Optimised Renewable Decision Making

Being able to analyse the various options for retaining the condition or performance of an asset involves optimised decision-making.

Optimising expenditure may result in a substantial saving to the organization.

All assets decay and the profile of the decay will pass through a series of phases or cost segments:

• Do Nothing
• Maintain - asset decay will include forms of distress that can be rectified by regular maintenance activities
• Rehabilitate - the asset has decayed to such an extent that maintenance cannot restore the condition or performance of the asset and a repair or rehabilitation is required
• Replace - Once the asset has decayed into this zone, its condition or performance has deteriorated to such an extent that rehabilitation is not possible and the only treatment option available is to replace the asset with a new asset.

The gradient of the decay varies as the asset moves through the various segments, and it is this assessment that is the core of the ORDM information module.

The key inputs and functions should include:

• Level of service, as a benchmark for the asset or system, and a performance monitoring tool
• Maintenance activities and costs, able to be reported over time, in graphical format
• Exception reporting, eg flagging unacceptable levels of service or excessive costs
• Analysis of data, eg life cycle costing for the asset, comparison of similar assets etc
• Economic analysis to determine the best technical and financial option for the asset, with flexibility to change the evaluation criteria to suit the economic and business environment
• Links to the asset register, and business drivers, eg criticality, overall budget, and planning modules.

This information will feed into the Asset Strategic Planning process.