The Infinity Loop of Asset Management: Looking Back to Go Forward by Heather Himmelberger and Ross Waugh
Ross and Heather discuss the concept of an “infinity loop” in asset management, where looking to the past informs decisions about the future. They cover several key topics:
Historical infrastructure: Much of the water and wastewater infrastructure in the Western world was built in the 1950s-1970s, often with grant funding. Understanding when and why this infrastructure was built is important, as the world has changed significantly since then.
Changing workforce and demand patterns: The shift to remote work during COVID-19 has impacted water usage patterns, with residential usage increasing while commercial/industrial usage decreases. This affects utility revenues and the need to adjust rates.
Incremental investment vs. large projects: Rather than waiting for major infrastructure failures and then doing large, costly projects, Ross and Heather emphasize the importance of steady, incremental investment to avoid spikes in costs and demand on limited resources.
Workforce challenges: They discuss the shortage of civil engineers and water operators, and the need for better training, recruitment, and retention programs to build the future workforce.
Operator certification and innovation: The current operator certification process is criticized for being overly focused on academic testing rather than practical skills. Empowering operators to ask questions and implement data-driven solutions is seen as important.
Subsidies and operations: The speakers question the current model of heavily subsidizing new infrastructure construction while neglecting operations and maintenance, suggesting a more balanced approach could lead to greater efficiency.
Overall, the discussion highlights the need to learn from the past, adapt to changing conditions, and take a more proactive, incremental approach to managing water and wastewater infrastructure and the workforce.
Bio
Heather Himmelberger, Director, Southwest Environmental Finance Center, University of New Mexico
Heather Himmelberger is a registered professional engineer with over 35 years of experience working with water and wastewater utilities all across the U.S. She has a BS from Penn State University and an MS from Johns Hopkins University both in Environmental Engineering. As Director of the SW EFC, Heather has been a staunch advocate and promoter of asset management practice for over 20 years. She has provided hundreds of asset management trainings and directly assisted systems of all sizes and types with understanding and implementing asset management. She has presented asset management presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. She has created guidance materials and documents.
Ross Waugh, Director, Waugh Infrastructure Management
Ross is the founder of Waugh Infrastructure Management and is an Asset Management and systems integration specialist with 40 years experience in local government asset management and engineering. Ross has been consulting in asset management practices for 24 years. Ross is passionate about assisting people to practice Asset Management holistically and comprehensively yet practically. His strategic analysis of client practices is balanced with a strong practical background that always ensures results not theory. Ross has experience of eight cycles of integrating asset management planning with long term Council financial planning within the New Zealand context.