Transportation Troubleshooting: Optimizing Infrastructure Value Using Modern Asset-Management Tools
During my tenure as Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, we lacked advanced tools to maintain a precise inventory of our vast and diverse assets.
It was a labor-intensive struggle to accurately account for assets we owned and managed—as well as their condition—right down to our guardrails, sign structures and culverts. We were not alone, as most DOTs experienced this pain in their daily operations.
Fortunately, modern asset-management approaches are revolutionizing this process, enabling agencies to better understand the assets they have as well as their condition, criticality and risk. This is enabling agencies to apply advanced asset-management analytics and build a strong business case for proactive investments in asset inspection and interventions that preserve and extend life, maximizing the value of their investments.
Prioritizing asset management is central to strategic investments in public infrastructure. Whether for highways, transit, airports or seaports, decision makers are embracing risk-informed, data-driven approaches to improve sustainability, reliability and cost-efficiency.
I recently had a conversation with David Sklar, a WSP colleague and senior vice president and national lead for asset-management strategy, planning and transformation. “Asset management is making sure that available funding is directed toward systems and assets that represent the largest risk and areas of biggest impact and applying asset-management approaches consistently across the entire portfolio,” he explains.
I couldn’t agree more. A primary focus of Sklar is to create asset-management roadmaps for transportation clients to shape how they prioritize their initiatives.
Resilient and Impactful Planning
Historically, big-ticket ribbon-cutting ceremonies and expansion projects dominated transportation planning. But as federal funding streams become more constrained, Sklar said agencies are shifting focus to “state of good repair”—investing in the longevity of existing assets instead of stretching resources with new builds.
Asset management enables agencies to forecast long-term maintenance liabilities, understand the condition and criticality of infrastructure components and prioritize funding based on performance risk. This strategic pivot confirms public investments are resilient, impactful and backed by sound financial planning.
This type of asset-management structure not only strengthens infrastructure resilience but also improves an agency’s ability to secure federal grants—even influencing bond ratings by showcasing fiscal responsibility and long-term strategic planning. The 2015 adoption of the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act was a turning point, requiring asset-management plans for transit and highway system funding.
As Sklar notes, “It proves you have ample funds to maintain what you have, so you’re not spreading yourself too thin and tackling projects you don’t have long-term funding to support.”
Technology Is the Catalyst
Modern asset management relies heavily on digital infrastructure. Tools such as Maximo EAM, GIS and asset-modeling tools are vital for tracking conditions, logging lifecycle maintenance activities, and automating risk and financial analysis. Digital solutions streamline workflows and empower decision-makers with actionable insights through performance dashboards at their fingertips.
However, creating an asset-management plan is only the first step. For an asset-management strategy to work to its maximum potential, deploying these systems requires thoughtful configuration, ongoing data maintenance and agencywide training.
Its impact depends on continuous leadership, oversight and adaptation. Sklar has seen this in action, as he and his team helped agencies such as the Maryland DOT and Miami-Dade DOT and Public Works formalize senior-level steering committees that meet quarterly to monitor asset performance and reprioritize investments. Such sustained engagement ensures asset management becomes a living program, ingrained in daily operations rather than a once-every-four-years compliance exercise.
“It’s definitely a long-term effort,” adds Sklar. “After systems, processes and work practices are operational, it’s critical to encourage crews and staff to consistently apply tools and methodologies and enter work-order data. Communicating the benefits to day-to-day activities and allocating time and resources to develop necessary skills will reap workforce-development opportunities and benefits for employees and agencies.”
Reshaping Priorities
Asset management is continuing to reshape transportation agencies, creating a framework that’s turning short-term fixes into practical long-term strategies.
Understanding the true cost of infrastructure, anticipating critical failure points and supporting sustainable long-term investment planning have enabled agencies to lay a strong foundation for smart, sustainable and resilient transportation systems. This builds a culture of trust and support with the public and elected officials and aligns with growing public expectations for more transparency amid growing fiscal pressures.
About Paula Hammond
Paula Hammond is senior vice president and national multimodal market leader, WSP in the U.S., and former chair of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association; email: paula.hammond@wsp.com.
