ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SERVICE DELIVERY: “The question often comes up, when is asset management over or complete? As long as you own assets, never! The process is not static, but the inputs are constantly changing as assets are added, deleted, replaced, or upgraded,” wrote Wally Wells, Executive Director of Asset Management BC, in the Summer 2020 Newsletter
Note to Reader:
The theme for the Summer 2020 edition of Asset Management BC’s Newsletter was “Asset Management, Service Delivery, and the COVID-19 Virus”. Wally Wells, Executive Director of Asset Management BC, provided a big picture context in an article that addressed this question: When is asset management over or complete?
When and Where does the Asset Management Process Stop
“The question often comes up, when is asset management over or complete? As long as you own assets, never! The process is not static, but the inputs are constantly changing as assets are added, deleted, replaced, or upgraded. Asset management is a ‘process’ not a ‘function’, wrote Wally Wells.
“Too often, we hear of asset management being treated as a separate discipline. It is not. We have managed assets for decades since the early days of our communities. The primary cause of the ‘infrastructure gap’ is that we operate on today’s budgets without much attention to the ageing assets and future requirements for replacement or renewal. Or at least that is the way we operated up until now.”
The ‘Where’ Question
“The ‘where’ question is ‘Where do we exit the asset management process if the process is continuous?’ The asset management process is a decision tool that assists in defining the needed projects, be they new assets or replacement, upgrades or rehabilitation of existing assets such as repaving a roadway, a facility roof replacement or rehabilitating a pump station.
“These projects are reflected in the capital works budget. At this point, once a specific project is defined, the project exits the asset management process until the project is completed. Once complete, the new or refurbished asset re-enters the asset management process with new or updated information.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete article by Wally Wells, download a copy of the Summer 2020 edition of Asset Management BC’s Newsletter, and scroll down to page 18.
