Funding and Managing the U.S. Inland Waterways System: What Policy Makers Need to Know What Policy Makers Need to Know (2015) / Chapter Skim
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4 Prioritizing Maintenance for the Inland Waterways Freight System
4 Prioritizing Maintenance for the Inland Waterways Freight System
Pages 103-130
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4_ Prioritizing Maintenance for the Inland Waterways Freight System
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A systemwide strategy is needed for prioritizing maintenance regardless of whether it is funded as an O&M expenditure or as a capital project for major rehabilitation.2,3 A strategic approach for comparing and ranking waterways investments for major repairs and O&M could offer advantages that supersede or complement the current budget guidance used within USACE for O&M and capital projects. The first section below describes an asset management strategy, referred to in this chapter as economically efficient asset management (EEAM)
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From page 105... ...
However, when it is linked to the budgeting process, information gathered from EEAM could be used to identify and rank system needs for maintenance to inform budget requests and to prioritize the spending of appropriated funds. This approach is similar to that endorsed by the Inland Waterways Users Board in its capital projects business model (Inland Marine Transportation System Capital Investment Strategy Team 2010)
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From page 106... ...
The International Infrastructure Management Manual describes an asset management system that focuses on level of service, asset performance, risk exposure, and multicriteria analysis. This system is used by a variety of a Strategic Asset Management: An Emerging Port Management Imperative, American Association of Port Authorities Marine Terminal Management Training Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 6–10, 2014, Erik Stromberg, Senior Port Advisor.
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International Organization for Standardization (ISO) : • ISO 55000 Asset Management Standard based on PAS 55 • ISO 55000 -- Overview, Principles, and Terminology • ISO 55001 -- Management System Requirements • ISO 55002 -- Application Guidelines International Infrastructure Management Manual, 2011.
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From page 108... ...
lock processing time and (b) delays encountered during arrival at the lock before being processed through the lock.
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indicates that an age-based approach is the least useful for prioritizing maintenance expenditures. Of the nine river corridors analyzed in Chapter 2, the Monongahela River is the only river where age was correlated with metrics of lock performance.
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The actual level of asset performance may be either better or worse than the level of service expected to meet user demands. For example, an asset may be over- or underdesigned for 8 Data on the condition of assets in the inland waterways system are not public information, but the information presented in Chapter 2 indicates that developing such data will most likely not obligate a significant portion of USACE's O&M budget.
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table 4-1 Outcomes-Based Assessment of System Investments for Maintenance and Repair Mission- Related Outcomes Compliance- Related Outcomes ConditionRelated Outcomes Efficient Operations StakeholderDriven Outcomes Improved reliability Improved productivity Functionality Efficient space allocation Fewer accidents and injuries Fewer buildingrelated outcomes Fewer insurance claims, lawsuits, and regulatory violations Improved condition Reduced backlog of deferred maintenance and repairs Less unplanned maintenance and repair Lower operating costs Lower life-cycle costs Cost avoidance Reduced energy use Reduced water use Reduced greenhouse gas emissions Customer satisfaction Improved public image Source: NRC 2012.
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provides specific instructions for budgeting O&M expenses. Table F-2 of that document, Navigation Budget Performance Measures, defines the budget objective and criteria for ranking the need for maintenance expenditures, as shown in Table 4-2.
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Source: Study committee. Assess condion of assets Assess risk and economic consequences Decide to repair, replace, or disinvest Focus on capacity to perform, probability of failure, and level of service Focus on minimizing asset life cycle costs required to maintain level of service Focus on level of service (not asset design parameters)
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, defined as whether the waterway has low, moderate, or high levels of freight traffic; and the economic consequences of failure to shippers and carriers. This approach recognizes the importance of economic consequences for strategic investment instead of assuming that all navigation infrastructure needs to be maintained at its original condition.
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in prioritizing maintenance spending for budget requests and allocating the appropriated funds. However, these factors are not made explicit in USACE assessments of level of risk or the desired level of navigation service.
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Level of Navigation Service and Level of Asset Performance Level of service is a key component of USACE's plan for allocating maintenance funds, but the definition and implementation are different from what they would be under EEAM. In USACE guidance, "level of service" refers to operational hours and staffing and not to how well the facility provides shipping service to its users.
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None of the lock sites would be categorized at the bottom three levels of navigation service; 75 percent would be assigned to the highest service level.14 With 75 percent of the sites falling into the top category, this approach appears to have limited value in establishing priorities. An EEAM approach would develop service levels that describe the degree to which the asset enables the systems of locks and dams to provide the access and reliability that navigation users need.
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Instead of relating risk to level of service in this fashion, USACE's current objectives are to halt the trend of increasing lock outages and to maintain lock availability at least at the systemwide levels recorded for FY 2001–FY 2002. Any definition of level of service must incorporate delay or lock processing times that are acceptable at each level.
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Delay times and lock processing times (as opposed to the cost of the cargo involved) thus appear to be a valid metric for assessing the role of lock performance in level of service.
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Transit times per tow would be a better indicator of lock performance than lock processing time. Lock processing time data would not account for adjustments made en route.
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In summary, the data needed for a comprehensive EEAM approach to asset management for locks are already available for the most part from USACE's Lock Performance Monitoring System. Inconsistencies in reporting need to be corrected, and procedures may need to be revised to record additional information on lost transportation hours.
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Furthermore, a few single assets have multiple functions. For example, a dam may simultaneously support power generation, water supply management, flood risk management, navigation, and recreation.17 The ways in which asset management principles are implemented may vary by asset type, but the underlying philosophy and approach adopted for prioritizing maintenance need to be applied with consistency across the portfolio.
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With mooring facilities, for some locks, the provision of tie-off facilities closer to the lock chamber could reduce approach times and therefore reduce overall servicing time.
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have recommended that all feasible nonstructural measures to expand the service capacity of the system be implemented and evaluated with appropriate methods to determine whether the total physical capacity of the system limits transportation options and, in turn, growth in the economy. Decisions about whether investments in larger locks are a better investment than other expenditures for the system require more information about delays and the ability of nonstructural alternatives or smaller-scale structural alternatives to achieve the desired level of service.
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The measures that USACE uses in prioritizing maintenance and rehabilitation expenditures include the 5-year average amount of tonnage moved and the number of lockages performed in a year. These measures are not used explicitly to provide for an assessment or prioritization of projects on the basis of economic considerations, as would an EEAM approach.
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In the case of the inland waterways, a direct management approach would enable USACE to have the greatest impact on the reliability of freight service given the immediate conditions (for further discussion, see the section in Chapter 5 concerning the revolving trust fund)
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Improvements for an effective EEAM approach would involve determining the data most needed and the best way to standardize the collection and recording of data across USACE districts that have commercial navigation activities. Findings and Conclusions A standard process is lacking for assessing the ability of the inland waterways system to meet demand for commercial navigation service and for prioritizing spending for maintenance and repairs.
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, defined as whether the waterway has low, moderate, or high levels of freight traffic; and the economic consequences of failure to shippers and carriers. Once it is fully developed, USACE's asset management framework could be applied to decisions concerning all categories of investment in USACE's infrastructure portfolio -- O&M, major rehabilitation, and other capital spending.
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Third, whereas the data required to apply the framework are already available for the most part from USACE's Lock Performance Monitoring System, refinements could be considered. Metrics to assess the location, timing, and reason for delays routinely could be developed and linked to data on the economic consequences of delay to prioritize investments.
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Inland Waterways Users Board, Alexandria, Va.
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