Asset Management

 ….. managing infrastructure capital assets to minimize the total cost of owning and operating them, while delivering the service levels customer's desire at an acceptable level of risk. 

The intent of the process is to improve operational, environmental, and financial performance. Asset Management is a business model that insures getting the most value and most efficient utilization from both aboveground and underground assets and having the financial resources to repair, rehabilitate, and/or replace them when necessary. It’s as much an investment policy as it is a management tool.

Successful Asset Management depends on knowing about your system’s assets and regularly communicating with staff, management, and customers about your system’s future needs. Assets also include a utility’s hard and soft data resources as well as the human resources within an organization. Our Asset Management specialists look at ways of developing, improving and better utilizing all of these valuable resources.

Draper Aden Associates offers a wide spectrum of Asset Management Services to help both large and small utilities develop comprehensive programs focusing on life-cycle costing, proactive operations and maintenance, and long-range financial planning.  Using a model based on EPA's Sustainable Infrastructure Initiative, our Asset Management Services are designed to further best practices in the industry related to the long-term sustainability of water, wastewater and stormwater utilities

Recognizing that many smaller utilities will be challenged by staffing and financial limitations, we will customize a plan that meets your needs and budget, providing supporting and ancillary services to supplement the unique strengths of each utility and fill in any gaps through as much or as little technical and staffing support as necessary.

There is no single model or implementation approach for all utilities. We will work with utility management, staff, and other stakeholders to create a customized Asset Management Plan, which will be based upon the EPA model and will revolve around answering five core questions:

  • What is the current state of my assets?
  • What is my required sustainable level of service?
  • Which assets are critical to sustained performance?
  • What are my minimum life cycle cost strategies?
  • What is my best long-term funding strategy?

 

VRWA Presentation - Communicating Capital Needs ( handouts )