As asset management capabilities and initiatives further mature, the benefits of the resulting systems-wide knowledge and analyses become increasingly clear. Asset management provides substantial savings in the short term and even greater long-term savings through better investment decisions. In a time of aging infrastructure and declining resources commensurate to need, this is a welcome trend. This Technology News column highlights several initiatives that illustrate the scope of ongoing federal asset management activities, from civil and water resources infrastructure to specific issues faced by military installations. The water infrastructure topics include the "big picture" risk-based strategy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Corps that is working to examine and manage aging locks and dams. The installation topics look at the opportunities for energy savings through restoration and modernization projects and managing the persistent issue of corrosion, which is a source of a significant percentage of infrastructure ownership costs.
展开▼
