Guiding Practices and Principles for Getting the Most and Best from Your Asset Management Program

摘要

While utilities across the country are confronted with the need to replace aging infrastructure, they continue to face competition for limited funds within cities, and they feel the political stigma associated with raising water and sewer rates. Utility managers are also typically facing CSO, SSO and MS4 regulatory compliance costs on top of the day-to-day costs to manage their aging assets. Consequently, many utility managers are struggling with how to properly and cost-effectively manage and renew their assets versus deal with the next emergency collapse. Often, we hear, "We don't have time to plan because we are always putting out fires." Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky (SD1) faced these same challenges and asked two simple questions: 1. How do I get the most and best from my Asset Management (AM) program? 2. Can my AM program work seamlessly and complement my regulatory compliance programs? To answer these questions, SD1 developed seven guiding practices that can apply to all utilities facing these same challenges: 1. Identify overall AM program scope/perform an assessment to determine the starting point 2. Develop the system's staffing structure and asset management, team 3. Develop an asset inventory 4. Develop the utility's level of service 5. Develop governance of CMMS and GIS to support new and existing processes, reporting, and data management Lean; asset management; organizational improvement and development; optimization; transformation; utility management; key performance indicators; level of service; capital improvement program; process mapping; core functions; lean transformation; data management strategy; CMMS; operations 6. Develop an O&M strategy and logic to support a preventative/predictive program 7. Prioritize O&M and capital investments and monitor to confirm performance metrics Often, public utilities are applying asset management practices, but they are not effectively executed by, or communicated to, internal users. Add this to a lack of an organized framework and checks and balances, and it's clear why many public utilities struggle to achieve a fully optimized program. A visible, enterprise approach to managing assets should focus on investing in each asset using an efficient and cost-effective maintenance program based on risk and financial factors to achieve a defined level of service, improve public health and safety, and realize a reduction in capital budgets and operating expenses. The best decisions about asset management are made when accountability, level of service, risk, customer satisfaction, financial tracking, and performance data are prioritized. A focus on these areas creates a consistent, management-wide effort that guides investments and resource allocations in a way that achieves a sustainable infrastructure that meets or exceeds regulatory and community requirements backed by a strong financial, technology, and service delivery strategy. The seven guiding principles are founded upon collecting and managing accurate and sound data to inform decision making, which can reduce the overall cost of asset operations and improve functionality. This ultimately benefits customers, regulators, and stakeholders. Applying sound data management practices, using a robust CMMS, can prevent an asset from failing prematurely, requiring early replacement. Developing, organizing, and implementing these seven practices will immediately improve the staff's ability to explain and defend budgets and investments. Management will have a better understanding of the risks and consequences that exist within the system and a clearer definition of a justified and data-driven level of service for utility customers. Staff will have the ability and confidence to focus on top priorities and can show proof of costs and benefits when making decisions. It is desirable for a utility to quickly progress to a level of maturity that is acceptable for regulators and ratepayers by advancing these seven steps through a one-year transformation and full implementation within a three-year period. This ensures the practices, principles, and objectives of an effective asset management program are deep-rooted in the culture. Despite the demonstrated benefits of an Asset Management program, there are several barriers that can prevent the successful integration of a formalized and healthy program. Many elements of its implementation can be overwhelming to utility staff at the beginning of the process unless they take an organized, phased approach. Moreover, the program will struggle to succeed from the beginning and at each critical step along the journey, if there is no buy-in and support from key internal decision-makers. Change management, training, and coaching initiatives are therefore required to help staff manage and navigate the implementation of a sustainable program.