Lust is not a word commonly associated with managing infrastructure assets.
But for John Howard, co-author of IPWEA’s newest Australian Infrastructure Financial Management Manual (AIFMM), adopting a “lust to dust” approach made perfect sense.
Mr Howard said looking at the total costs that would be incurred during the entire lifecycle of a project was vital - from the first spark of enthusiasm for a project, right until that project is pulled down.
“You’ve got to start thinking about these things right from the original idea,” the public works engineer and economist said.
“Optimal investment in infrastructure assets requires that those assets be appropriately maintained, renewed, replaced, enhanced or disposed of so as to provide the required levels of service now and into the future at the minimal life-cycle cost.”
With the new ISO 55000 series of Asset Management Standards published last year, it is now more important than ever that engineers and public works professionals are confident in asset management best practice.
The AIFMM 2015 2nd Edition is a practical “how to” guide for asset and financial management practitioners to manage and report on infrastructure assets in a nationally consistent way, complying with Australian Accounting Standards.
When giving an example of how the AIFMM could assist public works professionals in managing their infrastructure assets, Mr Howard said it was all swings and roundabouts - literally.
Playgrounds are a commonly built community facility with multiple, unevenly ageing components that require careful asset and financial management - which is precisely the AIFMM’s function.
“It’s about knowing what services the playground provides and working out what you need to do to provide those services,” Mr Howard said.
“You make an investment to provide that playground and need to show value from that investment.
“Then there’s ongoing cleaning, there’s the maintenance on the playground equipment, and at certain times you’ve got to replace components and even add new equipment.
“Sometimes playground items become obsolete, because they don’t comply with new regulations or lose attractiveness they’re not popular in terms of use.
“The purpose of your asset management plans is to document that process and show what and when funding is required to provide the service.”
The funding needs feed into the organisation’s long-term financial plan to show how the funds are provided.
Managing assets should begin even before the first plans are drawn up, Mr Howard said.
“Consultation with the community is essential to ensure you are really meeting the community’s needs - there’s a section in the AIFMM about consultation with the community,” he said.
“Do you even really need this playground equipment? Can we afford this new playground? Can we provide the community’s needs in another way?”
Copies of the
AIFMM and
IIMM are available to order now.
NZ customers - please email accounts.nz@ipwea.org for publications enquiries.