Katie McCain, Wachs Water Services

1. By
Katie McCain
Wachs Water Services
February 22, 2011

2. Agenda
Industry Challenges
Valve Operability
High Risks/Costs of Taking No Action
Asset Management
Where To Start/Strategies
Summary

3. Industry Challenges
Aging infrastructure
Reductions in manpower
Experience/knowledge loss
Deferred maintenance
Funding gaps
Increasing customer demands
Supply availability
Infrastructure security

4. What Is Valve Operability?
Definition of Operability
Initial Operability: Upon arrival, can
the valve be found and easily operated
by the crew?
Right Here, Right Now…

5. Valve Operability Status Quo
Based on 750,000 assessments

6. Low Operability =
Loss of System Control
(Increases Levels of Risk)

7. Run to Failure - Strategy
100%
Reliability Threshold
Pain
Operability
Run to Failure
Time

8. Run To Failure
(example)
Buy a Buy a Buy a
CAR CAR CAR
Run to Failure Run to Failure
Reliability Threshold
$25,000 $25,000 $25,000

9. Default “Run to Failure” A.M. Strategy
Is easy/requires no action/abdicates
responsibility
Is great for awhile but eventually causes service
disruptions
Service disruptions cause customer dissatisfaction
Customer dissatisfaction causes reactive
responses not planned activities
Never get caught up/never get control of the
system

11. High Risks/Costs of Taking No
Action
Overtime and repeat visits
Unnecessary replacements
Property damage/restoration cost
Delays in locating valves
Loss of water
Loss of life
Injuries to workers and citizens
Lawsuits from injured parties (medical and property)
Continued catastrophic events

12. High Risks/ Costs of Taking No
Action (cont.)
Keeps your utility in a reactive mode, chasing
emergencies, trying to keep up
Low operability = loss of system control
Water quality challenges
Lack of fire protection
Lack of ability to isolate contamination
Major break containment issues
Business interruption/transportation interruption
Interruption of service/customer complaints
The current situation is not sustainable

13. Asset Management
Start by answering five key questions

14. Five Key Questions
1. What is the current state of my assets?
What do I own? Where is it?
What condition is it in?
What is its remaining useful life?
What is its remaining economic value?
2. What is my required level of service (LOS)?
What is the demand for my services by my stakeholders?
What do regulators require?
What is my actual performance?
3. Which assets are critical to sustained performance?
How does it fail? How can it fail?
What is the likelihood of failure?
What does it cost to repair/refurbish/replace?
What are the consequences of failure?
4. What are my best O&M and CIP investment strategies?
What alternative management options exist?
Which are most cost effective for my organization?
5. What is my best long-term funding strategy?

15. What is the
required level
What is the current state of my assets? of service?
Determine Determine
Inventory Assess Set Target
Residual RRR $
Assets Condition LOS
Life & Timing
Assign Determine Determine
Fund
BRE Rating Appropriate Appropriate Build the AMP
Your Strategy
(Criticality) Maintenance CIP
Which assets What are the best O&M What is the best
are critical to and CIP strategies? funding strategy?
sustain
performance
?

16. Reliability Centered Maintenance
(example)
Buy a
Oil Trans
CAR Wipers Change Fluid Tune
Up
Air Pressure Flush
Wiper Fluid Struts
Battery
Reliability Threshold
100%
Sustainability Execution
Time

17. Where to Start/Strategies
• Total system assessment
program approach
• Large & Critical Valves
core of the system
• Representative survey
state of the system
• Specific areas
section of the system

18. Summary
The time for action is now, before there is an
emergency
Look at your system and identify the most critical
assets in it
Start by inventorying and rehabilitating those assets
A long-term approach to valve maintenance will set
the utility up for future generations
There are proven solutions
Solutions fund themselves
Start with valves

20. Katie McCain
Wachs Water Services
214-707-8120
kmccain@wachsws.com