Report after report and news story after news story recites that we have an “infrastructure deficit” and that without action, the condition of our infrastructure will continue to decline ultimately affecting our social and economic well-being. While this is true, the suggested solutions often focus on pouring more dollars into the pit to deal with the problem. While funding is certainly one aspect of the solution, it is not the only thing we need to engage in conversation about. The “ingredients” that go into making our infrastructure are key to not only design and construction but also to the longevity of the asset once built.

When designers begin the process of creating the plans to build new infrastructure many factors go into their decisions. Key amongst them is how to specify products that are to be included within a tender document. Typically, standards and specification ensure that the correct methods and materials are called for and a process called engineering pre-qualification is invoked to ensure that products with significant cost and higher risk are subjected to additional review to make sure they meet the project requirements.

Many jurisdictions maintain pre-qualified products lists in order to expedite the tendering process and to ensure that product suppliers have a roadmap which to follow to select products for any given tender. Product pre-qualification means that a product has demonstrated the ability to meet a given standard or specification based on criteria established by the infrastructure owner. Standards come in any forms from different organizations, and it is critical that specifiers indicated these upfront and ensure they are coherently presented to bidders.

Well managed and maintain pre-qualified products lists can serve an infrastructure owner well by expediting the bidding process and even reducing administration overhead experienced by both the bidders and the infrastructure owners. A clearly documents acceptance process and criteria are key to creating transparency and fairness while ensuring that only technically capable products are used in the final build.

Having that part of the process in place does not replace the need for good project management which includes quality assurance. A product with pre-qualification clearance still needs to be verified “at the gate” or when being moved to the work site. This ensures that the initial engineering assessment is validated and documented within the project. This completes a circular process and ensures that the asset is put in place based on the original engineering design documents.

It is incumbent upon municipal officials and their service providers to ensure that these policies and procedures are in place to protect the integrity of our infrastructure. Doing so will increase the longevity of our assets, protect them from failure and enhance the value for money equation which are all part of the asset management discussion. In addition to the above the following are key elements of good asset management.

Elements of a Solution

• Good Data – without good data about the condition and extent of your infrastructure, governments cannot assess need, assign priority or otherwise conduct the required analysis to determine an appropriate “program of expenditure”

• Contracting Policies and Procedures – contracting procedures must ensure that value for money is achieved through a comprehensive procurement process. Planning, estimating, pre-qualification and quality management procedures are key to ensuring that.

• Measurable Targets – governments must set targets, introduce key measures and enable that systems that will provide the results of these complex calculations. These systems will also enable transparency by feeding other systems and processes that can demonstrate whether goals and measures are met.

• Training – Today more than ever we have a workforce that is educated and capable. It is critical that we train those staff to achieve the goals and objectives set by the leadership in government.