NEURISA Day 2018

Ask ten people what they think of when you say, “asset management” and you’re likely to get nine different answers and one confused look. When it comes to the world of capital expenditures and federal compliance initiatives, the temptation can be to fall toward a so called ‘solution provider’ (clever branding huh?) that offers a one stop shop for all your asset management needs. The truth is more nuanced than that. Asset management is not a software. It is a mindset. A view, strategic in scope and tactical in focus. Above all it is a plan. The good news then is that since you’re likely already planning for what to do with your assets at some point in the future, you’re already performing asset management. The real question managers need to ask is “How can I improve my plan?”. Or another way, “How can I plan my plan?” The goal should be a plan that is integrated, asset centric, conditions based and proactive. These four tenets should form the basis for any reasonable approach to asset management with or without special software. The integration pillar seeks to identify authoritative resources and centralize them for ease of reference amongst all stakeholders. The asset centricity of this approach looks to remove factors (political, financial, etc.) from at least directly influencing the use or misuse of an asset. Third, a conditions-based strategy ensures that new data, evolving data, and regular evaluations on an asset are being brought to bear on its management and, in keeping with the pillar one (integration), are near immediate in their availability. Finally, getting out ahead of an asset’s useful utilization and knowing when the right time to retire an asset arrives but not before allows for a maximum return on investment. These four interrelated strategies require honest evaluations to be made in order that a distillation of the information result in a value that is actionable.

A plan that takes into consideration only those things that rightly influence the use and management of the asset is an essential guide to ensuring defensible operations of the system. Developing the plan starts with a good inventory of authoritative data. Governing principals that balance the pool of stakeholder concerns is principal to the plan. Objective condition assessment allows for prioritization of future actions that ensure longevity of the system and a maximization of return on investments. Case studies will be presented highlighting the evolution of utilities in their asset management journeys providing valuable insight to developing a plan that works.