Asset Management

Integrating historic data into design and construction elevates the benefits of asset management strategies. We combine rigorous economic analysis with sound engineering principles to minimize the long-term costs of ownership while maximizing performance. Our approach identifies options, takes a long-term view of the asset, assesses all costs and benefits, and develops optimal design and construction plans. One of our tools is the Cost Risk Assessment and Value Engineering (CRAVE™) process.  CRAVE™ combines elements of a cost risk assessment with elements of a streamlined value engineering process. The application helps us identify and quantify opportunities and threats, and recommend risk mitigation activities to significantly decrease overall costs. We decrease long term costs even further by involving our operations and maintenance staff in the design process.  These staff member work with our designers to identify ways to minimize long term operations and maintenance costs.

Informed programming builds from the inspection and lifecycle planning processes. As part of informed programming, we develop a tool kit of typical maintenance, preservation and rehabilitation activities. Our professionals assess the impacts of these strategies on an asset’s life cycle costs.  These costs include development and construction costs as well as future costs related to operations, maintenance, finance and depreciation. Based on this analysis, we develop standards for when to apply specific treatments. The end result is an optimal work policy. These policies define when work should be done in order to minimize life-cycle costs and maximize performance. The final step is to develop an annual program by applying this work policy to your assets within the constraints of your budget and other priorities.

We help develop analytical frameworks and dashboards to understand, communicate, and harness asset data, leading to more advanced analytics (such as transitioning from reactive to predictive and prescriptive analytics) to helping guide organizations to comprehensive life cycle asset management, operation and performance.

Understanding the current state of the assets is critical to optimizing service delivery and maintaining safety. An organization needs to know what they have and the condition it’s in, in order to optimize the value of the assets and validate that the assets are in a state of good repair. We first support organizations in understanding their asset inventory and condition needs. What data is needed to support decision-making? What data is currently available? What is the most cost effective and safest way to collect the missing data? Once these key questions are answered, we can conduct the asset inventory and/or condition assessment as well as provide post-processing support. We utilize the latest technology and approaches to data acquisition and post data processing (artificial intelligence, light detection and ranging, unmanned aerial vehicle, etc.).

As part of the lifecycle planning process we develop predictive models that help us communicate the relationship between funding and future conditions. How much would it cost to maintain current conditions?  How much would it cost to improve them?  What will the condition be if funding doesn’t change? Using this information, we help our clients conduct tradeoff analysis - a powerful tool in determining how to allocate funding.  The result of the process is a set of condition targets that help communicate priorities, guide programming decisions, serve as a basis for tracking progress towards goals, and improve accountability.  We also develop comprehensive asset management plans that recommend how owners should manager their assets over the next 10 to 20 years.  These plans define long term needs, recommend funding levels, and define work strategies for new and existing assets

Applying life-cycle principles requires understanding the current state of an asset.  What do you own, and what condition is it in?  Our professionals begin by developing customized data collection plans.  These plans answer key questions, such as:  What data is needed to support decision-making?  What is the required level of detail? What data is currently available? What is the most cost effective and safest way to collect the missing data? Once a data collection plan is complete, we have inspection teams across the United States that conduct the necessary field work.  After the inspections, we process and synthesize the condition data to help guide subsequent decision-making.

To support asset management, we work with organizations to further dive into the operation and maintenance of their assets. We not only develop predictive models to help organizations understand and communicate the relationship between funding and future asset conditions, we also support integrating reliability-centered maintenance and conducting failure analysis to improve decision-making and funding prioritization. The result of this process is a set of condition targets that help communicate priorities, guide programming decisions, serve as a basis for tracking progress towards goals, and improve accountability. 

Operations and maintenance costs are often significant and require a predictable, sustainable source of income. We help our clients maintain their assets while keeping within a predictable budget by using performance-based maintenance contracts. Our teams provide a full array of on-site services to help owners operate and maintain their infrastructure more efficiently and effectively.  The result is significant cost savings, consistency of service and improved productivity. Our services include developing customized O&M strategies, incorporating technology to capture key data and track service performance, providing comprehensive O&M services through long-term performance-based contracts, implementing capital rehabilitation programs, and assisting with the decommissioning and replacement of assets to support continued operation and user safety.