Measuring the Benefits of Implementing Asset Management Systems and Tools; Research rept

摘要

Although transportation agencies in the U.S. have been developing Asset Management Systems (AMS) for specific types of infrastructure assets, there are several barriers to the implementation of AMS. In particular, implementation and development costs are critical issues. Without showing that AMS implementation improves asset performance and that the benefits of AMS implementation outweigh the costs for AMS implementation and operation, further implementation and development will not occur. This paper documents the development of a generic methodology for quantifying the benefits derived from implementation of AMS and justifying investment in AMS implementation. The generic methodology involves three analysis methods: descriptive analysis, regression analysis, and benefit-cost analysis. These methods draw on basic principles of engineering economic analysis and apply to two types of evaluations: an ex post facto evaluation and an ex ante evaluation depending on the time frame and the availability of time series data. While the concepts are relatively simple, the challenge lies in identifying data to support the application of the methodology. This paper demonstrates how the methodology can be applied to evaluate the implementation of a pavement management system in terms of efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency (3Es).