Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

3. THE RESOURCING STRATEGY
Developing an Asset Management Plan
A major use for Asset Management Plan(s) is to communicate information about assets, including
particular actions required to provide a defined level of service in the most cost-effective manner.
For those councils that are yet to develop Asset Management Plan(s), they may wish to start off the
process by developing a ‘first cut’ plan based on existing data and documenting existing levels of
service, management strategy etc.
While there are likely to be many gaps identified, and it may not serve all the council’s needs, this
‘top down’ approach will provide a basis upon which the council can develop its Asset Management
Strategy and ensures that some progress on asset planning is being made. The approach may be
particularly attractive to smaller councils with limited financial and human resources.
For many councils, the prospect of embarking on a comprehensive Asset Management Planning
process is overwhelming. A number of councils that are now well advanced in their Asset
Management Planning have advised that this type of ‘one bite at a time’ approach made Asset
Management Planning far less daunting. It also allowed them to gradually, and incrementally, build
the knowledge and corporate support within their council.
Another alternative is the ‘bottom up’ approach which starts off the process by preparing the Asset
Management Strategy, and through the Strategy improving the data and systems, and then
preparing the Plan.
The IIMM identifies the following advantages and disadvantages of each of these approaches 6 :
Advantages
Top Down Analysis (Core)
Supports the 80/20 rule (get 80% of the results
from the first 20% of effort)
Identifies the weaknesses in the plan earlier and
focuses on appropriate data as opposed to
perceived data needs
Initially less resource intensive
Better use of limited resources and quick results
Bottom Up Analysis (Advanced)
Outputs are data-driven with a high degree of confidence
Data is of a high quality
Ability to undertake data modelling and improve decision
making
Continuous plan revision is simpler
Disadvantages Potential for compromised quality and
completeness of data
Assumptions required to make decisions
Potential for inappropriate decision making
Inability to undertake detailed modelling and
sensitivity analysis
Data collection takes time
Time of production can impact on the ability to make
urgent decisions
Potential to lose focus on objectives – too focused on
data issues
Costly and time consuming
Organisation can become data rich and information poor
Lack of focus on supporting asset management activities
When preparing the Asset Management Plan, it is important to gather all the relevant information
which informs the planning process. This includes information about the condition of assets, risks
and how they might be managed, and probable lifecycle costs.
More detailed information on ‘core’ and ‘advanced’ asset management is discussed on page 4.6 of
the Australian Infrastructure Financial Management Guidelines – Version 1.0, 2009.
6
International Infrastructure Management Manual, page 2.41
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