How an Asset Management Maturity Assessment Led to a New Strategic Plan

The presentation will walk through Evansville Water and Sewer Utility (EWSU) phased approach to implement their asset management program. We will discuss what industry best practices are for starting an asset management program. There will be a brief overview of the maturity assessment tools for self-assessing your organization. EWSU's phased approach included a phased condition assessment, state regulations gap assessment, a WRF SAM-GAP assessment, GIS update support and development of a strategic plan. In 2018, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in partnership with the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) developed state requirements, as part of Senate Enrolled Act 362, that required utilities to implement an asset management program. IFA produced an asset management guidance manual for utilities to meet the proposed requirements. Utilities in Indiana needed to demonstrate technical, managerial, and financial capabilities in terms of asset management. With limited resources and funds, EWSU began to implement an asset management program to meet their needs and the state requirements. EWSU identified that they needed support in documenting the utility's asset inventory and performing a condition assessment. EWSU developed SOPs for asset definition, hierarchy and condition assessment. The methodology was then loaded on mobile devices for data collection. An asset inventory was captured for one treatment plant by EWSU staff and then reviewed for quality. The asset inventory data was then exported to an excel template that could be updated by contractors as assets were replaced. Quality checks were added to the excel file to ensure proper naming and asset ID standards were followed. During this same time, EWSU selected Cityworks for their CMMS. The data collected in the field would then be imported into Cityworks to provide an accurate asset inventory. In 2019, EWSU continued the condition assessment and expanded the scope to all of the utility's vertical assets. We will discuss the failure modes that were evaluated as part of the condition assessment activities. In addition to the condition assessment, EWSU conducted a gap assessment based on the IFA guidance manual. Each state requirement was evaluated to determine if EWSU was in full compliance, compliance on some asset classes, or not in compliance. A Microsoft SharePoint site was set up to document compliance with the requirements as well as gaps in the requirements. Also in 2019, EWSU began an effort to clean up the data stored in GIS. SOPs were developed to improve data quality and import condition scores for the CCTV work being completed on the collection system. In 2020, EWSU continued to make progress on their asset management program. EWSU developed a list of asset management tasks they would like to have completed over the next couple years. This document roadmaps the initiatives EWSU will be completing for compliance with the new state regulations. In late 2020, EWSU had a change in leadership and one of the first tasks the leadership wanted to complete was a comprehensive asset management maturity assessment. The Water Research Foundation (WRF) Strategic Asset Management Gap (SAM-GAP) assessment tool was leveraged to complete this evaluation. In 2021, EWSU held a workshop with approximately 30 staff members staff members from the following departments: Accounting, Regulatory Compliance, Utility Executive, Administrative Services, Program Management Office, Collection/Distribution, Plants, and Engineering Services completed the SAM-GAP assessment. EWSU leveraged Microsoft Forms and Power BI to conduct the assessment and visualize the results. EWSU was now able to compare the existing asset management program to the best appropriate practice benchmark as well as the top 10% of water utilities in the US. The SAM-GAP assesses level of practice and extent of practice in seven core elements: Processes and Practices, Information Systems, Data and Knowledge, Service Delivery, Organization issues, People Issues, and Asset Management Plans. The gap assessment results were used to identify EWSU's strengths and weaknesses. Based on the strengths and weaknesses EWSU created additional asset management initiatives and updated their implementation roadmap. The results of the assessment allowed EWSU to identify their strengths and weaknesses in the asset management program. Power BI also allowed EWSU to not only look at strengths and weaknesses across primary and secondary categories but across their various departments. EWSU scored highest in Information Systems, Data Knowledge, and Service Delivery, indicating organizational strengths in those areas. Four primary elements were identified as areas of improvement: Processes and Practices, Organizational Issues, People Issues, and Asset Management Plans. Based on the results of the assessment, EWSU developed an updated list of asset management initiatives to close the identified gaps from the state requirements and the SAM-GAP assessment. During the presentation, we will describe these gaps identified and the initiatives that were developed to close these gaps. An overarching theme from the assessment results is that EWSU would benefit from the development and implementation of an AM communication plan to address the wide variety of responses seen across departments. This plan would help get all internal stakeholders on the same page regarding past AM accomplishments, current initiatives, and keep them informed and engaged in future phases. Another overarching theme was that EWSU did not have clear direction on where the organization should focus their asset management initiatives. EWSU is now developing a strategic plan to focus the asset management program and inform the utility's service level goals.