NOT DROWNING IN DATA SWIMMING THROUGH IT!!

THE INERTIA TO GOOD DATA COLLECTION

Kevin Young, Hunter Water, Australia kevin.young@hunterwater.com.au

There is no doubt that moving to good asset management is a tough job. A lot of people start by studying the fundamentals of asset management and getting some initial training. This is generally followed by discussions within the management team of the best early steps to take. What all newcomers to asset management quickly appreciate is that best practice utilities are passionate about collecting and analysing good data. However, this is often becomes a belief that you cannot get many gains in asset management until you invest in a multi-million dollar data collection and analysis system. You hear it all the time. Some managers want quick gains through technology and say, Dont tell me the principles of asset management. Just give me a computer system that will tell me when to do repairs and replacements. These systems may be important tools, but if the numbers underpinning the models are not understood, the models most often drop out of use and the manuals start to collect dust on the shelves. The truth of the matter is that good data is important, but also that valuable gains can be made without a complete whiz bang data collection and analysis system. It is always better to have a crude model based on excellent principles than a model accurate to ten significant digits based on very rough or even incorrect principles. The approach should be to first understand the principles of the decisions you are making and then determine the data you need to collect. However, there are always a lot of impediments when starting down this path. The excuses generally include the following: We dont have the necessary IT systems in place. Our field workforce is not good at paperwork and is more interested in getting the job done than collecting good data.

Some decisions are very subjective, and were not sure that good data would help us. Most of our asset knowledge is in collective memory of our experienced workers, and theyre too busy to find time to document this.

All of the above can provide a strong basis to ossify the organisation. The World is Changing These excuses have been around for a long time, and the reality is that they dont stack up any more. The world is changing. More and more, customers and regulators are requiring measured service levels and performance indicators to ensure ongoing improvement. Private industry is involved in utility work and demonstrates a belief that the job involves not only getting the work done but also interfacing with customers, protecting the environment, and collecting good data. There are a growing number of companies that are good role models in asset management, and defined decision processes and benchmarking analyses are becoming more widespread. Technology is also helping as better products become available to provide some shortcutsif you understand the principles and your data are OK. Finally, there is a growing list of consultants who have worked on best practices in asset management with other utilities and can help put a road map together that can help avoid the mistakes others have made. Where to Start

We all want to move towards a world where we are led by data driven decisionsbut where to start? The following are some of the early gains that can be made.

Consider sampling of data and the use of simple models. About a decade ago, Hunter Water was looking to streamline its replacement of water mains. At that time the process had plenty of heat and not much light because we concentrated more on customer complaints than on life cycle analysis and industry and community costs. We started by putting together a simple model that became the framework for replacement decision-making but we still could not populate the model because we didnt have cost and customer impact data. However, we decided not to let this stop us. We picked a sample of 30 water main repairs and 15 water main replacements, which we analysed and used to provide indicative data for the model. This process took only a few months but it meant that we achieved early gains in a short time. The model was probably only 80% accurate, but it helped make a lot better decisions than in the past. Over the

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past decade the model has been modified and improved numerous times. But the pareto principle worksfor the first 20% of the effort we got 80% of the gains. Start putting together a data strategic plan. At the beginning, the critical area to focus on is simply to understand what assets you have. You can be sure that over the longer term, it will become necessary for you to at least know the physical characteristics of your assetslocation, diameter, material, size, etc. Start by putting together a comprehensive list of data that is currently collected and analyse the costs to procure additional data and the value that it provides. A simple mantra is that for data to be useful it has to have a use! Develop reusable frameworks when you solve problems. Even agencies that use cross-functional teams to solve problems may do not take advantage of these exercises to develop analytical frameworks, including data collection, so that similar problems can be dealt with more swiftly and effectively in the future. Use your experienced workers to help populate your asset databases and understand and document the principles of asset-based decision-making. As your asset management practices develop, efficiencies will be gained. Your experienced workers are the ideal people to help make this happen.

Good luck with your data hunting!

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