Optimizing cost-effective maintenance strategies to increase asset value and system productivity for long-term community benefit

CRD Asset Componentization - Financial and Operational Asset Management

The Capital Regional District (CRD) serves over 440,000 people on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. We serve as the program manager for CRD’s Seaterra Program, which provides comprehensive wastewater treatment to the region, and associated asset management initiatives. As part of our services, they tasked us with conducting an extensive review of their wastewater treatment asset base.

This involved developing guidance on asset data hierarchy including the creation of master records, reporting, long-term capital planning, valuation, and attributes. We also conducted a pilot test of the data gathering process and attribute collection, as well as produced a methodology on componentizing assets—focusing on an asset’s various parts during analysis—and created centralized asset registry.

We used failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) methods and risk assessments to evaluate asset and system performance. By combining a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and life cycle costing, we developed tangible capital asset values. This helped create a total cost of expenditure (TOTEX) framework that integrates asset performance, criticality, and whole life cycle cost, based on reliability centered maintenance (RCM) and asset accounting principles.

Through our findings, we established a clear line of sight from leadership to front-line personnel. This led us to creating strategies and plans that will enhance operational and maintenance efficiencies, building consensus on priorities within the organization using a performance-driven level of service framework.

This integrated approach facilitates continuous improvement, allowing CRD to maintain the levels of service desired by residents and promoting a sustainable, livable, and vibrant community.