Since there were no more questions from the participants and the one-hour webinar was nearing the end, Heather asked Ross for his final thoughts regarding asset management. Ross: I’m just thinking about that simple asset management diagram while you were discussing. So this was the diagram …
Ethics and Thought Process in Infrastructure Asset Management
Ross shared the ethical practice that must be observed in doing one's infrastructure asset management plan. Heather explained the thought process that would-be infrastructure management practitioners must adopt. Ross: We’ve had a situation in New Zealand where consultants had written a …
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Best Way to Do Infrastructure Asset Management Planning
In the previous post "Important Advice in Developing Your Asset Management Plan," Heather mentioned that using a consultant to fill a gap or plug a hole you have is a better way to go than to contract out the whole plan and hope that that’s going to make the change. Ross provides further advice …
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Important Advice in Developing Your Asset Management Plan
A participant asked: There are some states that are starting to offer asset management planning grants. And for small systems, in particular, are there areas that you would recommend that they hire an engineer or some breaks group or someone to help them with developing their asset management …
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More Ideas on Involving Customers in Determining Levels of Service
This is the continuation of Ross and Heather's answer to a participant's question mentioned in "Levels of Service - How to Involve Customers and How Involved Should They Be?." Heather: and one last comment I want to make is the consulting process with the community can be a little …
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Levels of Service – How to Involve Customers and How Involved Should They Be?
A participant asked about levels of service, to wit: How involved should I have my customers be in determining my level of service and how do I go about involving them? Heather: Now I can tell you. I’ll give an answer and I’ll let Ross intervene because New Zealand has a lot of getting …
Monitoring and Analyzing Processes to Improve Asset Maintenance System
A participant asked, "Have you performed research related to automated condition-based monitoring? For example, vibration analysis and shock pulse method for bearing verification. This will be related primarily to pumping or any mechanical equipment. This will help perform predictive maintenance …
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How to Deal with Water Losses Coming from Leaks in Homes
The question is about the water losses on the customer’s side. How can the agency: Inspect the individual plumping fixtures in private homes?Replace or repair the private leaking fixturesFinance the repairs or replacementsEnforce the program Heather: That’s a really difficult issue. We …
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Are You Saving Enough for Replacement Cost of Assets?
The participant who asked about the replacement cost of assets clarified that they are planning on setting aside 6 percent of the monthly estimated cost of the pump, which is not enough to buy the other pump after ten years. Heather: Yeah I think, it’s sort of, sometimes when we look at …
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Asset Replacement Cost – Interest Rates and Reserve Fund
Ross and Heather discussed asset replacement costs in the previous post in answer to a participant's question. This is the continuation of the conversation. Heather: And I think, you know you’re talking about the 6% increase that somebody suggested. And I think you could choose what interest …
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Determining the Replacement Cost of Assets
A participant asked about the cost per year of an asset. He gave a simple example of a pump that costs $10,000 that should last ten years. So if you divide that by over the course of ten years and then by month, figures that to be $83 a month. If you set aside the depreciation for the asset. So …
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Cheap Ways to Collect Condition Data of Underground Infrastructure Assets
In this blog post, Ross and Heather continued answering the participant's question on Things to Consider in Starting Infrastructure Condition Assessment. Ross: And particularly with the metal pipes, because you don’t tend to go cutting holes on them unless you need to - or any pipe. But …
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