CITIES RELY ON INFRASTRUCTURE

Modern cities rely on millions of infrastructure assets to sustain key services such as water, transport, electricity and waste disposal. Public organisations such as municipalities are in charge of planning, building and operating infrastructure. Without systematic financial and engineering management, infrastructure can fail to the detriment of public safety, key services don’t reach customers, taxes are wasted and public unrest can ensue.

WHAT IS INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT?

Infrastructure asset management is an integrated, multidisciplinary set of strategies directed at maintaining and expanding public infrastructure with sustainable service delivery in view. It is a constant set of processes – set against international and national regulations – from infrastructure investment and acquisition to the maintenance of an asset over its entire estimated useful life.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: THE ASSET REGISTER

Infrastructure Asset Management relies on accurate information management for planning and maintenance. Let’s take a road as an example. When a road is built, it starts off as a project that is planned and budgeted for. Once it is completed, the road becomes an asset, which is recorded in an asset register. The asset register is an information management system that centralises all financial and engineering information related to the asset and makes it accessible to whomever needs it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The millions of assets maintained by cities extend over very large geographic areas. It is extremely important for engineers and managers to know where their assets are geographically situated. IMQS’s software, for example, links a municipality’s asset information in its asset register to assets’ geographic position and presents this information on different maps that can then inform actions, like fixing a burst water pipe or planning a new reservoir or water treatment plant.

TECHNOLOGY ENABLES PEOPLE

Technology has impacted infrastructure management through developments in data acquisition, information storage and geographic positioning.

At IMQS we believe that technology enables people. The purpose of the software we engineer is to make all aspects of infrastructure asset management easier. IMQS does this by empowering people through data and access to visual information on a digital platform that is quick to learn and easy to use, and which takes the complexity out of the asset management process.

If you want to learn more about the application of IMQS’s Infrastructure Asset Management software products, browse through some of our Case Studies or Download an Ebook.