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P A R T C Understanding the GAM Process
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29 Introduction to Asset Management This chapter provides an introduction to the basic concepts of TAM, definitions and examples of geotechnical assets, and fundamentals of the implementation process. TAM for the Geotechnical Professional Bridges and pavements garner the majority of the attention, legislation, and budgeted expenditures for many U.S.-based owners of transportation infrastructure, but the condition and reliability of other assets, such as walls and embankments, often are no less critical to the continuous operation of the transportation network.
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30 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual asset management and the standard terms and definitions relevant to the geotechnical asset owner, including: • Asset: "[An] item, thing, or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization"; value can be tangible or intangible, financial or non-financial, and includes consideration of risks and liabilities; • Asset Management: "[A]
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Purpose and Need for GAM 31 that support asset management in a given organization. For the example, the agency shown has experienced geo-professionals, but has limited executive engagement with inventory and knowledge of the current condition of the assets is based on simple systems and data.
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32 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual efforts, and will determine how to close any maturity gaps that are prioritized for the later stages of process improvement. Asset management best practices offer those pursuing GAM useful roadmaps for identifying, prioritizing, and determining how to close performance gaps.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 33 This trend is demonstrated in an ASCE study, titled Managing Ancillary Transportation Assets: The State of Practice, which reviewed 64 agencies through literature review and interviews regarding their use of "ancillary" assets such as earth-retaining structures in their TAM programs. This review of less traditionally managed ancillary assets concluded that "interest in managing ancillary transportation assets has grown with agencies in transition toward more mature asset management programming" (Akofio-Sowah et al.
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Source Use Description Background FHWA (MAP-21) To understand the purpose of, and the minimum requirements for, performance management.
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Asset Management Council To find asset management guidance, training, resources, and models to help define and develop asset management practices. The Asset Management Council provides professional development opportunities, asset management training, maturity assessment, guidance, technical reports, training, and knowledge exchange.
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36 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual network. Assuming these assets to be static, constructed features with minimal life-cycle needs -- or an unplanned "liability" once a failure has occurred -- reflects an incorrect "legacy" approach, particularly when examining the ISO 55000 definition of an asset.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 37 Embankment Example Example Asset Values Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Annual vegetation and erosion maintenance Functional Values: Companion asset to bridge asset Flood mitigation for roadway Intangible Values: Environmental protection Aesthetic characteristics and agency reputation Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Annual vegetation maintenance Ongoing and future instability repair work Functional Values: Pavement support Enables divided regional highway performance Separation from private property Intangible Values: Active threat to private property Agency reputation Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Annual vegetation maintenance Functional Values: Pavement support Separation from private property Intangible Values: Buffer between roadway and private property Aesthetic reputation Table 3.2. Examples of embankment assets.
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38 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Slope Asset Examples (Cut Slopes) Example Asset Values Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Erosion maintenance Rockfall debris removal Functional Values: Highway design Intangible Values: Safety Environmental resources Aesthetic characteristics and agency reputation Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Erosion maintenance Rockfall debris removal Functional Values: Highway design and minimizing ROW Intangible Values: Safety Environmental resources Aesthetic characteristics and agency reputation Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Erosion maintenance Rockfall debris removal Functional Values: Highway design in hilly terrain Intangible Values: Safety Environmental resources Aesthetic characteristics Agency reputation Table 3.3.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 39 Natural Hazard Slope Examples Example Asset Values Interstate through mountain canyon Tangible Financial Values: Response and recovery from natural hazard events beyond the ROW Potential hazard mitigation and monitoring expenses Functional Values: Travel through corridor Intangible Values: Safety Agency reputation Broader economic impacts Natural debris flow reaching and blocking roadway Tangible Financial Values: Recovery costs from natural hazards beyond the ROW Functional Values: Travel through mountain corridor Intangible Values: Safety Agency reputation Broader economic impacts Subgrade and embankment damage from regional flooding Tangible Financial Values: Post-event maintenance Hazard mitigation works Functional Values: Travel through flood plain Intangible Values: Agency reputation Broader economic impacts Table 3.4. Examples of natural hazards originating beyond the ROW.
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40 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Wall Asset Examples Example Asset Values Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Inspection, maintenance, and repair of elements Functional Values: Limits disturbance area into steep slopes above highway Intangible Values: Safety Environmental resource protection Aesthetic Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Inspection and maintenance Functional Values: Elevated roadway section (above) sloping ground Intangible Values: Safety Environmental resource protection Reduced ROW needs Tangible Financial Values: Initial construction cost Inspection and maintenance Functional Values: Separation of bridge approach and roadway from river Intangible Values: Safety Environmental disturbance Projection of adjacent aquatic resources Table 3.5.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 41 Examples of subgrade assets include constructed earthworks and ground improvements to address swelling, compressible, or collapsible soil or bedrock, or threats from karst (sinkholes) and underground mining.
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42 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual any potential confusion with other geotechnical assets should be reduced; however, this topic could be addressed with process improvements, if necessary, as geotechnical asset inventories are developed. Setting the Context and Enabling GAM Scaling the GAM Implementation Asset management, and thus GAM, is an ongoing process; it relies on process improvements to direct advancement where the greatest value can occur.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 43 (SMEs) , event records, maintenance work orders, and traffic delay and closure information.
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44 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual level of maturity quickly. At an advanced maturity level, an organization's GAM planning will have the following characteristics: • A complete asset inventory that is aligned with agency data management standards; • Analysis methods that align with executive objectives; • Annual and long-term financial plans for assets; • A culture of risk management and asset management across programs and processes; • Execution of an optimized cross-asset program; and • Internal and external asset performance communication plans.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 45 Developing Support and Communicating the Need for GAM Asset management implementation will involve individuals beyond the SMEs charged with developing the program. This process includes executives making investment decisions, engineering and project delivery staff, maintenance departments, and even input from system users.
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46 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Reduction of broader economic impacts from: – Injury or loss of life, – Property damage, – Business interruptions, or – Other governmental needs; and • Improvements to environmental, community, public perception, and social performance areas. Emphasize the Business Case Although it also was needed on the basis of good business and safety practices, nationwide implementation of bridge and pavement asset management programs has been made possible in part because of regulatory requirements and dedicated federal funding.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 47 enabling asset management without a regulatory mandate. Without it, the geo-professional is essentially competing for project priorities within and among a grouping of only geotechnical assets.
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48 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Network Rail manages approximately 19,200 miles of the rail network in Great Britain, much of which extends through gentle topography. The network includes many cut slopes and embankments that were developed between 1830 and 1880.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 49 planning for asset management requires setting aside activities that are seemingly more urgent. This manual recognizes the opportunity costs that managers must consider when choosing how to deploy their staff and resources every day, and offers both an abbreviated workflow for quick GAM implementation (in Part B)
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50 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual to the risks posed by other preservation challenges and priorities. For example, a state DOT in a region of the United States with gentle topography that has no significant operational risk from slopes or embankments may assign GAM to the agency's asset manager and allow the manager to prioritize GAM actions against other preservation needs for bridges and culverts.
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Purpose and Need for GAM 51 interviewing maintenance staff following heavy rains on highways with embankments can begin to provide insights into the level of effort required to react to events that impact geotechnical assets. Comparing that data to practices from industry-wide or neighboring agencies, the practitioner can then determine how to better collect maintenance information in the field to track labor and material costs going forward.
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52 Integrating GAM with TAM GAM implementation should occur such that the eventual plan can be incorporated into an agency-wide TAM plan. The success of GAM integration is dependent on the program's alignment with established TAM practices.
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Linking to TAM 53 manager has an opportunity to establish measures specific to their agency objectives and mission presented in the TAM plan. This same opportunity exists for those implementing GAM in the absence of a TAM or executive support as most agencies will at a minimum have a mission or high-level purpose that is communicated to public and government stakeholders.
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54 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Outward-facing, outcome-based objectives such as safety, mobility, and economic vitality help communicate to the public -- the agency's "investors" -- how the agency achieves these desirable goals. The seven national performance areas authorized in 23 CFR 150 help U.S.
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Linking to TAM 55 has been developed through a Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and incorporated into an annual budget.
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56 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual contained in these guidance documents, together with examples from successful GAM programs, strongly support the need for GAM measurement to connect with executive measures. Introduction of GAM LOR Measures in Support of Executive-Level Communication The measurement and reporting of an asset status to executive and planning professionals should be communicated in a simple format that conveys the asset performance to high-level executive or TAM planning objectives.
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Linking to TAM 57 the performance risk to objectives. Over time and with increasing program maturity, the LOR grades can be used to track performance of the GAM program and communicate potential performance improvements or risk reduction that would result from investment scenarios.
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58 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Appendix D provides examples of geotechnical assets using these default grade categories. The LOR metric distinguishes asset condition in relation to risk and objectives.
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Linking to TAM 59 Regardless of the underlying numerical values used to create the grading scale, the intent of the LOR categories is to indicate a magnitude estimate of the risk exposure for an agency that owns and manages geotechnical assets whether or not a formal GAM plan has been created. The LOR category values can be selected based on the agency's tolerance for various risk consequence levels.
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60 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Keeping agency staff focused on priorities that mean something to customers and users; • Demonstrating tangible results of program investments; and • Demonstrating improvements to business processes by conveying a better understanding of management's goals and actions. Based on these interests, a recommended performance measure that can connect geotechnical assets to stakeholders and users would be annual delay and closure time resulting from geotechnical asset–related disruptions.
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Linking to TAM 61 Inventory and Condition The inventory and condition step of the TAM process involves the collection and maintenance of asset data or knowledge that enable the other steps in the asset management process. The asset data will consist of both inventory characteristics and measures of condition.
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62 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual For the experienced geo-professional adapting to asset management, this process is analogous to performing a desk review or brief field reconnaissance during the pre-environmental decision phase of a highway improvement project and then progressing to detailed subsurface investigations once final design needs are known and additional costs for data collection can be justified. Within an asset management framework, the geo-professional or asset manager may use online and existing records (Stage 1)
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Linking to TAM 63 Figure 4.4 illustrates the phases of a transportation asset life-cycle. By adopting a life-cycle approach for geotechnical assets, geo-professionals and decision-makers will need to consider all the costs of the asset and not just the initial design and construction costs, which is the current, legacy-based approach at many agencies.
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64 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual or asset sub-group over its whole life with consideration for minimizing cost while preserving or improving the condition." Typically, a life-cycle plan estimates the cost of constructing and maintaining an asset over time, and defines the treatments typically performed on the asset, when they are triggered, and their costs. Here it is important to distinguish between life-cycle planning and the related process of life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA)
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Linking to TAM 65 The GAM Planner, which is detailed in Appendix A, can be used to support development of the life-cycle plan for a geotechnical asset. This spreadsheet tool models a program of assets using a Markov Decision Process that is similar to the approach used in many other asset management systems.
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66 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual In addition to improving the annual operation and maintenance performance for a geotechnical asset (i.e., providing improved reliability) , rehabilitation activities typically will extend the performance improvements over a portion of the life-cycle, ideally for a duration greater than 10 years.
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Linking to TAM 67 Although it can be time-consuming to develop asset financial plans and investment strategies, there are many benefits to their development. One benefit is that the financial plan and investment strategy can help demonstrate to executives and other stakeholders that the correct decisions are being made from an economic standpoint.
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68 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual benefit-cost analysis, such as net present value (NPV) , benefit-cost ratio (BCR)
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Linking to TAM 69 O&M cost or changes in data collection, processing cost, and analysis cost. Through this lens, TAM ROI estimation typically considers benefits and costs in relation to specific benefits for the implementing transportation agency itself, to asset users, and to the general public.
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70 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual capture specific maintenance and/or event data costs, agencies could use estimates generated in the GAM Planner as pro-forma estimates. If geotechnical assets are managed, agencies can reduce the risk of unpredictable events associated with those assets impacting other transportation assets.
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Linking to TAM 71 • Risk: Incorporation of risk can help best make the case for investing in geotechnical assets. The LOR grade and other measures in the GAM Planner consider the consequences of asset risks, and can help best make the case for needed GAM investment by informing stakeholders of the magnitude of exposure and acceptance.
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72 Introduction Chapter 4 introduced the steps and high-level TAM processes that are critical to implementing GAM in a framework that connects with the broader practice of asset management. This connection to TAM increases the potential of both successful GAM and acceptance by executive and planning professionals, who likely understand asset management practices more than the technical aspects of geotechnical assets.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 73 The taxonomy presented in this manual is based on guidance from Anderson et al.
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74 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual function similarly to the AASHTO soil classifications, which enable consistent communication and engineering practices in geotechnical design and construction both within single agencies and between domestic and international agencies and stakeholders. Adopting the taxonomy presented by Anderson et al.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 75 of earth (soil and rock) , pertains to earth, or its performance is achieved through the earth's interaction with a structure or inclusion.
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76 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual that would be part of a corridor. They described geotechnical assets based on the interaction of the geotechnical assets with other types of assets and indicated that the boundaries often are blurred.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 77 and constructed on or near ROW boundaries, and are now the maintenance responsibility of the agency. Situations also can arise in which a retaining-wall asset exists on or near the ROW boundary and the ownership (and thus, asset management responsibility)
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78 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Even though these features or hazard sites are distinguished in the GAM taxonomy, an agency can choose whether to include them in the GAM inventory. The decision to include or not include such features may relate to the potential impacts from those beyond-the-ROW assets, the agency's options management, or the possibility of deferring those assets to other management programs.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 79 Geotechnical Assets As presented in Figure 5.1 and elsewhere in this manual, the next level for the GAM taxonomy is the identification of the four geotechnical asset types discussed in this manual: embankments, slopes, retaining walls, and subgrades. Each of these geotechnical asset types has a geotechnical composition and contributes measurably to the ability of an agency to reach its goals and objectives.
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80 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual which retaining walls are identified as a type of asset within the structure asset category. Other asset types in the structures category include bridges, tunnels, culverts/drainage structures, noise walls, overhead signs, and high mast poles.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 81 assets. The report includes a taxonomy for asset categories and types and provides guidance on data and tools for asset management.
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82 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Data Sources Data sources to support GAM can consist of newly collected data and existing data. When starting GAM, the asset manager is encouraged to use existing data where practical, as doing this can be an efficient step toward rapid, low-cost implementation.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 83 Data Collection Methods The GAM implementation process can apply flexibility to the means of starting an inventory. Likely methods and examples of data collection to support GAM include: • Office- or desk-based data collection that uses existing files and internet resources; • Visual observation, which involves viewing the asset and/or elements of the asset; • Collection of basic physical parameters by non-destructively measuring characteristics such as asset and/or element dimensions; Data Source Description Potential Use in GAM Legacy Geotechnical Inventory Data Rockfall and slope hazard rating systems, monitoring data Initial inventory development Geotechnical Repair Projects Prior distress and adverse event response reports, rehabilitation and reconstruction projects on deteriorating assets Bridge and Structure Inspections Department inspection data for bridges and possibly other structure assets, maintained in a federally mandated database, the NBIS Inventory development for walls, slopes, and embankments associated with bridge, culvert, and tunnel assets Enterprise Accounting Software Business operations and financial data Measurement of costs for assets through their life-cycles Maintenance Work Orders, Maintenance Management Systems Formal and informal records of maintenance activities Measurement of costs and potentially the locations of O&M activities on geotechnical assets Traffic Counts Static data on traffic volumes and type Estimation of risk and consequence magnitude Highway Speed and Volume Data Emerging data set with continuous traffic flow data that can be accessed for real time conditions or documentation of historical performance Estimation of risk and consequence magnitude; measurement of traffic impacts resulting from geotechnical asset performance USGS and State or Local Agency Hazard Maps and Reports Geological and hydrological information in support of natural hazard identification and management Inventory development; delineation of beyond-the-ROW hazard features Traffic Accident Data Agency or external records of traffic accidents that include information on dates, locations, consequences, and likely causes Estimation of risk and measurement of safety impacts resulting from geotechnical asset performance Road Inventory Logs Existing inventory databases that have logged existing assets or features within the roadway; may include roadway photo logs Inventory development and tracking condition changes with time Pavement Condition Maps Map products developed through pavement management systems that include inventory and condition data Inventory development, measurement of changes in condition, cross-asset management opportunities Emails Agency communication records Communication records for geotechnical asset performance Construction Documents Plans and as-built information for geotechnical assets or projects that include geotechnical assets Design and construction phase information for geotechnical assets Imagery Photographs and digital terrain records Asset records, observations, and measurement of asset changes Media Reports News stories that include documentation of events and consequences associated with adverse asset performance Documentation of geotechnical asset performance and associated consequences Understanding frequency of events and calibration of deterioration and life-cycle cost models Internet Online information portal Free mapping and measurement tools, user stories and videos, historical records Table 5.3.
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84 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Collection of advanced physical parameters by installing measurement devices or intrusively examining the asset; and • Remote techniques for data collection that use ground-based or satellite technology to capture asset characteristics. Each method involves trade-offs between data quality and cost that should be considered in the selection of methods.
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Adapting TAM Practices for GAM 85 assigning each asset (1) a one-dimensional (1-D)
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86 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual representation of the spatial location of the data is not easily visualized without the aid of a mapping tool, whereas a Route/MP will be easily recognizable to the asset manager and a wide range of agency staff. For example, it is easier for staff to understand the location of Route 35, MP 90.3, versus 39.8283° N, 98.5795° W
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87 Introduction Performance management and asset management complement each other and are closely related. Because geotechnical assets have potential to impact agency performance objectives, GAM can connect with performance management concepts.
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88 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual management, the outcomes from even a simple GAM implementation can enhance the agency's performance management culture. Components of Performance Management The FHWA TPM Guidebook is a comprehensive guide developed to help DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)
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Asset Assessment and Performance Measures 89 Source: TPM Guidebook (FHWA 2019) Figure 6.1.
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90 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual The high-level target-setting activities of an agency are valuable for enabling a GAM implementation that connects with the agency's strategic direction. As a result, the asset managers and geo-professionals performing GAM should be familiar with the high-level strategic targets of the agency and look for opportunities to connect the performance of geotechnical assets with those targets.
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Asset Assessment and Performance Measures 91 Each subcomponent involves determining the framework within which the monitoring will occur and then regularly assessing the results of the monitoring. Figure 6.3 shows how performance-based planning and programming feed the monitoring and adjustment step of performance management.
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92 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Externally, performance information is conveyed to customers, partner agencies, and government officials to increase transparency and accountability. In the context of a maturing GAM implementation process, this step may involve informational presentations to MPOs or local agencies that experience consequences associated with adverse geotechnical asset performance.
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Asset Assessment and Performance Measures 93 Data Management Engaging in effective performance management can be a data-intensive endeavor. Given that reliable and consistent data is at the core of performance management, data management is an important activity.
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94 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Once the agency has decided to include geotechnical assets in the TAMP, the first step is to determine what measures to use to assess performance of the assets. (Suggested performance measures for geotechnical assets are detailed in Chapter 4 of this manual.)
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95 Implementing Risk in GAM Risk management is an important step in the asset management process, as presented in the AASHTO TAM Guide and in federal authorizations that require states to develop risk-based TAM plans. The GAM Planner included with this manual is risk-based and will produced outputs that enable risk-based asset management.
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96 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Risk Terminology Several terms are commonly used to discuss the most important concepts related to risk. Unfortunately, the terms are frequently misused and confused, in part because definitions vary by application and by discipline, and likely also because the terms also are commonly used in non-technical contexts.
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Risk 97 Based on the definition by Herrera et al.
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98 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual but affecting certain others, often in a highly consequential manner. The analytical tools supporting management of physical failure risks and natural hazard risks reflect the differences in the fundamental nature of the two types of risk.
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Risk 99 by inspection, individual risk calculations can be calculated for the remaining portions of the cube. The method will vary by cell; for select high-risk cells, it may be desirable to complete a rigorous quantitative analysis, whereas for most other cells such an analysis would be unnecessary or infeasible.
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100 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual constrained resources and limited inspection data. As a GAM program matures, and if justified, the precision and measurement for estimated likelihoods can be increased through the inclusion of more precise consequence data or historical performance statistics that inform specific probability values.
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Risk 101 and rock slopes supporting the nation's rail system. In 2013, following a series of six derailments resulting from historic rainfall in 2012, the agency updated its methodology for estimating hazard index scores, a surrogate for likelihood of failure, from inspection data.
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102 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual (SCHI in Figure 7.2) was used to assign five hazard levels from A (least likely to fail)
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Risk 103 (AASHTO 2010) and similar, agency-specific documentation that is used in traffic design or pavement management.
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104 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual costs associated with the detour, diversion travel time costs (i.e., lost time of users) , emissions costs, and costs associated with impacts on the detour route, including increased congestion and increased pavement maintenance needs.
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Risk 105 Routine maintenance events were evaluated based on a review of Colorado DOT work orders between 2010 and 2015. The average annual direct cost for these events was $5 million based on the work-order totals.
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106 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual based on observed failure rates; however, for the purposes of estimating FWI, the occurrence of the initiating event is treated as a certainty. From the initiating event, a series of evaluations are made along the event chain shown in Figure 7.4.
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Risk 107 a risk cube based on relative magnitude for measurable exposure areas and risk sources for GAM. This figure could be further supplemented by using quantitative risk analysis results to indicate the specific monetary risk values used by the Colorado DOT in each cell, thus offering an alternative means of communicating the results.
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108 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual magnitude of known performance, the comparison could suggest calibration between the modeled risk and the actual risk performance. Aggregation of risk also can benefit visualization of where concentrations of risk may exist, effectively creating separate GAM corridors.
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109 Introduction Chapters 3 through 7 of this manual have provided additional background information for asset management and supporting data collection, assessment, and analysis processes that help enable GAM to realize benefits across the TAM spectrum; however, processes and data alone will not enable GAM. This chapter proposes specific steps and additional tools that can help executives, asset managers, and geo-professionals implement GAM.
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110 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Enterprise Information Technology, or other groups responsible for tracking expenses associated with geotechnical assets (this may also be an O&M staff function) ; • TAM (and Other Planning Groups)
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Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 111 For agencies that choose not to formally incorporate geotechnical assets into the TAM plan or that may experience disengagement from executive and planning disciplines, the opportunity for a "bottom-up" implementation of basic asset management steps will still exist and can be pursued by geo-professionals based on good stewardship of public funds. Aspirational GAM Team Structure Examples from domestic and international agencies indicate that the furthest progress in GAM implementation has occurred when an individual or groups of individuals who are given the responsibility for GAM work with other asset managers while supported by a high level of interest from executives, financial directors, and maintenance managers within the agency.
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112 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual place outside of the enterprise asset management function in the agency, the geotechnical asset manager should work to interact with the TAM program on a regular basis to enable future integration into the enterprise program. To assist with consensus-building and communication, the geotechnical asset manager can form a cross-disciplinary GAM working or steering group that will facilitate building the relationships necessary to support GAM.
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Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 113 GAM-identified risks, the program still offers value in the communication of probable consequences from the failure to invest. Figure 8.3 presents a conceptual GAM treatment prioritization process.
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114 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual • Apply a treatment: This option is taken to reduce or remove the risk (e.g., by applying draped or anchored mesh to contain rockfall) ; • Transfer the Risk: This option typically involves transferring specific risks to a local or federal jurisdiction or through insurance programs)
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Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 115 By initiating the simple GAM model described in Part B of this manual, an agency can quantify its current risk exposure from geotechnical assets in relation to the agency's performance objectives for asset condition, economic vitality and mobility, and safety. Even if the agency chooses not to act on the investment recommendations from the GAM Planner, at a minimum the agency will be better informed as to the geographic distribution and magnitude of risk exposure for the inventoried geotechnical assets.
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116 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual optimize any future asset-level investments by considering the potential trade-offs in the LOR that would result from asset-specific alternatives. The next sections in this chapter provide an introduction to project-level risk considerations for treatment alternatives.
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Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 117 Geotechnical Asset Treatment Category Asset-Specific Alternatives Investment and Risk Considerations Slope Maintain Conduct periodic scaling and debris removal. Each alternative will present a different threat to traveler safety and level of effort for maintenance staff.
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118 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual understood fact of infrastructure investment: that more needs exist than funds are available, regardless of asset criticality. Given this reality, the potential for successful GAM implementation improves when investment needs and opportunities are evaluated further, resulting in asset-level maintenance, rehabilitation, or reconstruction treatment projects that produce the highest potential for realization of TAM and other performance objectives.
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Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 119 done without stakeholder input. Therefore, the discussion in the next section presents a broad framework within which prioritization options can be used by a geotechnical asset manager to connect with enabling stakeholders.
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120 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Selecting treatment approaches based on risk concentration thus presents both an opportunity and a hazard: The opportunity is the potential for improved cost-benefit relationships through scaling efficiencies. The hazard is that under-allocation of resources could create a perception that benefits are not being realized.
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From page 121... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 121 reconstruction, might improve the grade for that segment from D/F to A but would leave 19 segments at C Should the agency have a performance goal for reducing total risk from geotechnical assets, and if the goal is measured based on the LOR grade distributions, distributing the $1 million maintenance project across the 20 asset segments could be seen as obtaining greater progress toward a risk reduction goal.
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From page 122... ...
122 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual – Communicate with non-agency stakeholders who share in the risks from assets beyond the ROW and evaluate the feasibility of making joint investments toward risk management; and – Evaluate options for risk transfer of natural hazard risk. The intent of including risk source in the GAM treatment prioritization process is to enable an agency to employ a wider range of risk management options for natural hazards.
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From page 123... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 123 for geotechnical assets to impact performance of strategic or high-value corridors even if the concentration of GAM risk or assets is low. Treatment Selection Based on Compliance Requirements The GAM assessment process presented in this manual is developed around the potential for the asset condition to impact safety and mobility performance objectives.
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From page 124... ...
124 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual devices, or increased erosion control; however, initial construction of an embankment with steeper slopes could require less material, resulting in a lower initial cost. This example thus presents a life-cycle investment trade-off, with one scenario requiring more embankment material in construction (higher initial cost)
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From page 125... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 125 asset. By performing the NPV analysis for each potential treatment option, an asset manager or designer can quantify which option presents the least life-cycle cost to the agency.
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From page 126... ...
126 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual to construct an embankment with gentle side slopes that do not require a safety barrier at the roadway. A second option exists: to construct the embankment within the ROW.
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From page 127... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 127 last more than 60 years, which is the desired useful life for the asset segment. In this scenario, the savings in user costs associated with not having to rebuild the first rehabilitation option every 15 years can be considered a benefit in the comparison of options.
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From page 128... ...
128 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual Implementing Data-Driven and Defensible Treatment Selections Based on the current regulatory environment, GAM implementation at DOTs will be a voluntary process and thus must be able to compete for support on a sound business case rather than on the need for federal compliance as exists for pavements and bridges. The discussion of risk treatment, risk prioritization, and investment prioritization has been intended to inform the geotechnical asset manager of steps that can be considered for GAM implementation beyond the program-level inventory and assessment stage.
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From page 129... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 129 From an asset management perspective, assets that experience "failure" from the geo technical design perspective can continue to serve their intended purposes, although they may do so with increased risk to agency objectives. For example, a slope asset that generates rockfall on any given day would have a safety factor of just below 1 at the time of the rockfall, meaning that the stresses within the slope at that time are not able to resist the mass of the fallen rock.
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From page 130... ...
130 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual The Role of Standards and Guidance Standards and guidance, such as the safety factor, can influence the asset management characteristics of an asset. A detailed discussion of the relationship between the safety factor and reliability in geotechnical engineering and natural hazards is a complex topic, as discussed in Lacasse (2016)
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From page 131... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 131 For an agency that is willing to develop and incorporate GAM into transportation or performance management, the initial GAM plan can be a brief document that is developed without complex data analysis or specialized training. Although complex asset management plans do exist domestically and internationally, the plans from these programs are better viewed as aspirational examples of how GAM documents may evolve after programs have matured.
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From page 132... ...
132 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual – Commentary: Although these data may exist through either department data anecdotal means, the asset manager is encouraged to report what is known. This reporting can serve two functions: (1)
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From page 133... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 133 Gap Analysis Asset management plans typically include discussion explaining the analysis of the "gaps" in asset management performance. The gaps are the differences in how the assets are performing now, relative to the desired performance.
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From page 134... ...
134 Geotechnical Asset Management for Transportation Agencies, Volume 2: Implementation Manual developing a financial plan that identifies annual costs over a minimum of 10 years. The state's TAM plan must contain the following minimum components: • The estimated cost of expected future work to implement investment strategies contained in the asset management plan; • The estimated funding levels that are expected to be reasonably available to address the cost of future work types; • Identification of anticipated funding sources; and • An estimated value of agency's pavement and bridge assets and the needed investment to maintain the value of these assets.
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From page 135... ...
Practical Implementation of GAM in the Agency 135 Performance Measures for Transportation Asset Management (Spy Pond Partners, LLC, KPMG, and University of Texas at Austin Center for Transportation Research 2019)
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