Strategic infrastructure asset management: the way forward

Organisations owning and managing infrastructure asset are constantly striving to obtain the greatest lifetime value from their infrastructure assets. Many such organisations have adopted the concept of “asset management” with the aim of improving the performance of their infrastructure assets. This paper evaluates the adoption of asset management to improve performance in the context of organisations managing infrastructure assets. Relevant previous research studies on main barriers to the adoption of asset management are reviewed. Analysis of these findings, together with deductive reasoning, leads to the development of the proposed improvement strategies. Three issues were identified as barrier to the advancement of the concept of asset management. They are (1) lack of recognition, (2) fragmentation; and (3) growing complexity. To overcome these issues, this paper suggests that the organisations manage infrastructure assets must (1) adopt a more strategic approach in the management of infrastructure assets, (2) develop a framework of strategic infrastructure asset management processes, and (3) identify the core capabilities needed in the management of infrastructure assets. This paper presents the direction for further research to advance the concept of asset management in the management of infrastructure asset.

Infrastructure asset management: The challenges and approaches

Infrastructure organisations such as airport, seaport, rail and road are operating in an increasingly challenging business environment as a result of globalisation, privatisation and deregulation. These organisations must ensure that their main resource i.e. their infrastructure assets are well managed in order to support their business operations. Brisbane Airport is used as a case study to understand the challenges faced in the management of infrastructure assets as well as the approaches used to overcome them. The findings can be useful in helping asset managers to identify the resources they should seek to manipulate in order to make improvement to their activities and contribute to the overall performance of their organisation.

The comparison of international and local sustainable assessment tools of landscape design for housing estate developments : case of Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand

Various countries have been introducing sustainable assessment tools for real estate design to produce integrated sustainability components not just for the building, but also the landscape component of the development. This paper aims to present the comparison between international and local assessment tools of landscape design for housing estate developments in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), Thailand. The methodologies used are to review, then compare and identify discrepancy indicators among the tools. This paper will examine four international tools; LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED – ND) of United State of America (USA), EnviroDevelopment standards of Australia, Residential Landscape Sustainability of United Kingdom (UK) and Green Mark for Infrastructure of Singapore; and three BMR’s existing tools; Land Subdivision Act B.E. 2543, Environmental Impact Assessment Monitoring Awards (EIA-MA) and Thai’s Rating for Energy and Environmental Sustainability of New construction and major renovation (TREES-NC). The findings show that there are twenty two elements of three categories which are neighbourhood design, community management, and environmental condition. Moreover, only one element in neighbourhood designs different between the international and local tools. The sustainable assessment tools have existed in BMR but they are not complete in only one assessment tool. Thus, the development of new comprehensive assessment tool will be necessary in BMR; however, it should meet the specific environment and climate condition for housing estate development at BMR.

Public participation, values and interests in the procurement of infrastructure projects in Australia : a review and future research direction

In many countries, the main providers for major infrastructure projects are government or public agencies. Public infrastructure projects includes economic and social infrastructure such as transportation, education and health facilities. Most decision-making models for delivery of public infrastructure projects are heavily weighted towards financial/economic factors. In Australia, public participation is an essential instrument in the procurement of infrastructure and development within Australia. This study reviews the public participation, values and interests in the procurement of infrastructure projects in Australia, and identifies the research direction in this research area in order to improve the decision-making models that capture stakeholder social, economical and environmental concerns in infrastructure projects.

Urban telecommunications network : technology convergence and urban infrastructure

Rapidly developing information and telecommunication technologies and their platforms in the late 20th Century helped improve urban infrastructure management and influenced quality of life. Telecommunication technologies make it possible for people to deliver text, audio and video material using wired, wireless or fibre-optic networks. Technologies convergence amongst these digital devices continues to create new ways in which the information and telecommunication technologies are used. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices such as mobile phones. This chapter discusses the recent developments in telecommunication networks and trends in convergence technologies, their implications for urban infrastructure planning, and for the quality of life of urban residents.

Integrated sustainable urban infrastructure management: the Brisbane urban growth model

Sustainable urban development and the liveability of a city are increasingly important issues in the context of land use planning and infrastructure management. In recent years, the promotion of sustainable urban development in Australia and overseas is facing various physical, socio-economic and environmental challenges. These challenges and problems arise from the lack of capability of local governments to accommodate the needs of the population and economy in a relatively short timeframe. The planning of economic growth and development is often dealt with separately and not included in the conventional land use planning process. There is also a sharp rise in the responsibilities and roles of local government for infrastructure planning and management. This increase in responsibilities means that local elected officials and urban planners have less time to prepare background information and make decisions. The Brisbane Urban Growth Model has proven initially successful in providing a dynamic platform to ensure timely and coordinated delivery of urban infrastructure. Most importantly, this model is the first step for local governments in moving toward a systematic approach to pursuing sustainable and effective urban infrastructure management.

Ubiquitous eco cities : telecommunication infrastructure, technology convergence and urban management

Efficient and effective urban management systems for Ubiquitous Eco Cities require having intelligent and integrated management mechanisms. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision-making system and necessary infrastructure and technologies. In Ubiquitous Eco Cities telecommunication technologies play an important role in monitoring and managing activities via wired and wireless networks. Particularly, technology convergence creates new ways in which information and telecommunication technologies are used and formed the backbone of urban management. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices and provides new opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This chapter discusses developments in telecommunication infrastructure and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities

Applying the open innovation system concept to infrastructure projects

Purpose: The goal of this conceptual paper is to provide tools to help maximise the value delivered by infrastructure projects, by developing methods to increase adoption of innovative products during construction. Methods: The role of knowledge flows in determining innovation adoption rates is conceptually examined. A promising new approach is developed. Open innovation system theory is extended, by reviewing the role of three frameworks: (1) knowledge intermediaries, (2) absorptive capacity and (3) governance arrangements. Originality: We develop a novel open innovation system model to guide further research in the area of adoption of innovation on infrastructure projects. The open innovation system model currently lacks definition of core concepts, especially with regard to the impact of different degrees and types of openness. The three frameworks address this issue and add substance to the open innovation system model, addressing widespread criticism that it is underdeveloped. The novelty of our model is in the combination of the three frameworks to explore the system. These frameworks promise new insights into system dynamics and facilitate the development of new methods to optimise the diffusion of innovation. Practical Implications: The framework will help to reveal gaps in knowledge flows that impede the uptake of innovations. In the past, identifying these gaps has been difficult given the lack of nuance in existing theory. The knowledge maps proposed will enable informed policy advice to effectively harness the power of knowledge networks, increase innovation diffusion and improve the performance of infrastructure projects. The models developed in this paper will be used in planned empirical research into innovation on large scale infrastructure projects in the Australian built environment.

Integrated governance arrangements of airport-region urban infrastructure development : gaining insights from urban infrastructure development in the Brisbane airport region

Polarising the issue of governance is the increasingly acknowledged role of airports in regional economic development, both as significant sources of direct employment and as attractants of commerce through enhanced mobility (Vickerman, Spiekermann & Wegener 1999; Hakfoort, Poot & Rietveld 2001). Most airports were once considered spatially removed from their cities, but as cities have expanded their airports no longer sit distinct of the urban environment. This newfound spatial proximity means that decisions for land use and development on either city or airport land are likely to have impacts that affect one another in either or both the short- or long-term (Stevens, Baker and Freestone 2007). These impacts increase the demand for decision making to find ways of integrating strategies for future development to ensure that airport developments do not impede the sustainable growth of its city, and likewise that city developments do not impede the sustainable growth of its airport (Gillen 2006). However questions of how, under what conditions, and to what extent decision making integration might be suitable for “airport regions” are yet to be explored let alone answered.

Structural health monitoring of bridges : source localisation in acoustic emission technique

Managing the sustainability of urban infrastructure requires regular health monitoring of key infrastructure such as bridges. The process of structural health monitoring involves monitoring a structure over a period of time using appropriate sensors, extracting damage sensitive features from the measurements made by the sensors, and analysing these features to determine the current state of the structure. Various techniques are available for structural health monitoring of structures, and acoustic emission is one technique that is finding an increasing use in the monitoring of civil infrastructures such as bridges. Acoustic emission technique is based on the recording of stress waves generated by rapid release of energy inside a material, followed by analysis of recorded signals to locate and identify the source of emission and assess its severity. This chapter first provides a brief background of the acoustic emission technique and the process of source localization. Results from laboratory experiments conducted to explore several aspects of the source localization process are also presented. The findings from the study can be expected to enhance knowledge of the acoustic emission process, and to aid the development of effective bridge structure diagnostics systems.

Ubiquitous and smart system approaches to infrastructure planning : learnings from Korea, Japan and Hong Kong

The robust economic growth across South East Asia and the significant advances in nano-technologies in the past two decades have resulted in the creation of intelligent urban infrastructures. Cities like Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong have been competing against each other to develop the first ‘ubiquitous city’, a strategic global node of science and technology that provides all municipal services for residents and visitors via ubiquitous infrastructures. This chapter scrutinises the development of ubiquitous and smart infrastructure in Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. These cases provide invaluable learnings for policy-makers and urban and infrastructure planners when considering adopting these systems approaches in their cities.

Evaluating sustainability of urban development and its contribution to a knowledge-base development

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to discuss the components of urban sustainability as to their implications about knowledge-base economy and society Design/methodology/approach – An indexing model which can be used by the local government specifically in Australia is presented to generate sustainable urban development policies. The model consists of sustainable neighbourhood indicators and employs a spatial indexing method to measure the sustainability performance of the urban settings Originality/value – This methodology puts in evidence about the use of indexing methodology in the assessment of sustainable neighbourhood performance Practical implications – This model could be considered as a practical decision aid tool for local government planning agencies for the evaluation of development scenarios Keywords – knowledge-based urban development, sustainable urban development, sustainable transport, sustainability assessment Paper type – Academic Research Paper

Brisbane urban growth model : an integrated infrastructure management framework for Brisbane, Australia

In recent years, local government infrastructure management practices have evolved from conventional land use planning to more wide ranging and integrated urban growth and infrastructure management approaches. The roles and responsibilities of local government are no longer simply to manage daily operational functions of a city and provide basic infrastructure. Local governments are now required to undertake economic planning, manage urban growth; be involved in major infrastructure planning; and even engage in achieving sustainable development objectives. The Brisbane Urban Growth model has proven initially successful to ensure timely and coordinated delivery of urban infrastructure. This model may be the first step for many local governments to move toward an integrated, sustainable and effective infrastructure management.

A green drought : the challenge of mentoring for Australian accounting academics

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to expose the impact of the shortage of senior academics,particularly professors, in Australian accounting schools, to relate the way one school addressed this shortage through a mentoring scheme, and to challenge existing institutional arrangements.----------- Design/methodology/approach: This is a contextualised qualitative case study of a mentoring scheme conducted in an Australian accounting school. Data collected from semi-structured interviews, personal reflections and from Australian university web sites are interpreted theoretically using the metaphor of a “green drought”.---------- Findings: The mentoring scheme achieved some notable successes, but raised many issues and challenges. Mentoring is a multifaceted investment in vocational endeavour and intellectual infrastructure, which will not occur unless creative means are developed over the long term to overcome current and future shortages of academic mentors.---------- Research limitations/implications: This is a qualitative case study, which, therefore, limits its generalisability. However, its contextualisation enables insights to be applied to the wider academic environment. ----------Practical implications: In the Australian and global academic environment, as accounting professors retire in greater numbers, new and creative ways of mentoring will need to be devised. The challenge will be to address longer term issues of academic sustainability, and not just to focus on short-term academic outcomes.---------- Originality/value: A mentoring scheme based on a collegial networking model of mentoring is presented as a means of enhancing academic endeavour through a creative short-term solution to a shortage of accounting professors. The paper exemplifies the theorising power of metaphor in a qualitative study.