Asset Information Handover Guidelines from Planning and Construction to Operations and Maintenance (2024)
Chapter: 7 Case Study Process
CHAPTER 7
Case Study Process
Introduction to the Process
The research team conducted focus group interviews beginning in the spring of 2022 with airports that believed they had functioning asset management programs with successful business processes and procedures in place or airports that were simply interested in improving their internal processes addressing project closeout activities. In addition, one non-airport organization was interviewed to understand their approach to asset information handover.
The phase of a project referred to in this guide as “project closeout” has also been referred to as “asset onboarding” or “asset acquisition.” This phase occurs when a project is coming to an end, and the airport, as the owner, will soon be gaining control over its operation and maintenance management. At this time, the contractor or construction team provides maintenance and warranty requirements and numerous other contractual requirements to the airport owner, as part of the closeout process.
No matter what term airport staff might use to refer to this phase of a project, it is when an airport owner gains the information needed to properly own, operate, and maintain the newly constructed asset. Design and construction teams play a crucial role in helping to manage an airport’s asset data. Software and technology help these teams throughout the design and construction phases, but unfortunately, at project closeout, all their data falls into a black hole if the airport, as the owner, has no business process or plan in place to accept it.
The intent of the focus group interviews was to learn from the participating organizations what they currently were doing to support their understanding of their constructed assets, especially in relation to project closeout and the asset information deliverables that are part of this business process. Another intent was to learn how each organization obtained the documentation necessary to effectively maintain and manage the assets created as part of a design and construction project.
Several questions focused on asset information handover at all phases of a project were developed by the research team. These questions formed the basis of the case study conversations about collecting and keeping accurate asset data; the traditional planning, design, and construction activities; and finally, each airport’s expectations for asset ownership.
Questions as Part of the Process
Several questions were developed within a spreadsheet application workbook prior to scheduling the focus group sessions to serve as a guide for the conversation about asset information handover. This workbook consisted of several worksheets, each intended to address a topic seen as significant to the overall process of managing and maintaining constructed assets at an airport.
The original intent was that the workbook would be reviewed, if not completed, by participating airport staff prior to the focus group conversation. The workbook began with this question, which was intended as the introduction to the general premise of the case study research:
Considering how you currently manage and maintain your constructed assets (e.g., cargo/terminal buildings, utilities, pavements) provide information in response to the questions. These subsequent worksheets are intended to align with traditional phases in the asset acquisition process.
What followed this prelude was a lengthy conversation with each organization participating in the case studies about its areas of concern. Questions for the organizations participating in the case studies were organized by the life-cycle phase of a project. There were multiple questions associated with each phase, so they cannot all be listed here. However, some sample questions listed by project phase follow:
- Planning, design, and construction: Who do you consider stakeholders in your planning, design, and construction process (list departments, position titles, or similar)?
- Closeout: Does your organization conduct a review of such requirements prior to substantial completion to help facilitate a smooth conclusion?
- O&M: How does your organization develop maintenance strategies for your asset systems (e.g., PM modes/schedules, job plans, safety plans)?
- Management of asset data: Do you have an enterprise-wide asset identification, structure, taxonomy, and/or naming convention? Does an asset have the same ID in each enterprise system?
Focus Groups
Several interviews were conducted with the case study participants. In some instances, more than one session was held, or sessions were conducted with multiple individuals one at a time to allow them to provide their perspectives on asset information handover roles and responsibilities without influencing their peers. Following the completion of the interviews, the conversations were summarized and documented as case studies (see Appendix D). These summaries provide helpful information about airports’ experiences with the project closeout phase of a project, asset management practices, and lessons learned.
Analysis
Analysis of the focus group conversations indicated that there is not one standout or foolproof approach to asset information handover at project closeout that will work for everyone. Each of the case study participants has “made do” with what works in their respective environments using the labor and financial resources that are available.
Some effective practices that were identified by the case study participants include the following:
- Creating a specific asset management division with the sole responsibility to oversee and manage the airports’ assets.
- Tracking asset age, current condition, and identifying metrics across all asset classes and documenting these metrics within an EAM system.
- Keeping asset maintenance data in a software system accessible to anyone in the organization with a login.
- Developing end-to-end data management processes and procedures beginning with planning and design.
- Developing standardized processes and procedures and then enforcing the requirements to obtain accurate data associated with project closeout and asset information handover.
- Defining asset management as a “culture,” so the various stakeholders throughout the planning, design, and construction processes will, without having to think about it, ensure that future maintenance and management of the built environment will occur seamlessly.
- Conducting meetings with stakeholders to discuss each project and each stakeholder’s needs, as well as the importance of working together for the benefit of the airport. These meetings improve staff members’ understanding of the requirements of others regarding each project.
- Embracing mobile maintenance applications to better ensure work orders are established, issued, and completed, and the data needed to understand what it costs to maintain the assets is appropriately documented upon completion.
