Municipal Affairs
August 1, 2008Regional Asset
Management System Announced for Burin Peninsula
Five towns on the Burin Peninsula will be better able
to ensure accurate information about their municipal infrastructure
through a new regional asset management system. The Honourable Dave
Denine, Minister of Municipal Affairs, was in Marystown today to
officially announce that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has
approved funding in the amount of $309,700 to develop and implement a
pilot regional asset management system for the towns of Marystown,
Burin, Fortune, Grand Bank, and St. Lawrence.
The system will provide significant assistance to managers of municipal
infrastructure who must make technical decisions regarding when and how
to maintain, repair or replace their assets. In many cases, the
information they have available to them about their existing assets is
old, faded, water-stained paper plans or someone�s memory of the
infrastructure system. The desktop asset management system is called
InfoTOWN� and it will provide the partnering towns with a system that
captures their infrastructure information, such as the location and
details of water and sewer systems. InfoTOWN� will increase the
knowledge base of existing infrastructure and provide strategies to
better maintain and operate these systems.
�Municipalities have significant infrastructure assets to maintain, such
as complex underground water and sewer networks, buildings, road
systems, parks and other equipment to maintain,� said Minister Denine.
�The fact is that in many small communities, information about these
intricate infrastructure systems is very scarce, which makes preventive
maintenance and land use planning challenging. This project takes an
innovative approach to municipal asset management. The end result will
be enhanced municipal services for residents.�
InfoTOWN� was developed by a Burin Peninsula-based engineering firm,
Edwards & Associates Ltd., a sister company of Information Brokerage
Limited (IBL). The software will significantly enhance the capability of
municipalities in the region to manage accurate and current information
on local infrastructure and strategically plan for future infrastructure
investment.
The towns of Marystown, Burin, Fortune, Grand Bank, and St. Lawrence
joined together to bring this initiative to reality.
�I applaud the communities for taking a regional approach with this
initiative,� said Minister Denine. �Co-operation among municipalities
results in sharing of resources and economies of scale. It is my hope,
and the hope of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, that we see
more examples of this type of successful municipal partnering in the
future.�
Sam Synard, Mayor of the Town of Marystown, accepted the province�s
funding commitment letter on behalf of the five participating towns.
�On behalf of the five partnering towns, I want to thank Minister Denine
and his colleagues for supporting this initiative,� said Mayor Synard.
�We are pleased to pilot this project here on the Burin Peninsula and we
feel confident that it will become a tool that all municipalities in our
province will use in the near future. In today�s world, fast retrieval
of accurate information is the cornerstone of effective decision-making.
The regional asset management system will assist us in improving our
decision-making process.�
Area MHAs the Honourable Clyde Jackman, MHA for Burin-Placentia West,
and Darin King, MHA for Grand Bank, also joined Minister Denine in
today's announcement.
�I am pleased to see government�s support of InfoTOWN�, a
locally-designed asset management system,� said Minister Jackman. �This
is just one of many initiatives taking place that showcase how well the
regional approach is working on the Burin Peninsula.�
�This project will be of tremendous benefit to the participating
municipalities and is a great reflection of what can be achieved when we
work together as a region on the Burin Peninsula,� said Mr. King. �It
will significantly improve the municipalities� ability to manage the
acquisition and maintenance of their assets, and thereby improve the
services available to residents. I thank the minister for his support of
this project.�
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Media contact:
Jennifer Collingwood
Director of Communications
Department of Municipal Affairs
709-729-1983, 690-2498
JenniferCollingwood@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Asset management is a process of using geographic
information systems (GIS) to record accurate and current infrastructure
inventory data; assessing its physical condition; and, setting
priorities for project planning and funding.
An Asset Management System is an evidence-based infrastructure repair
and rehabilitation decision-making tool. It increases the knowledge base
of existing infrastructure and provides strategies to maximize usage.
The municipalities involved will see many benefits through the Asset
Management System:
- Accessibility:
24/7 secure, ongoing access to manage development applications,
zoning, water and sewer systems, inventory, preventive maintenance
schedules, etc.
- Increased longevity of assets:
The system will permit proactive preventive maintenance scheduling
thereby increasing the longevity of assets.
- Enhanced maintenance and controls:
Maintenance activities will be cross-referenced to individual assets
through the assignment of unique identifiers. Municipalities will be
able to view historic data by feature type, by unique identifier or
by graphic extent. Comparisons between continued maintenance versus
replacement costs will be presentable for user analysis. Mapping of
infrastructure against land use zones etc. will help maximize usage
throughout the life cycle. The system will also provide complete
audit trails of preventive maintenance activities. Review of
historic data will enable users to realize repair patterns that may
be projected on to a life cycle analysis of similar entities. The
maintenance module will be tied to an inventory control system,
which will be adjusted each time an item leaves or enters the
inventory. Having location-based information will enable the
municipalities to uncover assets without the need for additional
tear up, etc.
- Cost effectiveness:
The project utilizes a regional co-operation approach to municipal
asset management. Typical cost to build a web-enabled municipal
information management system would be in the order of $150,000 per
town. However, in this case, the cost is spread over five towns.
- Innovative, user-friendly and efficient:
Innovative tools will be employed to enable towns or their
consultants to update infrastructure maps through standard Internet
browsers, without the need for any additional software. Towns will
be able to generate geo-referenced work orders that will show the
location of the asset being worked on and the list of maintenance
activities to perform. Linked information such as warranty period
expirations, manufacturer contact information etc. will all help
increase the longevity of municipal assets.
- Allows for more efficient land use planning
Clear and unambiguous presentation of land use maps and zoning
regulations will permit orderly development within towns. This
information, coupled with knowledge of the location and capacity of
existing infrastructure, will assist in the definition of industrial
parks, playgrounds, green areas, walking trails, etc.
- Environmentally friendly
Locational information will reduce the negative environmental impact
of exploratory digs looking for valves, etc.
2008 08 01
12:15 p.m.
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