Compare, assess and decide with PLAN

The infrastructure asset management (IAM) planning software application (PLAN) is a decision-support environment, developed under TRUST, which is providing organized assessment and comparison for any number of competing projects, solutions or alternative designs, which can be assessed and pitched against each other, both numerically as well as visually.

PLAN was designed as the central planning framework of the AWARE-P infrastructure asset management methodology and therefore complements and integrates with AWARE-P, which is a non-intrusive, web-based, collaborative environment where objectives and metrics drive IAM planning. Planning alternatives or competing projects are measured up and compared, through selected performance, risk and cost metrics, through interactive numerical and through 2D/3D graphical information display. It may also be used to compare different systems or sub-systems for diagnosis and prioritization. It was created as a technical tool, but just as importantly as a negotiation and communication vehicle. The system has been publicly available since 2012 and has gathered over 1200 registered users worldwide, having been used for IAM plan development in over 50 utilities in Europe, USA and Australia.

Infrastructure planning in the short and long terms, and deciding where to act or which projects to prioritize, are the driving forces behind this. At project, subsystem or entire system level, the alignment between strategic, tactical and operational decisions, and their transparency and accountability, are promoted through a coherent metrics/kPI development process. These make up the assessment system that quantifies the consequence of the prospective decisions on utility objectives in the short, medium and long term — a central framework for the objective-driven, continuous improvement principles of ISO 55000. The software is targeted at water professionals and decision makers and was developed to maximize the transparency, accountability and repeatability of the decision-making process, specifically keeping in mind all managerial and technical roles in urban water services where decisions impact or represent a number of stakeholders and interests.

The document you can download for free at the TRUST website (http://www.trust-i.net/downloads/index.php?iddesc=119) provides a short introduction to the software and its usage, an overview of the software’s context, purpose and functionality, including references to further reading and an explanation how it can be accessed and used. A quick-start guide and a set of computer files are included as well.

Mots‑clés

• transition
• water
• future
• infrastructure asset management

Pays

Germany