Christopher W. Toms, P.E., Senior Client Representative at C.S. Davidson, Inc., discusses the benefits of transportation related asset management and the value that optimized asset management creates to identify, maintain and improve municipal infrastructure in the most economical manner.

1. The Value of
Infrastructure Asset
Management
Christopher W. Toms, P.E.
Senior Client Manager

2. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Definition*:
Ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and
operating physical assets cost-effectively, based on
a continuous physical inventory and condition
assessment
* from Michigan publication

3. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Definition:
Ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and
operating physical assets cost-effectively, based on a
continuous physical inventory and condition assessment
• Example assets
• Roads
• Bridges
• Culverts/Storm Sewers
• Curbs/Sidewalks
• Stormwater Management Basins
• Signs

4. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Definition:
Ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and
operating physical assets cost-effectively, based on a
continuous physical inventory and condition assessment
• A gap typically exists in a community because:
• Operations and maintenance costs increase at a rate
faster than inflation because assets are getting older
• Rates provide funds that are sufficient to sustain
current operation and maintenance, but insufficient to
pay for upgrades or capital replacements

5. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Township has:
• 15 roads
• 24’ wide
• 1 mile long
• It costs:
• $15.00/square yard to refurbish roadway
• Each road has:
• 15 year design life
• New road adopted each year for the last 15
years

6. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Township needs to budget $211,200 per
year, per mile
• Compare that to current Liquid Fuels and
Turnback allocation per mile

7. What is Infrastructure Asset
Management?
• Definition:
Ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and
operating physical assets cost-effectively, based on
a continuous physical inventory and condition
assessment

8. How did you get to this point?
• Existing assets
• Acquisition of assets through development
• Tight budgets
• Political pressure to cut spending

9. Why develop asset management
plans?
• Township elected officials and staff are at the
front lines of fixing the Commonwealth’s
crumbling infrastructure
• ASCE’s Failure to Act report:
• “deteriorating infrastructure, long known to be a
public safety issue, has a cascading impact on the
nation’s economy, negatively affecting business
productivity, gross domestic
product, employment, personal income, and
international competitiveness.”

10. Why develop asset management
plans?
• The timing of, and allocation from, grant
programs may not be sufficient to address future
needs
• Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to save
money while still maintaining infrastructure
assets at a desired level of service (quality and
safety)

11. Why develop asset management
plans?
* from Federal Highway Administration

12. Why develop asset management
plans?

13. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Buy-in: working plan vs. paper weight
• Definition:
Ongoing process of maintaining, upgrading, and
operating physical assets cost-effectively, based
on a continuous physical inventory and
condition assessment

14. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Steps
• Inventory
• Assess condition (rating)
• Determine needs (cost estimates) “unrestricted” plan
• Assess finances
• Develop multi-year “budgeted” plan

15. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Inventory
• Existing maps
• Existing lists/reports
• As-builts
• Drive to and measure
• GIS

16. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

17. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

18. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Assess condition (rating)
• Multiple methods are published and available
• Subjective method
– Cheap
– Need to use same set of eyes
– Limited data analysis over time

19. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Objective method
• More time/expense
• Multiple staff/consultants could come to same results
• Data analysis over time could lead to a better
understand of deterioration rates

20. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

21. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

22. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

23. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

24. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

25. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Determine needs (cost estimates) “unrestricted”
plan
• Use judgment to develop prescriptions to bring asset up
to desired level of service
• Prepare cost estimates for each prescription with
appropriate contingencies

26. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

27. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

28. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Assess finances
• Existing budgets
• Funding opportunities

29. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan
• Develop multi-year “budgeted” plan
• Develop priority ranking metrics
(traffic, age, drainage, hazards, resident input)
• Coordination of condition
assessment, prescriptions and cost
estimates, priorities, and finances
• Living document
• Implement and track progress and costs
• Change plan as necessary (a changed plan is better than no plan)
• Explain deviations to those who will follow you
• Repeat

30. How to Create an Asset
Management Plan

31. Benefits
• Budget planning easier
• Look at the plan
• Spend or set aside
• Coordination of utilities
• Example: Street cut ordinances with sliding scale
degradation fee
• Fee waived if utilities make repairs prior to road repair
• Note: A five-year plan may have to updated at year 3 or
4 so utilities can begin to plan for activities in years 6
and 7

32. Benefits
• Communication with residents
• Demonstrate scope of work planned and how funds will
be allocated
• Answer “When will my street be paved/bridge be
repaired/stormwater basin be fixed?”
• Show Progress
• Commitment to stick to plan
• Reassess to show improved condition ratings

33. Benefits
57%
35%
2% 6%
2010 CONDITION VS. AREA (SY)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
53%
31%
2%
14%
2012 CONDITION VS. AREA (SY)

35. QUESTIONS?
Christopher W. Toms, P.E.
Senior Client Manager
(717) 846-4805
cwt@csdavidson.com