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ASSET MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE TIPS |
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> Hints and tips for asset management software |
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Asset management is defined as a systematic process of operating,
maintaining, and upgrading physical assets cost-effectively. It combines
engineering and mathematical analyses with sound business practice and
economic theory. Asset management systems are goal-driven and, like the
traditional planning process, include components for data collection,
strategy evaluation, program selection, and feedback. The asset management
model explicitly addresses integration of decisions made across all program
areas. Its purpose is simple -- to maximize benefits of a transportation
program to its customers and users, based on well-defined goals and within
available resources.
Identification/Development Of Policies And Management Prescriptions
Regardless of whether a consultant is retained, the first step in the
process of preparing an asset management plan is to identify and evaluate
the effectiveness of the basic management policies which have guided the
agency in the past.
Asset management is a structured and systematic
approach to managing your fixed assets on an ongoing basis. This approach
addresses all phases of an asset's life cycle, from pre-acquisition through
retirement.
Effectively tracking these assets means knowing what you own, where it's
located, where you bought it, for how much and who has it. The primary
objective of asset management is reducing the total cost of ownership and
maximizing the significant investment in these assets.
Successful asset management systems incorporate policies, functional
products, and operational procedures and resources to achieve this
objective. Asset management by its very nature is cross-functional,
impacting various work groups within Information Systems and also other
departments such as Finance.
At some agencies, these policies may be clearly articulated as written
statements or guidelines, often contained inboard/commission statements or
in agency operations manuals. Conversely, other agencies may not have
codified some or all of their operating policies in writing. Instead, the
policies may be part of an undocumented, yet very real "corporate
philosophy" developed over time and passed verbally from employee to
employee. Policies, too, maybe directed to management of a specific type of
resource, or general to all resources. Regardless of which form the policies
take, it is important for the core team and/or its consultants to identify
and analyse these management tenants to determine if they are valid
approaches meriting continued adherence. In instances when formal asset
management policies do not exist, or existing ones are found to be
inadequate, the core team must develop the requisite new management
prescriptions. To do this, the core team and/or its consultants must develop
a number of basic assumptions concerning the environments in which the
agency will operate in the future. Once developed, these assumptions will
serve as the basis for the development of recommended management policies.
Typically, the assumptions are of two types: internal and external. Internal
assumptions relate to the historical and projected future operating
environment of the agency. These assumptions are developed by answering
questions such as:*What is the extent and nature of the resource base
managed by the agency? Is this likely to change in the future?*Is the goal
of the governing board or commission to increase the overall value of the
agency's holdings?*What has been the past position of the agency's governing
board toward land trades, sales, and acquisitions? Is this stance likely to
continue?*What are the basic legal and other directives governing the
agency's actions? Are changes foreseen which could alter this "operating
environment?"*Should the agency promote development of its holdings?
Further, should it participate financially in supporting such ventures?*Are
there minimum target rates of return that the agency should expect from
developments on its holdings? External assumptions concern factors not under
the control of the agency or its board/commission, but which have, and will
likely impact the agency. Among the questions which lead to generating these
assumptions are:*What has been, and will likely be population growth in the
state? Will this growth occur primarily in areas where an agency manages
assets?*What have the prices been for products produced from land managed by
the agency? What is the likely future trend in these prices?*Are new land
use regulatory laws likely to impact the use of assets managed by the
agency? What might these changes do to impact agency land management
activities?
Once the core team has developed a set of assumptions based on the
answers to these and other similar questions, it can begin to develop the
policies that will serve as the general, and resource-specific management
prescriptions supporting the asset management plan. However, before
proceeding to the policy development stage, it is important that these
tenants be reviewed and approved by the agency's governing board/commission.
As a further check, the assumptions should also be discussed with the
stakeholders team to ensure "buy-off" of these policy-supporting premises.
Evaluation And Classification of the Asset Base The second major component
of an asset management plan is the land classification system. Development
of this system and the assignment to it of parcels or resources managed by
the agency may either be relatively easy, or entail a considerable amount of
work depending on the amount and quality of information an agency has about
each of its holdings.
Needless to say, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to develop either
an asset management plan or land classification system without a good
understanding of the asset base. Although an agency may have a detailed
legal description of every parcel it manages readily available, a good
likelihood exists that few, if any, agency staff could locate a number of
the parcels on the ground, much less provide a description of their physical
attributes. This is particularly true if the parcels occur in remote, rural
or undeveloped areas without roads or other readily usable benchmarks. As a
consequence, it is highly possible that very little descriptive information
may exist "in-house" about of a number of the parcels managed by an agency.
Therefore, a key step in the conduct of an asset management plan is to
develop a good database concerning the nature and financial performance of
the parcels under the agency's management if one is not already available.
To develop such a database is not easy. Among the desired information
concerning each property would be:*Size in acres.*Degree of state ownership
(in fee or split estate).*Past and present use(s); possible other
uses.*Revenue generation history.*Unique attributes such as the presence of
threatened and endangered species or historic and cultural
resources.*Proximity to urbanized areas and infrastructure (roads, power,
water, natural gas, etc.).*Approximate value (assessed, appraised, other).
With this information, a land classification system can be developed, and
the various holdings can be aggregated for the purposes of classification
into broad categories thereby facilitating greater analysis
Plan Acceptance, Adoption And Implementation A key component in the
development of an asset management plan is keeping the agency's governing
board/commission, agency staff, stakeholders, and general public involved in
its development. Unless these groups are kept informed of the progress being
made on the plan, and periodically asked their opinions at critical
junctures in the development process, they will not feel any linkage to, and
consequently will not "buy into" to the product. |
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