Establishing a Pathway for Achieving Water Utility Infrastructure ManagementExcellence

摘要

This paper describes the research carried out by the Buried Asset Management InstituternInternational, Inc (BAMI-I), which was sponsored by the Environmental ProtectionrnAdministration (EPA) under EPA Grant-CP 83 282901-1. This project involved therncooperative effort of a unique team of academic research leaders of four majorrnuniversities, utility representatives, and several professional associations.rnA survey developed for one of the participating universities showed that the majorityrnof utilities claimed to have some kind of asset management program. The majorityrnconsidered that creation of a National Center of Excellence would provide the biggestrnbenefit through training for manager, engineers and for personnel. Therefore, thernexisting need for knowledge, training and education about asset management practicesrnin the water industry motivated the creation of this certification program.rnBased on the individual projects of each consultant, BAMI-I created the AssetrnManagement Training Certification Program. The Certification Program is an onlinerneducational process for obtaining certification of training in management ofrnunderground asset infrastructure. It is a pioneer program in the United States that isrnestablishing a new path for stakeholders in the water industry interested in achievingrnwater utility infrastructure management excellence.