1.4 Intended Audience

This guide to Asset Management can be used by any water and wastewater utility, but it is geared primarily toward small to medium-sized utilities. For utilities that wish to have a more robust Asset Management program, there are other guides, resources and consulting services that can help implement a more sophisticated program. This guidebook contains all the basic elements of Asset Management, and discusses implementation as well as the human aspects of Asset Management. Utility employees at all levels should be able to use this guidebook, including operations or management personnel, elected officials or board members.

1.5 Asset Management IQ

This guidebook includes a self evaluation tool, called the Asset Management IQ. This tool will help assess progress in Asset Management activities. The tool has a total of 30 questions: 5 general questions (at the end of this chapter) and 5 questions for each of the 5 core components (chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7). These questions are designed as a review of the important concepts of each of these components. Each question has a description of 6 possible levels of completion or practice. Reviewing these questions and the answers will help you understand where you need to focus your efforts toward implementing an Asset Management Plan and will prepare you for taking the full IQ test in Appendix F.

The IQ test in Appendix F can be taken electronically or printed out and score manually on paper.

If the user completes the entire Asset Management IQ tool (all 30 questions) before starting Asset Management, it will provide a baseline evaluation at the beginning of Asset Management. Comparing the scores of each of the six sections will show which areas have the biggest gaps in terms of Asset Management activities. These scores may provide information about where efforts should be focused. You may wish to start with areas that are the weakest, offering a large improvement with a little effort, or with areas that are already strong, which would offer a chance to get started in a familiar area.

As the utility progresses, the Asset Management IQ can be repeated and the scores compared to previous scores. At a minimum, you may wish to repeat the Asset Management IQ every year.

It should be noted that a total score of 150 would represent best practice in all areas of Asset Management. Not all utilities will be committed to achieving this goal. The utility should set its own target levels. The tool is meant to help utilities gauge their progress over time.