysis results and decisions made upon those results become incomplete and incorrect, and can potentially lead to other problems. Like the old saying goes, garbage in : garbage out.

When most people think of technology solution implementation, they look at all the bells and whistles and see all the great reports and analysis that can be provided back to the end user. These are certainly good, but without accurate, precise, complete and up-to-date information, the fancy tools, processes and outputs are mostly useless. Running an analysis and getting a report using incorrect or outdated information not only produces incorrect results for decision making, it can result in more catastrophic ramifications depending upon the magnitude of that decision.

So, is it a surprise that data development, data collection, input and/or migration, along with data maintenance, is the most expensive piece? The question that then needs to be answered is “What is good enough?” Many factors must be considered:

• What must be known?

• How accurate do the datasets need to be?

• What will be the current and future uses of this information?

• Who should compile the information?

• What does the schedule look like?

• What is the budget?

Unfortunately, budget most often drives the final product outcome, which can cause end users to reduce data quality to meet quantity and time frames. However, by establishing a planned, supported, dynamic solution, one can implement data enhancements over time as budgets become available.

The most important, and often most costly element, is the data. Without the data, the other components are lifeless.

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UNDERSTAND THAT THE PROCESS NEVER ENDS

Taking on the task of developing, implementing and utilizing an asset management solution is a continuous process. For it to be successful, one must realize that the process should never end. Why? Because data is constantly changing, asset information is being updated/added/edited, and technology is continuously advancing.

An asset management solution can start small with a simple feature inventory and condition assessment, and then be cultivated over time with various additional integrated solutions, processes, and analytical capabilities. These additions create value and efficiencies as needed and when budget dollars become available.

The infrastructure asset life cycle is recurring. New/updated projects require planning, which may lead to additional projects that are needed to maintain, replace, enhance or impact/change the system as a whole. In other words, one project leads to the next.

It may take only a few months or years to complete a project from planning to construction, but the true cost/benefit of the project is seen in the operation/maintenance phase over decades.

KNOW THAT GETTING STARTEDIS THE HARDEST PART

Asset management is more than just a piece of software and/or hardware that can be purchased off the shelf. It is a complex combination of spatial inventories and work management processes, tracking and analysis, with a long line of cause-and-effect outcomes. The use of a successful asset management solution over time (e.g., additional data input, updates, historical recording, etc.) will reduce, but not eliminate, the requirements of reactive maintenance of infrastructure.

Over time, a successful asset management solution will reduce the requirements of reactive maintenance of infrastructure.

One project leads to the next.

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By focusing on data analysis and historic record and improving plan forecasts over multiple years, you can achieve more with less, or at least be able to defend why monies need to be spent. The analysis offers transparency to the public and to elected officials. In other words, asset management can help reduce and/or decrease the surprises of potential catastrophic infrastructure failures and budget overruns, ultimately providing the best quality service to the citizens and customers.

Sometimes getting started is the most intimidating and difficult task to overcome. There is no time like the present to begin improving your infrastructure grade.