City of Eagan

All of us practice asset management—whether we use that term or not. Assets are anything that provide value: roads, bridges, buildings, parks, vehicles, pipes, pumps, technology systems, equipment and the countless visible and hidden components that make public service possible.

Asset management is the coordinated activity of realizing value from those assets. Improved asset management can save our communities money, extend the useful life of public resources, improve safety and reliability and support better decisions about maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and replacement.

As public-agency asset managers, we face resource needs that can seem almost unimaginable. Yet few of us fully understand the totality of what we oversee or the full breadth of our responsibility to the public we serve. We often cannot confidently answer basic questions:

• What do we own?

• How much do we have?

• Where is it located?

• What condition is it in?

• How long will it last?

• What will it cost to maintain, repair, rehabilitate or replace?

Before becoming defensive about those questions, we should become self-reflective.

Greater use of asset management helps agencies understand what they do not yet know. With a better understanding of asset inventories, conditions, risks and costs, we can define and maintain a realistic vision for the future of our resources. We can better coordinate operations, maintenance, capital planning and investment.

The anticipated cost to repair or replace all public assets often exceeds the funding available today, or likely to be available in the future. That gap cannot be closed only by seeking more funding, although adequate funding remains essential. It must also be addressed through better information, better priorities, better timing and more deliberate decisions.

Managing public assets is a crucial responsibility of government. We must ensure that assets are maintained, used effectively and maximized for public benefit and safety. We cannot delay improving how we manage them.

Responsible asset managers need education, tools and organizational support. Most agencies are doing the best they can with limited time, staff and funding. Still, we cannot afford to remain reactive while blaming scarce resources for the absence of proactive planning. Reactive practices lead to unexpected failures, emergency repairs, service disruptions, accelerated deterioration and even greater funding deficiencies.

Our assets need management, coordination and investment. Our customers deserve and expect it.

“Public agencies will never have unlimited resources. But we can improve the information we use, the decisions we make and the value we deliver. That is the promise of asset management: moving from reactive response to responsible stewardship.”

Assets can be visible or concealed, interconnected or separate, stable or changing. They are affected internally and externally: by the materials from which they were made, the liquids or electricity they carry, the soil surrounding them and the work that installed or altered them. They may also be affected by freeze-thaw cycles, decomposition, fire, floods, earthquakes, weather, equipment impacts, excavation, traffic, manufacturing variability and human activity.

The potential threats affecting an asset are numerous. Just as significant is the quantity of information that can help us make sound decisions that will enhance the asset life. Useful data may include an asset’s description, purpose, age, location, material, size, elevation, ownership, as-built condition, inspection history, maintenance history, repair history, treatments and current condition.

We don’t need to collect every possible data point at once. Rather, we may begin to gather the information that helps an agency make better decisions. The more relevant data we collect and analyze, the better we can understand actual asset condition and determine the appropriate maintenance, repair, rehabilitation or replacement action and the right time to take it.

Routine, standardized maintenance can lengthen asset life even when complete data are unavailable. Manufacturer recommendations, maintenance manuals and established industry practices can provide a practical starting point. Inspection, cleaning, lubrication, calibration and timely replacement of worn components often prevent small problems from becoming expensive failures.

But routine maintenance alone is not enough.

Standard practices address standard needs; data-informed management identifies the specific causes of deterioration, risk and underperformance. A roadway with drainage failure needs more than a routine surface treatment. A pump with declining performance may require more than scheduled maintenance. Evaluating the full lifecycle of an asset enables agencies to target investments where they will produce the greatest long-term value.

Finally, asset decisions must reflect community priorities. Physical condition matters, but so do consequences of failure. Assets that support public safety, emergency response, drinking water, transportation, environmental protection and essential services may deserve higher priority than others in similar condition.

Asset management gives public agencies a way to balance condition, risk, cost, service levels and community expectations. Its purpose is not simply to keep assets longer. Its purpose is to provide the right service, at the right cost, with the right level of risk.

Public agencies will never have unlimited resources. But we can improve the information we use, the decisions we make and the value we deliver. That is the promise of asset management: moving from reactive response to responsible stewardship.