Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
139 This glossary presents definitions for common terms and abbreviations used throughout the GAM Implementation Manual. Assessment Evaluation of data or other information for the purpose of making decisions or judgments. Asset An item, thing, or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization. This value can be tangible or intangible, financial or non-financial, and includes consideration of risks and liabili- ties. Note: Several other definitions exist; this definition is the international form from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Asset management A coordinated activity of an organization to realize value from assets beyond the right-of-way (ROW) or boundary. Asset manager An individual who takes on the responsibility for starting geo- technical asset management (GAM) implementation. The geo- technical asset manager can be an agency geo-professional, an asset management subject matter expert, or another interested stakeholder. To assist with a broad adoption of GAM, the imple- mentation process described in this manual has purposely been developed such that a geotechnical asset manager does not need to be a geotechnical engineer or other geo-professional. Benefit-cost analysis A life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) method that considers the ben- efits and costs of an asset over the analysis period, with costs dis- counted to current costs. Benefit-cost analysis can be of value when the decision-making process includes both direct costs and indirect costs (or user costs) that vary depending on the likeli- hood of treatment success. Condition The performance or physical state of an asset. Consequence An outcome from an event or condition. For risk-based GAM, consequences are quantified or scaled values of impacts from asset performance incorporated into the determination of risk exposure. Glossary and Abbreviations
140 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Corridor A defined or informally designated portion of a transportation system that may be used for planning, operations, communi- cation, or other agency purposes. For GAM implementation, corridors can be designated for areas with concentrations of geo- technical assets and/or risk. Critical asset An asset that has the potential to significantly impact the achieve- ment of the organizationâs objectives. Critical assets can be safety- critical, environment-critical, or performance-critical, and they can relate to legal, regulatory, or statutory requirements. Data A collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn. Deterioration A process of degradation of an asset throughout the life-cycle. Do Minimum An asset management treatment option consisting of perform- ing only the minimum level of work needed to keep the asset in a condition that allows for traffic conveyance without perform- ing actions that add or preserve life-cycle value. Do Minimum actions typically occur only when a mobility interruption or safety impact has occurred and immediate action is required. Earth-retaining structure See Retaining-wall asset. Element In the practice of bridge inspection, an element is an item that can be visually observed, measured, and evaluated on the basis of condition. For geotechnical assets using this taxonomy, elements could include items like retaining-wall facing systems, perma- nent erosion controls on embankments, or draped rockfall mesh on slope assets. Embankment asset A type of geotechnical asset consisting of a constructed fill (composed of rock, soil, or other engineered materials) that enables a roadway to maintain a required design elevation above lower-lying ground. This manual encourages use of a threshold embankment height of 10 feet (3 m). Functional value The value an asset provides to the function of the infrastructure system. GAP analysis A process that assesses the difference between current practices and performance and planned or aspirational performance. GAM Geotechnical asset management. Geo-professional Geotechnical and geology professionals that support infrastruc- ture project delivery and GAM. Geotechnical asset An embankment, slope, subgrade, or retaining-wall asset. Geotechnical element A geotechnical asset that is an element of another asset (e.g., sub- structures for bridges, rock reinforcement in tunnels, or aggre- gate base courses for pavement). GIS Geographic information system. A data management system that is also able to present data geographically for improved communication.
Glossary and Abbreviations 141 Hazard A hazard is a potential event with adverse consequences. Some hazard events can occur relatively suddenly (e.g., natural hazards like earthquakes, landslides, floods, and so forth), and other hazard events can occur in response to deterioration that has occurred over a relatively long period of time (e.g., corrosion of steel reinforcement for a mechanically stabilized [MSE] earth wall). See also: Natural hazard. IIMM International Infrastructure Maintenance Manual. Currently in its 5th edition, this publication of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) applies the ISO 55000 asset management standards to infrastructure asset management. Intangible value The value that an asset contributes to the network but that can- not be directly quantified. Inventory A collection or listing of data for an asset. Inventory can include data about the asset or data that relate to the asset (e.g., traffic volume at the asset location). Inclusion Any and all non-earth modifications (e.g., pipes, bars, tendons, strips and sheets) that may, for example, contribute drainage or strength to a geotechnical asset. ISO International Organization for Standardization. With respect to asset management, ISO Standards 55000, 55001, and 55002 respectively provide (1) an overview of the subject of asset man- agement and the standard terms and definitions; (2) requirements specifications for an integrated, effective management system for asset management; and (3) guidance for the implementation of such a management system. Level of risk (LOR) An executive-level performance measure for reporting the risk exposure to objectives from an asset. Level of service (LOS) A measurable set of parameters, or combinations of parameters, that reflect the actual and desired social, political, environmental, and economic outcomes delivered by an organization. Having quantitative and/or qualitative features, LOS can include param- eters related to safety, customer satisfaction, quality, quantity, capacity, reliability, responsiveness, environmental acceptability, cost, and availability. Life-cycle Stages involved in the management of an asset, project, or infra- structure system. Maintain A treatment option that assumes the asset will be maintained in a state of near-continuous operation and maintenance through planed actions. Maintain treatments are regular, frequent, but short work activities and often involve tasks that may be consid- ered routine maintenance carried out on an approximate annual basis. These treatments also can include preservation work that is needed to fulfill an assetâs originally intended service life. In general, a Maintain treatment option will be performed to enable an asset to deteriorate at a rate that is equal to or better than the originally intended or assumed rate.
142 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Maturity With respect to asset management, a measure of how advanced an organization is with respect to asset management (e.g., initial, core, or advanced). (The three basic maturity levels are discussed in Chapter 3 of this manual and summarized in Figure 3.3.) Natural hazard For purposes of this manual, natural hazards involve hazards like rockfall, debris flows, or other rapid slope movements that orig- inate beyond the ROW but may pose a safety threat or involve mobility and maintenance impacts to assets owned or maintained by an agency, and thus impact the agencyâs performance objectives. Net present value (NPV) A project-level LCCA to evaluate the direct financial costs through- out the service or life-cycle analysis period of the asset. The NPV analysis consists of the summation of estimated costs over the life- cycle of a treatment option with the future costs discounted for inflation. (A downloadable, spreadsheet-based template for cal- culating NPV for use in conjunction with the GAM Planner is available from the NCHRP Research Report 903 web page.) Objective A result to be achieved through planned action. An objective can be strategic, tactical, or operational. O&M Operations and maintenance. Performance measure A measure of performance for an asset. Performance measures can be inward-facing (e.g., directed toward executive or technical staff decision-making), or outward-facing (e.g., directed toward the assetâs impact on customers or the public). Reconstruct (or Restore) A treatment option that results in a significant asset performance improvement to a new or nearly new condition, effectively reset- ting the assetâs service life. A Reconstruct treatment process also may be applied to reduce safety and/or mobility consequences in addition to a resetting the service life. Rehabilitate (Rehab) A treatment option that improves the condition of an asset to a higher condition level. Typically, the improved condition obtained through Rehab also extends the assetâs service life. Resilience Per FHWA Order 5520 (2014), resilience is the âability to antici- pate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and with- stand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions.â Restore In the GAM Planner, a treatment category triggered by the model when an asset fails (i.e., reaches an O&M Category of 5). Retaining-wall asset A type of geotechnical asset consisting of structures that hold back soil and/or rock materials to prevent sliding of material onto a roadway or other structure, or to retain material that supports a roadway or structure. Retaining walls may include gravity walls, soil nail walls, concrete cantilever structures, or mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. Retaining walls will have vertical or nearly vertical faces, and the recommended threshold inclination is 70 degrees between a wall and an embankment or slope. ROW Right-of-way Risk ISO 31000 defines risk as âthe effect [good or bad] of uncertainty on objectives.â
Glossary and Abbreviations 143 Segment A pre-defined inventory length used in the location process for geotechnical assets. In the GAM Planner provided with this manual, a default segment length of 500 feet (approximately 0.1 mile) is used. Service life The period over which an asset and/or the transportation system at the asset location is expected to perform, or has performed. Slope asset A type of geotechnical asset consisting of cut excavations that enable a roadway to traverse through surrounding higher ground. Slopes differ from embankments in that slopes are exca- vated into terrain whereas embankments are constructed. Slopes can consist of soil, rock, and mixtures of soil and rock. A 10-foot threshold for slope minimum height is recommended unless the asset is judged to create an unacceptable hazard to the safety of users and others. SME Subject matter expert (e.g., an agency geologist or geotechni- cal engineer, asset management professional, or maintenance manager). Stakeholder An individual or group, either within an organization or external to it, which can be affected by or has an interest in an asset and/or decisions about the asset. Subgrade asset A type of geotechnical asset consisting of earth material below the engineered pavement layers that creates a life-cycle manage- ment need. Examples of subgrade assets include constructed earthworks and ground improvements to address swelling, com- pressible, or collapsible soil or bedrock, or threats from karst (sinkholes) and underground mining. A subgrade asset also may include an unimproved subgrade that presents a measurable hazard from geologic conditions below the roadway. TAM Transportation asset management. TAMP Transportation Asset Management Plan. Tangible value Value that is measurable in terms of financial value or other measurement criteria. Taxonomy A means for classifying and describing the hierarchical order or relationships for the components of a system. Treatment An action performed on an asset during the assetâs life-cycle. Treatment categories for geotechnical assets (as identified in the GAM Planner) include Do Minimum, Maintain, Rehabilitate (Rehab), Reconstruct (or Renew), and Restore. USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers UK United Kingdom Valuation A process that determines the value of an asset in terms such as replacement value, market value, or appraisal value. Wall In GAM (and in the GAM Planner), a retaining wall. Workflow A series of processes, procedures, or steps that lead to a desired outcome.