Asset Management Programs Help Clients Plan, Save Money

Whether it’s roads, traffic structures, or buildings, a well-crafted asset management program helps cities and businesses budget better and ultimately save money.

The first step in maintaining infrastructure is inevitably knowing what you have. But for many clients — especially municipalities, businesses with multiple locations, or schools with campuses — it can be difficult to effectively track all of their assets, let alone understand where each asset is in its life cycle.

CTL Engineering offers several asset management programs designed to take inventory of assets, estimate lifespan and create a maintenance plan. The result is more predictable expenses, better maintenance, and fewer surprises.

What is an asset management Progam?

Asset management programs typically start with taking an inventory of a defined list of assets. Next, an expert evaluates each item to determine where it is in its lifecycle. He or she will then make predictions about what maintenance is needed and when the asset should be replaced.

By making lifecycle and maintenance estimates over many assets, clients can budget for the future. While some asset management programs are focused on the short-term, most include predictions for the next five to twenty years. This can be particularly helpful in creating realistic budgets and creating Capital Improvement Programs.

Asset management programs are also beneficial because clients can institute preventative maintenance – ensuring their assets last much longer. Pavement, for instance, has a much longer lifecycle if a client performs regular maintenance.

Additionally, long-term maintenance is often much cheaper than reactive problem-solving. By performing regular maintenance on buildings, for example, clients can save money that would have been spent on unpleasant surprises.

CTL Asset management services

Building Envelope Asset Planning:

A building envelope asset plan typically evaluates the building enclosure and roofing. Some plans, however, may assess only a specific portion of the building. Others may include more detail — such as mechanical, electrical, and structural systems, and even interior design.

It is common for schools, colleges, municipalities, and government agencies to maintain many buildings at once. An asset management program can help develop a much more detailed and holistic maintenance plan.

The plan will identify high-priority items, such as code violations, as well as provide a written assessment of lifecycle.

In some cases, programs may even work with software that assigns task orders. A city, for instance, may be able to assign a belt or filter replacement to a maintenance worker by using software that alerts them when maintenance is required.

The result is buildings and assets that last much longer.

Additionally, some clients use CTL Engineering for maintenance advice. For example, with all the various roof systems on the market, a client might ask, “What is the best roof system for my building?” Because our professionals have evaluated so many buildings and have a broad knowledge base, they can often offer unique insight into decision-making.

Traffic Asset Planning:

Like other asset management programs, a traffic asset program begins with an inventory. In this case, CTL will often evaluate structures, such as strain poles, mast arms, overhead sign structures, as well as traffic signals.

Some clients want even more detail, such as traffic signal control cabinets and their various electronic components.

Regardless of which assets are included, a traffic expert will evaluate each item for needed repairs, preventative maintenance, and expected lifecycle. While structures usually last the longest, individual lights within a signal are generally only good for five years, for instance.

At the end of the evaluation, CTL will create an easy-to-understand report to project costs. The plan helps cities create more accurate budgets for future years. Additionally, planning can help cities get ahead of maintenance – replacing a traffic light before it burns out on its own, for instance.

Pavement Asset Planning:

Finally, CTL Engineering also performs pavement management.

Depending on the clients’ needs, CTL may perform only visual observation or may go so far as to perform core testing to get a much more accurate understanding of the pavement. Regardless, engineers will rank pavement using either the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, or another similar approach.

Ranking the pavement helps clients understand the worst problems, even if it is not visually apparent.

Then, CTL works with the client’s budget to recommend where immediate repair is needed and what type of maintenance will get the biggest bang for the buck.

CTL is careful to listen to the client’s actual needs. Not all pavement needs immediate attention, for instance. In those cases, CTL recommends which maintenance options will help stave off expensive replacement costs the longest and which options can wait.

Hiring an engineer is often beneficial because it is a third-party perspective. While contractors may not offer the full range of maintenance options, an engineer can help clients evaluate ALL their options and select the best approach.

Planning saves money in the long-term

In addition to understanding upcoming maintenance, the real advantage of any asset management program is that it saves money in the long term.

By conducting regular pavement maintenance, for instance, a municipality can help their roads last longer. Maintenance is almost always inherently cheaper than replacement.

Similarly, by conducting regularly scheduled maintenance on electrical and mechanical systems, a school with lots of buildings can make their systems last longer.

A good asset management program helps clients break the habit of short-term fixes and instead manage their assets more holistically.