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A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

 

November 2003 - Every now and then, something that is carried out by one group creates a golden opportunity for others, allowing them to improve their products as well. A classic example is the space-age technology developed to handle the rigours of heat and cold in NASA’s space program which has been transferred to kitchen utensils. In a similar way, the development of dTIMS CT has produced a product so flexible and capable that we now have the capability to gather information from numerous data sources, process the information in the manner you want and produce outputs that you can use to make key decisions on behalf of your community.

 

With the introduction of Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs) there has also been a subtle change in the terminology used. As engineers, we are used to talking about asset management plans. The LTCCP introduces the term “Activity Plan” and introduces disciplines that local government can engage to manage assets for all council activities. Mandatory LTCCPs mean that organizations must now consider activity asset management and not just asset management.

 

 

dTIMS CT: Potential for Activity Asset Management

 

When the Road Information Management Systems (RIMS) Group identified a large number of developments required to manage road assets more effectively, the organization wasn’t considering pipes and other assets within the roading corridor. The RIMS Group was simply looking to find a product that would enable the organization to move from optimizing works associated with pavement only to integrating all other assets roading personnel were responsible for, such as signs, traffic signals, road marking and street lights.

 

When the CT version of dTIMS was developed for the RIMS Group, the product suddenly moved from being a useful tool for the asset management of pavements to being a useful tool for integrating asset management of activities. The product’s flexibility and open-ended nature means that it can fulfil this role without undermining or interfering with other legacy systems specifically developed for asset management.

 

In other words, dTIMS CT can take information that you have in one system, such as Hansen, with information from another system, such as RAMM, and mix it with information you might have on your buildings or on the management of your libraries. You can then optimize how you manage these items within your available budgets. dTIMS CT even has the ability to take data from across local authority boundaries and reassemble this in a format that can be presented on your authority’s GIS (Geographic Information System).

 

When the RIMS group saw the full capability and flexibility of the new product developed in response to their requests, they recognized that its potential greatly exceeded their original vision for road asset management. With this in mind, they shared its potential with Ingenium and SOLGM and have consequently managed to negotiate a very favourable purchase agreement for New Zealand users.

 

Like all things that sound too good to be true, there is one catch. The program in itself is like any other computer program – sensible information must be put into the program in order to get sensible information out of the program. dTIMS CT has some strengths even in this area - it can produce results even if you only have part of the information available. The other challenge, of course, is how you program dTIMS CT to compare and manage your data. dTIMS CT is available now but, realistically, it will be years rather than months before its full potential will be realized. To take advantage of the system, get started now with the information you have and progressively incorporate other components as time and resources permit.

 

 

Summary

 

With the requirement to develop LTCCPs, we are moving from an emphasis on asset management to a focus on activity management. We are now thinking in far broader terms than simply optimizing the performance of single assets - our goal is to optimize the performance of an integrated set of assets and activities. A suitable tool to carry out this task has become available in dTIMS CT, but it is only a tool: the craftsmen are the engineers scattered throughout New Zealand and the task has just begun. It will take a number of years for the product to reach its full potential; however, just like eating an elephant, progress is made one bite at a time.