Understanding what asset management is begins with an understanding of the word “asset” in

this context. In the broadest sense, an asset is anything that delivers value to an organization and
the stakeholders the organisation serves. An asset is any item of economic value owned by an
individual or corporation. These assets include items such as buildings, utility infrastructure such
as electrical cables, water pipes, rail lines and metro tunnels, and industrial assets such as oil rigs,
chemical plants and process plant conveyors. An asset’s value may be represented on a
corporation’s balance sheet. It may be listed in a register (asset repository). Its value normally
depreciates over time; its condition normally deteriorates with time and / or use it is likely to
benefit from good stewardship. It plays some role or has a function in the delivery of a process or
service.

Therefore, asset management is an integrated approach, involving all organization departments,

to effectively manage existing and new assets to deliver services to customers. The intent is to
maximize benefits, reduce risks and provide satisfactory levels of service to the community in a
sustainable manner, providing an optimum balance. Good asset management practices are
fundamental to achieving sustainable communities. From a practical perspective, asset
management is based on a set of fundamentals:

 Value: Assets exist to provide value to the organization and its stakeholders.
 Alignment: Asset management translates the organizational objectives into technical and
financial decisions, plans, and activities.
 Leadership: Leadership and workplace culture support achieving plans and goals.
 Assurance: Asset management gives assurance that assets will fulfill their required
purpose.

Fundamentally, infrastructure assets exist to provide services to our communities. Managing our
assets to deliver those services is asset management. In order to have sustainable, resilient
communities that will thrive now, and for future generations, investing in our asset management
efforts cannot be ignored. Public infrastructure is the foundation for a healthy and vibrant
community. Many municipalities define assets by including all physical infrastructure that is
necessary to support the social, economic, and environmental services provided by the
organization. These asset types include, but are not solely limited to, tangible assets such as
buildings, engineering structures, roads, parks, transit, IT networks, water and wastewater
systems, and intangible assets such as land, software, data, and intellectual property. Some
communities are including “natural assets” within their AM practices, and opting to manage
things like land, drainage channels, rivers, and aquifers alongside their more traditional
infrastructure assets.

Many communities are faced with an aging and quickly deteriorating asset base but have limited
revenues to rehabilitate or replace those assets. At the same time, ratepayers, citizens, and
businesses within the communities have increased expectations for the level of services received,
despite the fact many reject the increases to taxes required in order to pay for the higher levels of
service Asset management provides communities with the opportunity to do more with less, by
providing a structured way of tracking performance, costs and risks to meet service objectives in
the most efficient and effective manner.
The Asset Manager role is primarily a business management role as asset owner on behalf of the
Safety and Solutions Directorate. This primarily requires the skill and experience to balance the
cost, risk and performance appropriately into decision making without comprising safety &
service performance.

The Asset Manager (AM) has delegated ownership of Assets and /or specific tasks by the Head
of Solutions and Product Technical Author. AM are responsible for critical cost Assets within
the appointed Service Groups reporting technically to the relevant Product Technical Authority.

The Asset Manager will also work closely with the technical authorities, engineering, supply
chain and Service Delivery or their representatives, to ensure the Asset Management Plans are
optimised for whole life costs, elements of future investments, current sustainment CAPEX /
OPEX (staff and non-staff spend) and agree risk entries within the Aquila business risk registry.

The Asset Manager will be accountable for the following activities for Assets within the
allocated Service Group:

• Monitoring Assets, Performance and Risk to ensure safety levels are maintained or improved
by monitoring asset and system performance, directing resources and Opex/Capex investment.
Working with the relevant Subject Matter Experts as appropriate.

• Managing the cost/risk/performance balance for our operational assets to ensure assets provide
the critical services at optimal cost to the business. 096

• Working with stakeholders across the business to decide whether and when to replace or
sustain our systems.

• Managing the Asset operation and maintenance budgets to ensure that they provide accurate
reporting to the key business stakeholders.
• Securing essential Capital investment funds within each Service Group to ensure that
replacement / upgrades are completed before the assets end of life.

• Managing the conflicting factors such as short term versus long term benefits, expenditure
versus performance levels, capital costs versus Operating expenditures and the needs of the wide
variety of senior stakeholders in a safety related environment.