Successful Practices in GIS-Based Asset Management (2015)

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21 a n n e x a Executive Guide

NCHRP Project 08-87 Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management Execuve Guide Capitalizing on GIS and Asset Management

Overlay a heat map showing economic • • • • • • • • • • growth zones on top of an asset condi on map in the same zones. Spotlight areas of economic growth and corresponding under- investment in transporta on assets. Reveal the asset management investments needed to keep pace with economic growth. Show the future costs of under-investment. Combine economic growth, asset condi on, and funding data sets Iden fy exis ng standards that could be examined for cost saving opportuni es. – Combine clima c and soil condi on data with historic performance trends to inform pavement design. – Examine rung triggers for pavement treatments— iden fy correla ons between rut depth and safety performance. Use this spa al analysis to iden fy cost-saving opportuni es. Test validity of exis ng design standards for asset condi on Have informa on at your finger ps when mee ng with an elected official? Have an easy-to-use applica on on your mobile tablet that provides access to the type of informa on that an elected official is interested in. Show historical trends in asset condi on by geographic zones (e.g., elected official’s district) by investments made or not made. Show past and future projects and the impact on transporta on performance in specific geographic areas. Respond to ques ons about project status. Access geography-based informa on on a mobile tablet Do you want to… Iden fy cost-saving opportuni es in project development and maintenance prac ces? Iden fy opportuni es where investments can be targeted to boost economic growth?

What’s in the guide A strategic overview of fundamental concepts in GIS and asset management. A summary of key opportunies for improving asset management through use of GIS. A brief checklist to help you gauge your agency’s capabilies and chart a course for advancement. Is your agency maximizing the use of GIS for transportaon asset management? Most transportaon agencies have already made a substanal investment in GIS tools and spaal data. But many have not fully tapped the potenal of GIS for transportaon asset management. Recent advances make it worthwhile for agencies to take a fresh look at how they are using these technologies. You can use this Execuve Guide to understand how your agency can: D• • • • • • • • • • evelop maintenance and construcon programs that consider all assets within the right of way. Integrate safety, mobility, and environmental consideraons . Reduce duplicave data gathering and presentaon. Provide a common base of informaon across the agency. Tap into available data sets to help you to understand and minimize risks. Gain consensus on priories and investments. Efficiently manage asset inspecon, maintenance, and operaons acvies. Execuve Guide—Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management 1

Key benefits of TAM for an agency Performance Improved asset condions and reduced risks. Efficiency Beer ulizaon of available resources to build, maintain, and operate assets; delivery of best possible value for tax dollars. Customer experience Improved levels of service experienced by the traveling public. Credibility and accountability Improved agency percepon by polical leaders and the public, leading to greater willingness to invest in maintaining and upgrading assets. What Is Transportaon Asset Management? Transportaon agencies use transportaon asset management to manage infrastructure assets throughout their life cycles to meet agency objecves. Understanding transportaon asset management (TAM) Managing physical assets—roads, bridges, signs, equipment, and more—is one of the core funcons of a transportaon agency. As a result, TAM is a process that covers planning, programming, design, construcon, and maintenance and operaons funcons. Agencies use TAM to: Establish a data• • • • • • • -driven, defensible, and transparent basis for allocang limited available resources to meet policy goals and priories. Idenfy the “state of the assets”—providing a system-wide understanding of asset quanty, locaon, condion, and replacement value. Idenfy and migate risks that could cause assets to fail or cease to provide their intended funcon. Make the case for funding to sustain assets in a state of good repair. Do the right projects at the right me—considering condion, root causes for deterioraon or failure, and impacts of delaying acon. Coordinate work scoping and ming decisions across funconal areas to maximize use of funds, improve operaonal efficiencies, and minimize traveler disrupon. Plan mul-year investments that minimize life-cycle agency and user costs. Elements of TAM Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execuve Guide2

Key benefits of GIS for an agency Decision making. GI• • • • • • S can provide a common base of informa on to mul ple stakeholders, facilita ng a shared understanding of problems and solu ons. Analysis. GIS can help reveal trends and rela onships that would be difficult to uncover without a spa al view. Efficiency. GIS provides the ability to leverage exis ng data from internal and external sources, increasing the value obtained from an agency’s investments in data. Consistency. GIS can provide a centralized resource that reduces the need for duplica ve efforts across districts or divisions. Communicaon. Sta c and interac ve maps can communicate informa on about performance, risks, and needs within the agency and to external stakeholders. Learning. GIS provides a powerful tool to help employees and agency partners to rapidly understand the organiza on’s available body of informa on. What Is a Geographic Informaon System? A geographic informa on system (GIS) enables the management, analysis, and display of geographically referenced informa on using integrated hardware, so ware, and data. Elements of GIS Execu ve Guide—Successful Prac ces in GIS-Based Asset Management 3

Why Use GIS for Transporta on Asset Management? GIS provides a technology plaorm for integraon, visualizaon, analysis, and communicaon—strengthening and streamlining the asset management process. GIS can be a formidable weapon for tackling common obstacles to effecve asset management—such as siloed, uncoordinated decision making, expensive and duplicave data collecon efforts, and lack of transparency and accountab ility for investment decisions. Saving me and money using GIS for TAM Increasing Efficiency of Data Collec on• • • • . Time-consuming inventory and inspecon processes involving clipboards and manual data entry can be replaced by newer methods including video and sensing technologies for inventory capture, and use of GPS mobile devices. Some agencies are even using locaon-aware smartphones for crowd-sourcing data from travelers. Automa ng Data Compila on for Analysis. With consistent standards for measuring and referencing locaons, GIS tools can be used to integrate data for analysis—avoiding the need for staff to download and manipulate data sets in spreadsheets or write custom code for data compilaon. Automa ng Mapping. In many agencies, creating specialized maps to show asset condions and planned project locaons requires considerable staff effort. With automated, web-based mapping tools and a standard process for geospaally-enabling common data sets, staff can spend less me responding to data requests and more me analyzing and understanding condions and trends. Work Scheduling. GIS tools can help staff to package work within geographic areas or corridors in order to deploy crews in an efficient manner and minimize traffic disrupon due to work zones. GIS has the biggest payoff when it is implemented with an agency-wide perspec ve. A common, GIS-centric approach to data collec on and analysis can save me and result in more holis c decision making compared to when pavement, bridge, safety, design, and planning units are individually compiling and analyzing their own data. Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execuve Guide4

Florida DOT A study of Florida DOT’s GIS implementaon1 found a posive net benefit a
er three years. Benefits Esmated net benefits of between• • • • • • • $950,000 and $2.8 million over five years from 1996–2001. Cost savings in data collecon, storage, analysis, and output due to increased producvity, data integraon, and reducon of redundancy. King County DOT A 2012 King County DOT study2 quanfied ROI for GIS, based on cost savings and producvity gains. Benefits An esmated $775M in net benefits to all county agencies from 1992 to 2010. The DOT saw $18.8M in annual benefits for 2010, including $7.3M in cost savings and $11.5M in enhanced producvity. 1Flintsch, G. W. "Spaal Analysis Applicaons for Pavement Management." In 6th International Conference on Managing Pavements: The Lessons, The Challenges, The Way Ahead. 2004. 2Babinski, Gregory, Dani Fumia, Travis Reynolds, Pradeep Singh, Tyler Sco˜, and Richard Zerbe. "An Analysis of Benefits from Use of Geogr aphic Informaon Systems by King County, Washington." Richard Zerbe and Associates , 2012.3Hoekstra, Renee L., CVS, RH & Associates. “Mul-Level Linear Referencing System (MLLRS) Cost/Benefit Value Analysis Stud y,” requested by the American Associaon of State Highway and Transportaon Officials, Standing Commi˜ee on Highways, 2011. ROI Studies Several studies have documented staff me savings from GIS implementaon and compared these with the costs for hardware, so
ware, and applicaon development to calculate ROI. These studies did not factor in the important yet difficult to measure benefits to decision making from integrang and visualizing informaon. Iowa DOT and Caltrans A 2011 study3 quanfied benefit/cost of statewide mul-level linear referencing systems in the Iowa DOT and Caltrans. Benefits A five year breakeven point with an overall benefit/cost rao of 21.4 to 1. Total potenal savings were valued at $12.6 million for a state with a 25,000 mile road network. Cost savings were achieved through reducons in staff hours and improved efficiencies in data management and decision making. GIS for TAM: Return on Investment (ROI) Improving GIS capabilies requires investments in so
ware, data, and staff me, as well as changes to current work processes and roles. The largest cost elements are typically the acquision of the base map and roadway data, establishment of the foundaonal locaon referencing system that links data together, and assignment of standard locaon referencing to exisng data. It is important to keep in mind, however, that benefits from these inial major investments will connue to accrue over an extended me period. Many agencies already have these investments behind them, and are ready to leverage them to provide business value. Technology advances over the past few years have lowered the costs of obtaining locaon-referenced asset data and deploying GIS applicaons. Agencies making judicious investments in high-value GIS improvements can recoup the costs of these investments through gains in efficiency and decision-making capabilies. Execuve Guide—Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management 5 3Hoekstra,Renee L., CVS, RH & Associates. “Mul-Level LinearReferencing System (MLLRS) Cost/Benefit Value Analysis Study,” requested by the American Associaon of State Highway and Transportaon Officials,Standing Commi˜ee on Highways, 2011.

Opportunies to Leverage GIS for More Effecve Asset Management GIS technology can lead to beer decisions and more effecve use of available funds by: Providing a common understanding of asset condions, deterioraon paerns, and risks. Understanding factors contribung to asset performance. Proacvely idenfying assets in need of repair. Priorizing assets for rehabilitaon based on key economic and environmental factors. The following pages highlight opportunies for enhancing asset management using GIS, with examples from transportaon and other industries. Opportunies are organized according to the five core TAM business processes shown below. Core TAM Business Processes • • • • Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execuve Guide6

GIS Capabilies Opmize asset inspecon roung • • • • and track inspecon compleon. Use spaally-enabled devices to collect inventory and condion data in the field. Use tools for automated and semi- automated extracon of asset features from digital images or LiDAR data. Update informaon for exisng assets in the field by retrieving available data based on locaon. Use a map to review inventory and condion data. Geo-tag photos of asset condion before and aer work compleon. Use a map to access digital images and photographs taken in the field. Understanding the State of the Assets Use GIS to inventory and inspect assets and to display asset locaon and condion. Example Iowa DOT Asset Field Data Collecon Project The Iowa DOT has completed two phases of a pilot project to prove the feasibility of using tablet-based tools for collecng assets in the field. The first phase assessed hardware opons and developed a module for collecng culvert inventory and inspecon records. The applicaon uses drop- down lists that are connually filtered based on user inputs to simplify data collecon. The applicaon also has the ability to collect and link video, photographs, audio clips, or notes to inventory or inspecon records. The second phase of the project added the capability to collect sign data. The Iowa DOT plans to add modules to collect data for other asset types. Value Added Richer and more accurate data source for decision support – integrang imagery, locaon, and classificaon/a†ribuon. More efficient maintenance and mely updang of asset inventory and condion data. Improved ability to leverage asset data by linking field systems with exisng inventories. Reduced field me for data. collecon resulng in lower costs and reduced risk of injury. Reduced staff me in preparing annual federal reports. Reduced staff me responding to informaon requests. • • • • • • • • • Execuve Guide—Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management 7

Idenfying and Managing Risks Use GIS to understand asset vulnerabili es and manage real- me response to extreme weather events and other emergencies. GIS Capabilities Use GIS to overlay informa on such as floodplains, fault zones, detour routes, and historical weather informa on on top of asset loca on data to assess risks, es mate poten al damage, and determine recovery costs. Use GIS loca on analy cs to model asset failure risk as a func on of historic rainfall, popula on, traffic, and other factors. Use GIS to track current road condi ons and loca ons of maintenance vehicles in real me during snow or other extreme weather events. Example Oregon Department of Transportaon (ODOT) Risk Assessment To es mate the effects of earthquakes on the Oregon roadway system, ODOT employed the GIS-based Risks from Earthquake Damage to Roadway Systems (REDARS2) tool. The applica on integrates seismic data and assesses poten al economic losses of seismic events based on impacts on lifeline routes. ODOT used REDARS2 to iden fy the highest priority bridges for retrofit based on seismic hazards and their consequences, including repair cost and closure mes. Value Added Provide informa on needed to beŠer assess and manage risks. Lower failure risks through development of mi ga on strategies. Lower insurance costs through demonstra ng use of preven ve maintenance to lower failure risks for cri cal infrastructure. Provide situa onal awareness— allowing more effec ve and mely responses to weather events. NHPN = Na onal Highway Planning Network. • • • • • • • Successful Prac ces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execu ve Guide8

Idenfying Needs and Work Candidates Use GIS to integrate data necessary to provide a holis c view of asset maintenance and rehabilita on needs. GIS Capabilies Integrate a wide variety of data for • • • • • assessment of needs. Review and assign appropriate treatment/fix based on asset condi on, environment, soils, traffic, safety, and other data. Review geospa al paerns of asset failure/deteriora on. Example Maryland Department of Public Works and Transportaon (DPW&T) Pavement Asset Management System (PAMS) In Prince George’s County, DPW&T developed a PAMS solu on to support a cost-effec ve maintenance program. Semi-automa c pavement condi on data is collected on a five-year cycle and analyzed using MicroPAVER. Data are available to DPW&T employees through a custom ArcGIS/SilverLight applica on programming interface (API) solu on that stores deteriora on curves, condi on index scores, and digital photos. DPW&T also maintains an ArcGIS Desktop solu on that iden fies candidates for roadway projects using condi on ra ngs from MicroPAVER, ci zen complaints, and planned and completed work. Value Added Iden fy root causes for poor performance. Incorporate other factors beyond asset condi on in determining asset maintenance and rehabilita on needs. Execu ve Guide—Successful Prac ces in GIS-Based Asset Management 9

Developing Programs Use GIS to develop resource-constrained programs and communicate program informaon to agency stakeholders. GIS Capabilies Developing Programs View integrated informaon • • • • •• • about mulple asset classes including condion, needs, and pipeline projects. Communicang Programs Provide public-facing web applicaons showing asset condions and planned projects. Display completed and planned projects and performance results on mobile GIS apps—for execuve “road shows.” Example Utah Department of Transportaon (UDOT) uPlan UDOT created a web-based interacve GIS planning and analysis tool, called uPlan, to improve data accessibility and comprehension. The program integrates informaon from mulple sources and is heavily used by decision makers who are able to easily query and analyze the available data. uPlan also has a public component which is made available on the UDOT website. The tool can be used to view projects and project informaon from the Unified Transportaon Plan. A variety of addional data layers are available and can be used to create customized maps. Value Added Be‰er informed decisions on infrastructure improvements. Be‰er coordinaon of work acvies by locaon. Improved public confidence in agency decisions. Improved ability to communicate agency plans to customers and elected officials. Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execuve Guide10

Managing and Tracking Work Use GIS to coordinate construcon and maintenance work on different assets within a corridor. GIS Capabilies Review planned work by locaon• • • • • to consolidate contracts. Review scheduled work to avoid conflicts with external acvies. (e.g., ulity work) and avoid adverse customer impacts (e.g., from closing lanes on two parallel routes). Example Sacramento County, CA, Excavaon in Right-of-Way Applicaon Sacramento County’s Street Excavaon in Right-of-Way (SEROW) applicaon is a web-based system that provides the ability to map current and planned future projects requiring excavaon. Reports can easily be run that idenfy potenal conflicts between projects, or the potenal for unnecessary or duplicate work. Moreover, the system can be configured to automacally generate email alerts when conflicts are created by new projects entering the system or modificaons to exisng project data. Value Added Minimize customer impacts from scheduled work through coordinaon of lane closures. Gain efficiencies through work packaging—parcularly where traffic control is required. Coordinate maintenance work on different assets to avoid duplicaon and conflicts. Execuve Guide—Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management 11

Understanding the State of Your Assets Which of your agency’s assets can you see on a map? Pavements Structures (bridges, culverts, tunnels) Traffic and safety (signals, signs, barriers, lighng, rumble strips) Drainage and Stormwater Facilies Intelligent Transportaon Systems (sensors, cameras, message signs, ramp meters) An cipa ng and Managing Risks Can you pull up a map showing a history of asset failures due to deterioraon and extreme weather/seismic events? Can you produce a map today showing seismic, environmental, and weather data that may impact future asset condion? If not, how long would it take your staff to produce it? Is your pavement staff currently able to use GIS to understand reasons for higher than typical deterioraon in condion—e.g., by looking at soil characteriscs, paving contractors, mix types, historical weather pa†erns, drainage, etc.? Can your safety staff produce a map integrang external data (e.g., state police records, weather records) with agency data (e.g., crashes, structure locaons)? Sizing up Your Agency’s Capabili es Scoping and Priori zing Work Can you produce a map today showing current asset deficiencies and candidate projects under consideraon but not yet programmed? If not, how long would it take your staff to produce it? Coordina ng Project Timing and Managing Work Does your agency currently have a process to review planned and proposed work by locaon in order to coordinate scheduling or contracng for this work? Does your agency track snow plow and other maintenance vehicle locaon in real me? Communica ng with Stakeholders Can you pull up a map at your desk showing programmed projects (for all asset types) and their current status? Can you access this informaon from your mobile device? Can your agency staff easily produce a set of maps that would make a persuasive case for your proposed transportaon improvement program? How long would it take to produce? Can your agency staff easily fulfill a request from a local agency for geospaal informaon on asset condion and proposed projects? How long would it take? A GIS and Asset Management Checklist Most transportaon agencies have strong GIS programs and have begun to use elements of GIS for asset management. However, while it is relavely straighŒorward to develop a single GIS-enabled applicaon with a limited data set, using GIS to its full potenal as an integrang force across divisions for asset management requires leadership, careful planning and orchestraon. Here are a few quesons to ask about your agency’s GIS capabilies for asset management. Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management—Execuve Guide12

Making It Happen What does it take? Vision The key to success is starng with a clear vision of how GIS will be used—for collecng and analyzing data, for scoping and priorizing projects, for developing programs, and for communicang with stakeholders. Communicaon Once a vision is developed, make sure it is documented, communicated, and understood across the agency. Business-Driven Priories Idenfy a manageable set of iniaves that move you towards realizaon of the vision. Ensure that each iniave will add value and show an ROI. Make sure business champions are in place and accountable for showing results. Challenge Staff to Deliver Challenge staff to push the envelope of what they think is possible—this is how innovaon occurs. Monitoring and Collaboraon Follow up o‚en to track progress. Add GIS topics to the agenda of leadership team meengs to check status of iniaves and remove roadblocks. Integrang GIS capabilies with TAM requires strong leadership. The agency may have one or more “silos of excellence” that have implemented some of the capabilies described earlier in this guide. However, a unified agency-wide approach is needed to have maximum impact and benefit. Leadership is the ingredient that ensures that everyone is moving in the same direcon, in a manner that allows the agency to provide the best possible value. Where do I start? Locate assets, projects, and maintenance acvies Make sure that your important assets—and associated maintenance, rehabilitaon, and replacement acons—can be located on a map. Use standard methods for locaon referencing so that asset-related data can be integrated. Locaon-aware (GPS) field data collecon technologies are available to facilitate this process. Integrate asset management systems with GIS If your asset management systems are built on a GIS pla“orm, make sure that they can talk to each other. Even if they are not, you will sll need to ensure that locaon referencing standards are in place to allow management system data to be mapped and analyzed using GIS tools. Assemble other geospaal data Pull in other spaal data sets needed to assess risks, opportunies, and constraints (seismic zones, rainfall history, freight routes, equipment sheds, etc.). Many such data sets are available from local, state, and federal sources. For more information, see the companion Implementation Guide, available as part of NCHRP Report 800 and online. Execuve Guide—Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management 13

Further Reading Best Pracces in Geographic Informaon Systems-Based Transportaon Asset Management hp://gis.wa.dot.gov/documents/ GIS-AssetMgmt.pdf AASHTO Transportaon Asset Management Guide: A Focus on Implementaon hps://bookstore.transportaon.org/coll econ_detail.aspx?ID=100 (Execuve Summary: hp://www.wa.dot.gov/ asset/pubs/hif13047.pdf) TRB Peer Exchange: Geospaal Informaon Technologies for Asset Management hp://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/ circulars/ec108.pdf Mul-Level Linear Referencing System (MLLRS) Cost/Benefit Value Analysis Study hp://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/ nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-07(302)_FR.pdf Analysis of Benefits from Use of Geographic Systems by King County, Washington hp://gis.wa.dot.gov/documents/ GIS-AssetMgmt.pdf GIS in Transportaon Website hp://www.gis.wa.dot.gov GIS-T: AASHTO GIS for Transportaon Symposium Website hp://www.gis-t.org/index.php NCHRP Project 08-87 “Successful Pracces in GIS-Based Asset Management”