The City of Saint John’s Asset Management Journey

The City of Saint John has been actively working to help develop a comprehensive Asset Management Program (AMP) including practices across the organization and City Agencies, Boards and Commissions. To meet current and future infrastructure needs and address infrastructure challenges, in 2016, Common Council identified the asset management program as the top priority to optimize and prioritize infrastructure investment.

The City’s approach was unique in that it focused on customizing the asset management program to the way that the City does business, as opposed to adapting to solutions developed by others.

The objectives of the asset management program as per the City of Saint John Asset Management Policy are as follows, but not limited to:

• Improve the reliability of customer service by maintaining clearly defined levels of service
• Improve the decisions related to the management of the City’s assets
• Improve the transparency and accountability of community investments in the management of the City’s assets
• Improve the management of the City’s exposure to risks of reduced service delivery
• Facilitate the leveraging of partnerships and infrastructure funding from external sources

The City currently maintains an extensive inventory of public infrastructure across multiple service areas. Based on the 2016 State of the Infrastructure (SOTI) report, the City’s infrastructure situation is as follows:

• Replacement cost is estimated to be $2.2 billion
• Infrastructure deficit is over $433 million
• 48% of assets are in a condition of fair or worse
• Investment gap of over $37 million per year

In addition, the City is facing a number of infrastructure challenges, including:

• Maintaining a stable and sustainable water rate;
• No long-term capital investment plans;
• Formalized risk management is not integrated into decision making;
• Levels of service are not defined, or cost implications understood;
• Inability to fully understand the consequences of decision making; and
• Little integrated decision making across assets.

The City’s AM Program approach involves the following:

1. Development of an AM Policy (approved in 2017)

The purpose of this Policy is to:

• Establish the organization’s commitment to asset management practices
• Set out clear direction and guidance for Council and staff for undertaking the asset management process
• Incorporate climate change risk into decision making
• Ensure the approach to asset management is integrated throughout the organization and aligned with high level council objectives

1. Strategy Document approved by the Senior Leadership Team

The strategy sets the direction from senior management to department staff for improving and sustaining asset management practices and ensures these practices are applied consistently across the organization. The following strategies were identified and adopted to develop and implement asset management practices as part of Phase 2 of the City’s AM Program across the organization:

• Improve departmental interaction
• Improve data sharing
• Improve data software
• Define asset risks
• Define performance metrics
• Define asset renewal and replacement needs
• Lengthen planning horizon

In addition, the strategy includes the following:

• Governance Structure: A governance structure for AM implementation in the City was adopted as a foundational component of the asset management program. It provides an organizational structure for the development of asset management tools, guidelines and processes, as well as oversight for their application across the organization.
• Asset Management Framework: A multi-dimensional AM framework was adopted by the City as a foundational structure for the AM program.

1. Detailed assessment of the current state of the City’s AM practices
2. City of Saint John Roadmap and Task Tracking Schedule

The Roadmap document identifies detailed activities, scope of work, level of effort and deliverables for the various strategies, activities and tasks, along with the duration to help achieve the AM strategies and objectives as indicated in the City of Saint John’s AM policy and strategy.

The Roadmap is structured in five streams of activity. The following are general descriptions of the proposed activities or work as indicated in the AM Roadmap:

• Life Cycle Management including risk assessment
• Asset Management Workflow and Resources
• Asset Management Tools (data management)
• Asset Management Monitoring and Reporting
• Individual Department Improvement Activities

1. The SOTI report

The report will be used as a tool to communicate to the public, council and staff the challenges of managing the City’s infrastructure in a sustainable manner. The report will include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and will identify the need to adjust level of service, funding levels and operation effort. It will also provide justification for the City’s priorities and decisions, which will assist with public education and acceptance.

The City’s objective is to implement a comprehensive asset management program by 2020. However, we foresee major challenges in advancing Asset Management, including the demand on staff resources and potential loss of interest in AM by Council and the public. To address these issues, the City has and will retain private sector resources and hire additional staff to facilitate delivery of certain components. Components include the asset condition and risk assessment program to build a better asset database, to communicate a realistic AM implementation schedule, to manage expectations, and to annually report on the state of the infrastructure repair and the risks to service delivery.

SAMIR YAMMINE, P.Eng, is the Manager of Asset and Energy Management for the City of Saint John, NB. He received his Bachelor degree in electrical engineering and completed the two years Master of Electrical engineering coursework from Dalhousie University in 1990. His responsibilities include providing strategic leadership and direction to the Senior Leadership Team and Common Council in developing and implementing the Corporate Asset and Energy Management Programs across the City of Saint John organization. Samir has developed, implemented and managed over 100 sustainable environmental and asset management initiatives on new and existing city infrastructure.