Infrastructure management is the discipline that manages elements used as the basis of an economy, such as roads, water, electrical energy, etc. Traditionally, these types of assets have been owned and managed by local or central administrations. Investment in this type of asset is made with the intention that the benefits improve living conditions and bring prosperity.
A well-defined service standard is the foundation of infrastructure asset management. The service standard defines, in an objective and measurable way, the performance of the asset, including a minimum level of operation aligned with the impact that an asset failure would represent. There are two main objectives in asset infrastructure management related to the service standard:
Maintaining the service standard (System maintenance)
Contenido
Los elementos clave que dan soporte al estándar de servicio son:.
Defined service standard
Without a defined service standard, it is not possible to know what level of service users can expect, nor to carry out effective control of the life cost of the asset. A defined service standard allows the asset manager to determine how the success or failure of its management will be measured, and the user knows what to expect for the expenditure made on the asset.[1].
Managing against a defined service standard makes the job of asset managers easier and avoids the need to make large improvements or changes in short periods of time, or to prepare benefit calculations associated with each intervention carried out on an asset. Asset management takes as an approximation the total life cost of the asset to develop decisions related to the exploitation, maintenance, repair or replacement of assets.[2].
The first task that must be performed to establish a service standard is to define objective and measurable specifications that determine the performance of the asset. Usually this includes the specification of attributes of the asset, important for its operation, such as location, type, weight, capacity, etc.
Infrastructure policy
Introduction
Infrastructure management is the discipline that manages elements used as the basis of an economy, such as roads, water, electrical energy, etc. Traditionally, these types of assets have been owned and managed by local or central administrations. Investment in this type of asset is made with the intention that the benefits improve living conditions and bring prosperity.
A well-defined service standard is the foundation of infrastructure asset management. The service standard defines, in an objective and measurable way, the performance of the asset, including a minimum level of operation aligned with the impact that an asset failure would represent. There are two main objectives in asset infrastructure management related to the service standard:
Maintaining the service standard (System maintenance)
Contenido
Los elementos clave que dan soporte al estándar de servicio son:.
Defined service standard
Without a defined service standard, it is not possible to know what level of service users can expect, nor to carry out effective control of the life cost of the asset. A defined service standard allows the asset manager to determine how the success or failure of its management will be measured, and the user knows what to expect for the expenditure made on the asset.[1].
Managing against a defined service standard makes the job of asset managers easier and avoids the need to make large improvements or changes in short periods of time, or to prepare benefit calculations associated with each intervention carried out on an asset. Asset management takes as an approximation the total life cost of the asset to develop decisions related to the exploitation, maintenance, repair or replacement of assets.[2].
Good specifications avoid details about the method used for their use but are specific enough to be measured easily. For example, for a “highway” asset a specification may be that it allows the movement of 200 vehicles per day. A flood management asset should be specified at the level of location and elevation, not in terms of the time required to recover from what it protects against.
The degree of minimum operating condition built into the service standard defines when an asset needs to be maintained, repaired or replaced. With performance-based maintenance, decisions are flexible and depend on the current condition of the asset, as well as its age and future deterioration profile. This differs from a preventive maintenance plan in that it functions as a response to the deterioration of an asset.[3][4].
For example, cleaning a sewer is done every time there is a storm that partially blocks it, instead of every two weeks. The degree of minimum operating condition must be determined objectively, aligned with the impact of the failure of this asset during its use. This degree offers a key point that allows making decisions regarding investments.
Also called total cost of ownership or life cycle cost.
During the life of an asset a large number of interventions will be carried out to meet the agreed service standard. Carrying out calculations of the benefits of each individual intervention on an asset, or even annual intervention plans on an asset, would be highly complex and costly. It is the sum of the cost of all interventions and their effect on the total cost of meeting the service standard that is of interest to organizations.
The implementation of a system that maintains a history of expenses, as well as the forecast made to meet the service standard, can offer a solid tool through which to evaluate the actions of the asset manager.
The objective of making decisions regarding investments is the following:.
Offering the determined standard of service is an action that can be accomplished more or less easily. The most complex part is minimizing the life costs of the asset.
Asset management plan
Asset management plans are tactical plans for managing an organization's infrastructure and assets to achieve strategic objectives. Typically, an asset management plan includes more than one asset, taking a systems approach, especially when a large number of assets must work together to achieve the agreed service standard.
It is in the asset management plan that the service standard is set and compared to current standards, together with a long-term plan that shows how an organization will achieve the service standard with the minimum lifetime cost of the asset.
Changes in service standard (increase in capacity)
Asset Catalog Strategy
The purpose of a service catalog strategy is to cover the user's needs in the most effective and efficient way.
Key questions for an asset catalog include:
The result of this asset catalog strategy typically includes strategic changes to the catalog to achieve strategic objectives, including those that can be achieved without the use of infrastructure assets.
This may be a combination of creating or acquiring new assets, or destroying or upgrading existing assets. Depending on the motivations for the change, this may be to supply new demand (bringing electricity to a new settlement), to address limitations (providing greater road infrastructure) or in response to a reduction in demand (closure of abandoned roads) or places where investment policy has changed (flood defenses on low-value agricultural land).
In asset catalog management, long-term sustainability is a major constraint. Increasing the catalog of assets beyond what will be bearable in the future generation to maintain and operate is not sustainable. Social and environmental costs as well as benefits must be considered to deliver a sustainable plan.
Management of improvement programs
Improvement project management is the management of a medium-term plan within a series of projects that allow the strategic objectives identified in the asset catalog to be met. The improvement program includes a mix of acquisition or creation of assets, as well as changes to existing ones to improve the standard of service, or in case of retirement or disposal of assets, reduce the standard of service. Controlling the initiation of change projects is an important function of improvement project management.
Improvement project management
Changing the service level of an asset requires a consideration of costs and benefits. This often includes consultations with users and stakeholders who may be affected by the change. As a result, service standard changes are managed as a project.
In the development phase of each project, a business case for change is necessary when options are developed, compared and consulted before selecting the most suitable option.
Once the investment is determined, managing risks and costs during the implementation phase is the responsibility of the project manager before development is completed and the asset manager takes its place.
History
The development of the Toyota Production System between 1948 and 1975 began the path toward infrastructure asset management as a comprehensive approach to reducing costs. This concept has been linked to the risk management principles of the nuclear and oil industry. Asset management unites the two concepts to allow offering a service with a certain quality at the lowest possible cost. An early development in the application of these ideas to manage public assets occurred in New Zealand with the passing of the Local Act 1974. This required each local authority to:.
These requirements are aligned with the objectives of infrastructure asset management and are presented as the first attempts to carry out an asset management plan. Previously, the costs of maintaining and operating an infrastructure were not known. The introduction of Australian Accounting Standard 27 (AAS27) in 1993 had a similar effect, causing local governments to report the value and depreciation of their infrastructure assets.
In New Zealand this was taken a step further with the Local Government Amendment No 3 in 1996 where local governments were required to:.
To provide a greater level of detail, more advanced asset management plans were created. In order to encourage a more consistent approach and following previous experience, the New Zealand Infrastructure Asset Management Manual was published in 1996. Since then, the theory and application of asset management has developed and been adopted in other countries with a high number of infrastructure assets. An international infrastructure asset management manual was printed in 2000. The 2006 version includes case studies from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the UK and the US.
References
[1] ↑ «MFOA Ontario (2018). Asset Management Framework: A Guide to Asset Management for Municipalities in Ontario.».: http://mfoa-amp.ca/AMF/AMF_04.html
[2] ↑ El-Diraby, Tamer E.; Kinawy, Sherif; Piryonesi, S. Madeh (2017). «A Comprehensive Review of Approaches Used by Ontario Municipalities to Develop Road Asset Management Plans». Transportation Research Board.: https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=1437181
[3] ↑ Piryonesi, S. M.; El-Diraby, T. (2018). «Using Data Analytics for Cost-Effective Prediction of Road Conditions: Case of The Pavement Condition Index:[summary report]». United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology. FHWA-HRT-18-065. Archivado desde el original el 2 de febrero de 2019. Consultado el 20 de febrero de 2020 – vía National Transportation Library Repository & Open Science Access Portal.: https://web.archive.org/web/20190202153647/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/18065/index.cfm
[4] ↑ Piryonesi, S. M.; El-Diraby, T. E. (2020) [Published online: December 21, 2019]. «Data Analytics in Asset Management: Cost-Effective Prediction of the Pavement Condition Index». Journal of Infrastructure Systems 26 (1). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000512.: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061%2F%28ASCE%29IS.1943-555X.0000512
The first task that must be performed to establish a service standard is to define objective and measurable specifications that determine the performance of the asset. Usually this includes the specification of attributes of the asset, important for its operation, such as location, type, weight, capacity, etc.
Good specifications avoid details about the method used for their use but are specific enough to be measured easily. For example, for a “highway” asset a specification may be that it allows the movement of 200 vehicles per day. A flood management asset should be specified at the level of location and elevation, not in terms of the time required to recover from what it protects against.
The degree of minimum operating condition built into the service standard defines when an asset needs to be maintained, repaired or replaced. With performance-based maintenance, decisions are flexible and depend on the current condition of the asset, as well as its age and future deterioration profile. This differs from a preventive maintenance plan in that it functions as a response to the deterioration of an asset.[3][4].
For example, cleaning a sewer is done every time there is a storm that partially blocks it, instead of every two weeks. The degree of minimum operating condition must be determined objectively, aligned with the impact of the failure of this asset during its use. This degree offers a key point that allows making decisions regarding investments.
Also called total cost of ownership or life cycle cost.
During the life of an asset a large number of interventions will be carried out to meet the agreed service standard. Carrying out calculations of the benefits of each individual intervention on an asset, or even annual intervention plans on an asset, would be highly complex and costly. It is the sum of the cost of all interventions and their effect on the total cost of meeting the service standard that is of interest to organizations.
The implementation of a system that maintains a history of expenses, as well as the forecast made to meet the service standard, can offer a solid tool through which to evaluate the actions of the asset manager.
The objective of making decisions regarding investments is the following:.
Offering the determined standard of service is an action that can be accomplished more or less easily. The most complex part is minimizing the life costs of the asset.
Asset management plan
Asset management plans are tactical plans for managing an organization's infrastructure and assets to achieve strategic objectives. Typically, an asset management plan includes more than one asset, taking a systems approach, especially when a large number of assets must work together to achieve the agreed service standard.
It is in the asset management plan that the service standard is set and compared to current standards, together with a long-term plan that shows how an organization will achieve the service standard with the minimum lifetime cost of the asset.
Changes in service standard (increase in capacity)
Asset Catalog Strategy
The purpose of a service catalog strategy is to cover the user's needs in the most effective and efficient way.
Key questions for an asset catalog include:
The result of this asset catalog strategy typically includes strategic changes to the catalog to achieve strategic objectives, including those that can be achieved without the use of infrastructure assets.
This may be a combination of creating or acquiring new assets, or destroying or upgrading existing assets. Depending on the motivations for the change, this may be to supply new demand (bringing electricity to a new settlement), to address limitations (providing greater road infrastructure) or in response to a reduction in demand (closure of abandoned roads) or places where investment policy has changed (flood defenses on low-value agricultural land).
In asset catalog management, long-term sustainability is a major constraint. Increasing the catalog of assets beyond what will be bearable in the future generation to maintain and operate is not sustainable. Social and environmental costs as well as benefits must be considered to deliver a sustainable plan.
Management of improvement programs
Improvement project management is the management of a medium-term plan within a series of projects that allow the strategic objectives identified in the asset catalog to be met. The improvement program includes a mix of acquisition or creation of assets, as well as changes to existing ones to improve the standard of service, or in case of retirement or disposal of assets, reduce the standard of service. Controlling the initiation of change projects is an important function of improvement project management.
Improvement project management
Changing the service level of an asset requires a consideration of costs and benefits. This often includes consultations with users and stakeholders who may be affected by the change. As a result, service standard changes are managed as a project.
In the development phase of each project, a business case for change is necessary when options are developed, compared and consulted before selecting the most suitable option.
Once the investment is determined, managing risks and costs during the implementation phase is the responsibility of the project manager before development is completed and the asset manager takes its place.
History
The development of the Toyota Production System between 1948 and 1975 began the path toward infrastructure asset management as a comprehensive approach to reducing costs. This concept has been linked to the risk management principles of the nuclear and oil industry. Asset management unites the two concepts to allow offering a service with a certain quality at the lowest possible cost. An early development in the application of these ideas to manage public assets occurred in New Zealand with the passing of the Local Act 1974. This required each local authority to:.
These requirements are aligned with the objectives of infrastructure asset management and are presented as the first attempts to carry out an asset management plan. Previously, the costs of maintaining and operating an infrastructure were not known. The introduction of Australian Accounting Standard 27 (AAS27) in 1993 had a similar effect, causing local governments to report the value and depreciation of their infrastructure assets.
In New Zealand this was taken a step further with the Local Government Amendment No 3 in 1996 where local governments were required to:.
To provide a greater level of detail, more advanced asset management plans were created. In order to encourage a more consistent approach and following previous experience, the New Zealand Infrastructure Asset Management Manual was published in 1996. Since then, the theory and application of asset management has developed and been adopted in other countries with a high number of infrastructure assets. An international infrastructure asset management manual was printed in 2000. The 2006 version includes case studies from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the UK and the US.
References
[1] ↑ «MFOA Ontario (2018). Asset Management Framework: A Guide to Asset Management for Municipalities in Ontario.».: http://mfoa-amp.ca/AMF/AMF_04.html
[2] ↑ El-Diraby, Tamer E.; Kinawy, Sherif; Piryonesi, S. Madeh (2017). «A Comprehensive Review of Approaches Used by Ontario Municipalities to Develop Road Asset Management Plans». Transportation Research Board.: https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=1437181
[3] ↑ Piryonesi, S. M.; El-Diraby, T. (2018). «Using Data Analytics for Cost-Effective Prediction of Road Conditions: Case of The Pavement Condition Index:[summary report]». United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology. FHWA-HRT-18-065. Archivado desde el original el 2 de febrero de 2019. Consultado el 20 de febrero de 2020 – vía National Transportation Library Repository & Open Science Access Portal.: https://web.archive.org/web/20190202153647/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/pavements/ltpp/18065/index.cfm
[4] ↑ Piryonesi, S. M.; El-Diraby, T. E. (2020) [Published online: December 21, 2019]. «Data Analytics in Asset Management: Cost-Effective Prediction of the Pavement Condition Index». Journal of Infrastructure Systems 26 (1). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000512.: https://dx.doi.org/10.1061%2F%28ASCE%29IS.1943-555X.0000512