AWWA IMTECH51452

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is responsible for water, drainage and wastewater collection, and solid waste services in the City of Seattle, Washington. The Water Operations Division of SPU is responsible for operating and maintaining the water infrastructure under routine and emergency conditions. In late 1997, the Water Operations Division began implementation of a work management system to manage infrastructure assets, inventory, purchasing and work orders for water utility crews. This paper discusses SPU's approach to developing asset records, creating asset hierarchy, equipment/location numbering, creating equipment classifications and gathering equipment information from the field. The paper concludes with a summary of lessons learned and suggestions to help other utilities achieve success in implementing work management systems. Includes figures.