Dimensions - November/December 2008 - 5

Discussing Asset Management As part of the 2004 Executive Order 13327 initiative, federal agencies are required to develop and submit asset management plans that identify objectives and priorities; provide lifecycle cost justification for capital improvement projects exceeding a certain threshold; and maintain a list of properties in a centralized federal real property database. Dewberry’s Ernie Katzwinkel, PE, LEED AP, Laurel McGinley, PE, and Jeffrey Poplin, GISP, discuss how federal real property initiatives are impacting agencies’ asset management programs. What dynamics are contributing to the federal government’s approach to asset management? Katzwinkel: Having more needs than resources available: energy and water conservation and global warming are having significant impacts on how the federal government manages assets. Subsequent legislation to the 2004 Executive Order has focused largely on energy and water conservation, as well as sustainable building design and operation. Capital renovations and new construction must be more efficient than current building standards require. The results are not only that the building uses less energy and water, but also that operating costs are reduced, saving the taxpayers money. Accountability is also an important driver. Federal agencies are required to write, update, and implement an asset management plan that details the best Holistic Approach, Technology Key to Informed Decision-Making use of existing assets and “reduces the footprint” for those it doesn’t need. Moreover, they must maintain data to demonstrate the plan is being used to manage and maximize real property asset performance in a manner consistent with the agency’s plan. Poplin: The federal market faces an increasingly complex operating environment that includes aging infrastructure, energy mandates, changing demographics, and economic cut backs. These same organizations are looking to implement or extend geospatial technology to arm their key decision makers with the business tools and applications to support new challenges and facilitate business decisions that will stimulate growth, save money, and eventually reduce the “carbon footprint.” What needs have you identified as agencies continue to establish asset management programs? McGinley: Agencies appear to be at different stages of gathering data and defining how to manage facilities in the lifecycle process. Some still require assistance with identifying assets while others have completed inventories but now must organize the data in a way that is accessible to several work groups. They need to interpret the data and perform a gap analysis with their asset management plans to develop an integrated, longrange plan for achieving real property goals; they also need assistance implementing the plan. They are learning to stretch resources by investing wisely, using lifecycle costs. What resources are available to support asset management programs? Katzwinkel: Dewberry has experts in architectural and engineering design of sustainable systems, industry experts who conduct top-to-bottom facility assessments, security specialists who can inventory and evaluate physical security needs, GIS developers who create geographic models and integrate databases to present detailed information at the right level for decision makers, and program managers who understand the government budget processes and can work with clients to develop low risk programs. McGinley: In addition to the human component, there are a number of technical tools available. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has capabilities to export design data to energy modeling programs so that the energy efficiency can be evaluated against regulations to ensure compliance. BIM can also be used in life-cycle costing by comparing designed efficiencies with the expected associated operating costs. Poplin: We also see great potential in using GIS-based systems to organize and present data—from an installation to an agency’s worldwide footprint. Many COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf ) systems are available but may require a great deal of customization. That customization, used in conjunction with imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), allow agencies a more accurate view of their assets, thus enabling informed management decisions at all levels. 5

Dimensions - November/December 2008

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