A Strategic Step in Fort Worth Water’s Asset Management Journey
Fort Worth Water (FWW) has been traveling the asset management journey for many years. Recently, FWW made a strategic step toward its asset management journey by moving toward an overarching asset management governance for its program using the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Six Subject Areas. The first step was completing an Asset Management Maturity Assessment (AMMA) on their overall asset management program.
The goal of this assessment was to perform a strategic review of their FWW asset management program through a plan-do-check-act (PDCA) business process. The benefits achieved through the AMMA for FWW were numerous including identification of asset management gaps both strategic and tactical as well as providing a process to capture the various asset management activities already occurring within the organization and a forum to allow staff at all levels to align their perception of asset management to the new asset management governance structure.
This presentation discusses the process used by a large water utility such as Fort Worth to perform an AMMA including identifying targeted interview groups, using focused interview questions from the IAM, tracking documented activities, capturing identified gaps, and recommending initiatives to enhance FWW’s asset management program. The AMMA was performed by interviewing multiple focus groups within FWW to capture the status of vertical and horizontal assets and supporting systems for both water and wastewater infrastructure. The AMMA evaluated all aspects of a recommended asset management model including: a) organization and people, b) strategy and planning, c) asset information, d) decision-making process, e) lifecycle project delivery, and f) risk management. These aspects align with the Asset Management Landscape Methodology for best appropriate practices to establish and sustain an asset management program.
Presented by:
Wendy Chi-Babulal, P.E., Fort Worth Water Department
Mazen Kawasmi, P.E., CFM, GISP, Freese and Nichols, Inc.
Jessica Brown, P.E., Freese and Nichols, Inc.