Tracking Pump Station Ownership Costs Generate Data for Optimum Asset Management

Asset management is critical in maintaining and evaluating equipment crucial to the successful operation of a utility. A key aspect is the collection of complete, meaningful data for each piece of equipment and the ability to easily evaluate the data. In 2002, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan. implemented a system to collect data from their wastewater pump stations. For each station, they logged labor hours, material costs, and outside contractor costs. From this data, they can establish a predictive maintenance schedule, budget for station repair and/or replacement based on return on investment, establish a benchmark for the cost of maintaining a typical station, compare the cost to operate and maintain different types of stations, etc. The utility has saved money by choosing equipment that results in lower life cycle costs, replacing equipment where costs exceed the benchmark and determine the financial impact of maintaining its pump stations.