By Project Manager Marcine Severn, BSc., G.I.S. (PG)
If you’re an asset manager, you know how it is more important than ever to be able to track and manage asset related data – and use this information to inform decision-making and develop sound, defensible plans for the future. A growing number of technologies is available to municipalities to help them maintain and manage their asset portfolio. From Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), which help to track work done on assets, to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which manage asset spatial data, and Decision Support Systems (DSS), which provide advanced analysis tools for long-term planning – asset managers have never had more ways to collect, manage, and analyze asset related data.
Many municipalities have adopted these new technologies in order to keep up with evolving industry practices, changing regulatory requirements, and growing asset portfolios – but are they getting the full benefits from these systems?
Often within municipalities, these Asset Management Information Systems (AMIS) have been implemented separately across departments, leading to a bulk of disparate programs that perform similar functions but with entirely different processes and data standards. Not only does this lead to high maintenance fees, but it also makes it difficult for organizations to gain a full view of their asset portfolio, leading to lengthy data retrieval, consolidation and processing times, inefficient use of staff resources, and low confidence in results.
Continue reading to learn how municipalities can make the most of these technologies to better manage their asset portfolio.
How are municipalities improving their Asset Management Information Systems?
Many municipalities are now starting to develop digital strategies to address how their systems can best be utilized to support organizational objectives as they look to increase efficiency and improve overall service delivery. This presents an opportunity to improve their AMIS by carefully reviewing existing systems, identifying opportunities for enhancement and consolidation, and determining which software solutions are the right fit.
However, while these systems offer a range of benefits, focusing solely on the technology itself and jumping straight into software selection without addressing the people, processes, and data required to support them can lead to implementations that stall, last years, and ultimately fail to meet objectives.
Why is it important to think about people, processes and data when reviewing my organization’s Asset Management Information Systems?
People – AMIS are used by a diverse range of municipal staff, from frontline field staff to managers and decision makers. These individuals typically have a diverse set of needs and may not always be supportive of adopting new ways of doing things. This is especially true when the systems need to support multiple departments that have typically managed their asset portfolios independently. Without buy-in from the staff who will be the primary users of the system, adoption may be low, with staff looking for ways to work around the system rather than putting in the effort to learn a new one.
Processes – The way your organization uses their systems can have a large impact on the quality, consistency, and reliability of the information they provide. Without documented processes and clearly defined roles and responsibilities, each user may use the system differently, leading to inconsistent inputs, data stored in disparate locations, duplicated work, and a low confidence in system outputs. Even when processes are documented, having different standards across the organization can make it difficult to compare data and system outputs, resulting in difficulties for high-level, organization-wide analysis and effective planning.
Data – The data collected, managed, and analyzed within these systems provide the basis for asset management decision-making. Without formalized data standards, processes, and governance, the data can become unreliable with duplicated and inconsistent datasets, leading to wasted staff time and low confidence in data outputs. It is also critical to understand what data is important to collect and manage; while current technology allows us to manage much larger datasets, maintaining data that provides no value takes up valuable resources.
How can I set my organization up for a successful digital transformation?
- Develop a Roadmap
Take the time at the beginning of the process to determine your goals and needs and develop a plan for addressing them. This should include a clear statement of the vision and objectives, an outline of key initiatives and their sequencing, and defined governance. Not only does this allow you to begin planning and preparing resources, but it provides an opportunity to develop a business case and find executive sponsors who can help drive momentum as the work progresses.
- Understand Your Needs
Whether looking at existing systems or going to market, don’t jump into software selection without first understanding your needs. This means speaking to staff from across the organization who represent the full breadth of user needs to create a list of functional and technical requirements for the software. No system can do everything for everyone, so it is important to clearly differentiate between ”needs” and ”wants” and prioritize what is most important to meet organizational objectives. This will provide a comprehensive basis on which to develop a transparent, defensible decision-making process.
- Incorporate Change Management from the Beginning
Adopting new technologies, or even changing how existing systems are used, can be a difficult change for any organization. Staff may fear how their jobs will be impacted, that they may struggle to learn new systems or processes, or that they are being asked to step out of their comfort zone for purely bureaucratic reasons. By taking a change management approach from the outset, you can get ahead of the problem and demonstrate the value of the change and make staff feel included throughout. This also provides an opportunity to identify champions within the organization who can help teach and support their peers, helping to increase user adoption and confidence.
Hiring a consultant to support these steps can help provide an objective point of view and neutral party for working through these types of organization-wide initiatives. They can also draw on previous experience working with and implementing these types of systems to apply best practices and lessons learned so that every step of the process is focused on building capacity and staff confidence, finding the right systems, tools, and processes that work for your organization, and ultimately reaching an improved level of asset management maturity.
Interested in learning more?
Thunder Bay has recently completed an Asset and Work Management System roadmap to help guide their organization through a transformation of their systems. Amy Coomes, Thunder Bay’s Asset Management Program Lead, and I will be presenting at the CNAM 2026 National Conference on May 5 at 2:30pm where we will walk through the project and how it is supporting Thunder Bay’s evolving digital strategy. If you’re at CNAM, come see us and feel free to stop by the GEI booth (#3) if you’d like to talk more.
