Asset Management

Asset management is a strategic and systematic process of operating, maintaining, and improving physical assets, with a focus on engineering and economic analysis based upon quality information, to identify a structured sequence of maintenance, preservation, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement actions that will achieve and sustain a desired state of good repair over the lifecycle of the assets at minimum practicable cost.

Core Principles of Asset Management

• Policy-driven: Resource allocation decisions are based on a well-defined set of policy goals and objectives.

• Performance-based: Policy objectives are translated into system performance measures that are used for both day-to-day and strategic management.

• Analysis of Options and Tradeoffs: Decisions on how to allocate funds within and across different types of investments (e.g., preventive maintenance versus rehabilitation, pavements versus bridges) are based on an analysis of how different allocations will impact achievement of relevant policy objectives.

• Decisions Based on Quality Information: The merits of different options with respect to an agency's policy goals are evaluated using credible and current data.

• Monitoring Provides Clear Accountability and Feedback: Performance results are monitored and reported for both impacts and effectiveness.

This definition was developed by the AASHTO Subcommittee on Asset Management in January 2006. Full Article