Asset Creation & Acquisition Process
How the organization:
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Has identified capital expenditure activities
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Creates or acquires the necessary assets.
Project Identification/Program Management
How the organization:
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Identifies new projects, for all categories of capital expenditure
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Passes from these initial conceptual ideas into the Creation and Acquisition Phase.
Best appropriate practice includes:
Special emphasis is provided on project identification or initiation through the strategic planning process, so that the right options have been evaluated and the best adopted.
Contract Administration
How the contract is administered to bring all aspects together for a successful conclusion.
Best appropriate practice includes:
The availability of detailed project management guidelines.
Project Management
How the organization project-manages the various projects for asset creation, refurbishment, or disposal.
Best appropriate practice includes:
The availability of trained, experienced staff in design, documentation, contract administration and project delivery.
Design/Value Engineering
How the organization optimizes the design activity, especially how value engineering is used to optimize the design, taking into account the strategic objectives of the asset and the alternative options to achieve those objectives.
Best appropriate practice includes:
Value engineering is included in the final design process to ensure that an adequate or appropriate asset is constructed without over-design.
Maintainability/Operability
How the design/construct process involves the operations and maintenance staff and the inputs and sign offs required, depending on complexity of project/assets.
Best appropriate practice includes:
Key operability and maintainability checks are undertaken through various stages including:
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Problem identified in the Asset Management Plan
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Strategic analysis of options
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"Preferred option" preliminary design
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Final design phase (including a reliability/risk based maintenance strategy)
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Construction, commissioning and handover (including registry update, a maintenance plan and an adopted maintenance budget).
Construction Standards and Quality Control
The construction standards and processes used in building assets. How the organization:
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Ensures that it is getting the quality specified for the asset
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Assesses construction or acquisition quality
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Coordinates production/operations for shut downs, etc. to accommodate the new assets or rehabilitations/upgrades.
Best appropriate practice includes:
Appropriate construction standards and quality control procedures are strictly enforced.
During the construction phase, the organization has a clear coordination process to ensure that operations requirements are fully accommodated and that all safety/performance aspects are dealt with.
Contract administration activities are clearly spelled out and information systems are used to support staff efficiency.
The development of a full performance monitoring program, data acquisition, and data flow paths and report generation.
Asset Commissioning and Handover
How the organization commissions and hands over new or renewed assets and in particular how the necessary knowledge and data is transferred into the operational portfolio and asset management information systems.
Best Appropriate Practice includes:
There is a clear process and policy for asset handover covering all asset management information, data and knowledge necessary to appropriately manage these new assets including:
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As-constructed plans
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Registry and geographic information system inputs
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Operations manuals, including manufacturers' information
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Maintenance plans loaded into the organization's information system
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Appropriate maintenance budgets
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Asset attributes loaded, including replacement valuation data and future renewal requirements.
This data capture will be applicable to:
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New works completed by developers, contractors or in-house staff
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Repairs or replacements completed by contractors or staff
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Alterations to operating procedures by operations or maintenance staff or contractors
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Emergency Response Plans (ERP's), contingency, or risk management manuals if required.
The commissioning activities are treated as an important project task and involve:
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Staff training for the equipment and processes
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The data acquisition system is operated and checked
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Initial equipment operational values are identified for "base lining" purposes and loaded into the data management system (for example, pump curves, power profiles, etc.)
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Costs and other project data is fed back into a suitable "estimating" system for use in strategic planning and unit rates for asset valuation activities.
The full acceptance testing of the assets against their:
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Original objectives
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Design reports
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Tendered material and performance.
This acceptance report is presented to all stakeholders together with recommendations.
The organization again reviews the assets (based on a value/complexity rating) after five years' operations and provides feedback. This review is triggered if performance deteriorates beyond the envelopes developed at the initial commissioning.
Case Studies Australia
The Weak Link in the Asset Creation and Acquisition Process – the Handover Phase
For over 300 years engineers have delivered projects and have created assets that have changed the face of the earth and the lives of the people using them: London’s Sewerage System, the great railways, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Panama Canal to name just a few.
But how many of them were handed over with complete ‘as constructed’ drawings, an asset register, an operational GIS, an electronic operations manual, a fully developed maintenance plan and adequate maintenance budget as well as a strategy for its renewal and a calculation of the depreciation expected or a life cycle cost analysis? Or did they just get the assets, some plans and a heap of manufacturers manuals for some of the pieces?
The Golden Gate Bridge came with all of the above (but nothing electronic of course) because of the foresight of the designer. He could only get the project off the ground if he convinced the bankers that he could maintain the structure in perpetuity, so they would not include depreciation in the business case evaluation. He did convince them and we still have the bridge. This is sustainable infrastructure management.
Losing Ground
A city in Queensland is the fastest growing area in Australia. They have averaged over 6-8% compounding growth for over 20 years. The city was doubling its asset base every 8 to 9 years. It was great. They were the one agency whose average asset life was getting younger.
However the total value and number of assets was increasing at an alarming rate. The trouble with this type of growth rate is that the agency’s entire focus is on meeting the demand and the existing staff have no time for ‘managing’ the growing portfolio. Every time they delayed adopting best practice asset handover techniques they were getting further behind.
The agency finally realized they were losing the battle and have now instigated (together with other regional agencies) a ‘best practice’ asset handover process that ensures all information needed to manage the life cycle of these assets is in place.
This process and other related activities are planned as part of the next AMPLE upgrade – see AMPLE proposed future developments for more information.