Abstract
Traditional infrastructure asset management is about maintaining the status quo of service levels in a resource-restricted, sometimes risk-increasing environment. Infrastructure asset management (IAM) is effective in addressing resource-deprived situations and in maximizing the benefits of the utility in these contexts. This makes IAM a very appropriate and useful approach for developing countries. Hence, this paper focuses on developing a fit-for-purpose integrated asset management (IAM) framework that is suitable for situations where there are risks to assets, significant uncertainties, and resource deficits, and where improvements to the current service levels are needed. To be comprehensive in the application in these contexts, there is a need to supplement IAM with a new perspective—critical necessities, next to the risks to the status quo (current levels of service). This gap was evident during application of IAM principles to the drinking water system of Al-Mafraq, Jordan. It was overcome by framing questions on adaptation deficits and future needs that are to be answered together with risk matrix-based prioritization of asset management actions. The fit-for-purpose IAM framework comprising asset management, adaptation deficit, and future needs can ensure the continuity of service levels in emerging cities when supported through expert inputs and stakeholder consultations.
Highlights
Asset management (AM) can be seen as a necessity that arose from the relative inability of traditional engineering to deal with resource-constrained situations
The findings from the landmark report on infrastructure in the United States of America (USA) [7], and the poor status of water infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand in the early 1990s, as well as the recent reports [8,9], reiterate the following: (i) operation and management (O&M) practices that were developed during times of relatively good sector performance do not fit well for the hard times; and (ii) infrastructure asset management (IAM) was born out of necessity to guide organizations to spend the limited funds to minimize the risk to its service levels (SL)
This framework was developed with the current case study, it provides a way of applying integrated asset management (IAM) in secondary cities in the global south (SCGS) which are characterized by the aforementioned features
Summary
Asset management (AM) can be seen as a necessity that arose from the relative inability of traditional engineering to deal with resource-constrained situations. A contextual fit-for-purpose infrastructure asset management framework is necessary to address the multiple challenges of (a) minimizing the risk of current service levels from deterioration due to internal causes like ageing systems, as well as external causes such as limited water resources, climate change impacts, and rapid population growth [29]; (b) addressing the critical shortfalls in the current service levels by system improvement [1,23]; and (c) prioritizing investments and measures of operation and maintenance [24]. The performance of municipal services in Al-Mafraq is challenged by rapid urbanization, dwindling water resources, and a rapid surge and variability of refugee influx from Syria [30,32]
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