Background

Over the past 10 years, the City of Kelowna, British Columbia, has made great strides in advancing its asset management program, thanks in part to a grant from FCM’s Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP). The grant was instrumental in helping the city develop an asset management policy, framework and strategy that identified roles and responsibilities and guided major initiatives, including implementation of a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and updates to asset management plans that are integrated into long-term financial plans.  This contributes to consistency in managing assets and coordinating activities and investment across business areas (e.g. transportation, parks, utilities, civic buildings).

As of October 2022, MAMP has approved 129 asset management grants for local governments in British Columbia, of which 55 are complete and the rest underway. MAMP has also funded four partner organizations in British Columbia which, along with MAMP's national partners, have reached 100 local governments in British Columbia through asset management training and awareness-building activities.

Highlights

• Early and ongoing Council, senior leadership, staff, and community involvement
• A corporate asset management policy, framework and strategy endorsed by senior leadership and communicated to Council, detailing governance roles and responsibilities and program stewardship roles
• Implementation of a CMMS used by more than 700 staff to schedule maintenance and track the condition of 30,000 infrastructure assets
• Regular updates to asset management plans that are integrated into the financial plan through annual update to the 10-Year Capital Plan
• More than 30 percent of the city’s capital budget invested in asset renewal

The challenge

Kelowna is a city of 143,000 people in the Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia. It faces challenges that are familiar to many Canadian municipalities—aging infrastructure, a large infrastructure deficit, a growing community and ever-increasing service demands. When it started its asset management journey in 2012, the city had no formal asset management strategy and business areas that didn’t always communicate well, leading to fragmented decision-making and other inefficiencies.

The approach

The Kelowna team opted to involve Council, senior leadership, staff, and the community from the beginning, even knowing there would be gaps in the information being reported. This early involvement gave them diverse insights and helped them tailor the program to best serve community needs.

Taking specialized training with FCM, NAMS Canada and the Canadian Network of Asset Managers helped the team find a path forward. They identified business area responsibilities (e.g., scheduling maintenance and tracking asset condition, identifying timing of asset renewal, participating in asset management planning), and developed key performance indicators.  In addition, the community was invited to participate through an online tool that challenges them to choose infrastructure and services that are important to them while also trying to balance the budget and competing needs.

Kelowna uses an off-the-shelf software suite for its maintenance management system, with templates that are customizable for each business area. However, it is only a tool, and, to create buy-in and boost the return on investment, the team made sure the 700+ operational staff were an integral part of the customization process.

Key steps:

• Creating asset management and change management roles that combine a people and a business perspective, to manage challenges with implementation and maintenance.
• Kelowna’s Corporate Asset Management team has three dedicated asset management roles (Asset Management and Capital Planning Manager, Asset Planning Manager, and Asset Systems Manager) to champion the program. In addition, there are two dedicated Business Analysts from Information Services and two Asset Coordinators from the Infrastructure Division that are part of the core team.
• Linking asset data to long-term financial planning. The data are used to inform annual updates of the 10-year capital plan, and the infrastructure deficit is tracked as a performance measure. 
• Building top-down and bottom-up engagement and creating clear accountabilities, including detailing governance roles and responsibilities in the asset management policy and outlining program stewardship roles.
• Convening a steering committee and a cross-functional asset management governance team to stay on track.
• Taking advantage of resources on the FCM website to develop the strategy and roadmap.

“Change management is a huge and ongoing part of any successful asset management program, and it can get lost in the quest for data and tools. Keep people informed and involved and set clear expectations and accountabilities—and ensure compliance as needed.”

– Joel Shaw, Asset Management & Capital Planning Manager

Barriers

Managing change and expectations was a major challenge. Asset management is neither fast nor simple, and, as expected, there were some resisters. However, early and vocal endorsement from Council and senior leadership, along with a strong message that participation was mandatory, helped get everyone on board. In fact, as the benefits of using asset management data to guide decisions and support budget requests were demonstrated in practice, many of the resisters ended up becoming some of the most enthusiastic users.

The results

Kelowna’s corporate asset management policy, framework and strategy are fully endorsed by senior leadership and communicated to Council. Kelowna now invests more than 30 percent of its capital budget on asset renewal.

Kelowna developed and follows strong corporate asset management policies and processes that maintain continuity and consistency.

By integrating planning, finance, operations and engineering, Kelowna created a line of sight between community expectations and infrastructure and services, reducing fragmentation.

Having good asset management data means Kelowna knows its deficits and problem areas, from buildings to parks to pipes to pavement. The data are used to inform renewal decisions and target preventive maintenance decisions which help assets last longer and reduce operational costs.

In many business areas that were previously paper based, work orders, inspections and service requests are accessible online, making it easier to share activities seamlessly between the office and the field. This has improved operational efficiencies and data quality while reducing duplication of effort. Having digital data in almost near-time means staff can see trends, historical information and current work status at a glance, again supporting data-driven decision-making. 

Lessons learned

 “Overwhelming” is a word that comes up often in the context of asset management, especially in municipalities that are just getting started. Kelowna deliberately chose an approach that was both pragmatic and systematic, making sure it was geared to the city’s available resources and capabilities.

Ongoing staff engagement and timely user training are vital. In the end, it’s people who do asset management, and success comes with helping them understand the process and recognize and value its benefits.

In retrospect, Kelowna would have engaged business areas sooner, to identify and optimize their processes, and had the areas assign subject experts.

Next steps

Kelowna is updating its corporate asset management plan (2040 Infrastructure Plan) for expected release in 2024 and is amending its current plans to include climate considerations and natural assets.

Resources

• City of Kelowna’s 2030 Infrastructure Plan

Contact

Joel Shaw, P.Eng.
Asset Management & Capital Planning Manager
City of Kelowna, British Columbia

Background

The Rural Municipality of Manitou Lake in Saskatchewan lies south of Lloydminster, right up against the Alberta border. It was incorporated in 1910 and just over 500 people live in its vast area of 840 square kilometres. Key industries are agriculture and heavy oil extraction, and many of its 360 kilometres of developed roads are used to truck oil to processing.

Receiving a Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP) grant allowed Manitou Lake to further develop its asset management plans, particularly for roads and bridges, and provide training for Council and staff.

“MAMP funding allowed Council and staff to work together to improve our asset management program, particularly for risk and levels of service registers. This is helping us make crucial decisions about infrastructure assets during the economic downturn.”

– Joanne Loy, CAO

From 2017 to 2022, MAMP funded 226 asset management grants for municipal projects across Saskatchewan, and provided training and education through MAMP-funded partners to more than 400 municipalities in the province.

Highlights

• Asset management training helps Council and staff “speak the same asset management language” and develop a common understanding of their asset management goals.
• Council's willingness to match the MAMP investment and take the training was instrumental to the successful outcomes.

The challenge

When municipal leaders recognize the need for change, whether in reaction to economic, regulatory or social pressures or as a proactive measure to better serve residents, it sets a positive direction that can lead to lasting improvement. Manitou Lake developed its asset management systems in part due to regulatory requirements for tangible capital assets, and as a response to a simple question: “How can we make all the information we have more useful, beyond just creating financial statements?”

Since 2016, Council has also been facing difficult service delivery decisions about what is most important and what can wait, due to a nearly 30 percent decrease in tax revenues caused by demographic and economic shifts.

The approach

With only four full-time staff, the chief administrative officer (CAO) and the foreman are key champions for asset management. Over the years, staff have taken a variety of training, including from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) and FCM partners such as NAMS Canada, Asset Management Saskatchewan (AMSK) and the Canadian Network of Asset Managers. In 2016, the CAO obtained her Professional Certificate in Asset Management Planning from NAMS Canada.

Manitou Lake also worked with Dr. Gordon Sparks from the University of Saskatchewan (who wanted to start a community of practice that later became AMSK) to develop an asset management plan for 56 kilometres of heavy haul roads, feeling that shrinking the planning to a small chunk would make the process easier to manage. Later, through the MAMP grant, Dorian Wandzura of LadderUp Consulting Ltd provided asset management training for Council.

The barriers

Just finding time was difficult, and asset management planning sometimes tended to get pushed aside as other duties and responsibilities took priority. Knowing the value it could bring and the ultimate goals helped staff and Council stay on course.

There were issues getting — and keeping — everyone on the same page, especially with Council turnover after bi-annual elections. However, focusing on regular training and discussion helped maintain continuity and shared understanding.

At times, staff lacked confidence about whether they were doing asset management “right,” and were uncertain about the best way to create the plans and adapt the data. Having access to outside expertise to pull the various threads together was a benefit, as were FCM resources such as the Asset Management Readiness Scale, the communication tool Starting the asset management conversation in your municipality, the guide How to develop an asset management policy and strategy, and the videos and webinars.

The results

Manitou Lake now has a strategic asset management plan and roadmap, along with asset management plans for heavy haul/high volume roads, paved roads, gravel roads and bridges. A plan for equipment and buildings is underway.

Staff developed a condition rating scale and completed condition rating on all roads. Council is aware of the scale and sees it as a valuable tool.

Council has better information upon which to base service delivery decisions, and a clear understanding of the associated risks and costs that come with changes to levels of service. It is also working to establish and follow a structured decision-making process to minimize risk and improve service to residents.

Staff use the asset management roadmap to regularly engage Council in decisions about levels of service and risk, and adjust the levels based on needs and strategic priorities. These activities strengthen communication to ratepayers about current levels of service, the cost to maintain those levels and the consequences when the levels change.

Lessons learned

Successful asset management planning requires a true partnership that includes regular conversations between staff and Council. Engaging Council as active participants not only in the learning process but also in the development of service levels created a sense of confidence in and commitment to the outcome. Everyone understands that although asset management planning can be challenging, there are also risks and consequences to not doing it.

While asset management planning can guide and focus robust discussion, it does not provide immediate answers. Effort is still required to understand the information, know how to apply it and account for changing conditions and community needs.

Asset management is a future-oriented process that shows due diligence and helps manage change. Rather than a once-and-done administrative or financial exercise that can be “finished,” it is an ongoing process to improve decision-making.

Next steps

Manitou Lake continues to focus on keeping Council, and especially new councillors, involved. This helps ensure they see the value of asset management and understand the need to devote staff time to it.

The municipality will be considering how climate change will affect asset performance.

Succession planning is also on the radar, to capture knowledge, transfer information and ensure good asset management practices continue even through staff and Council turnover.  

Contact

Joanne Loy
Chief Administrative Officer
RM of Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan

Summary

As part of its commitment to environmental issues, the province of Quebec has mandated new targets on diverting organic waste from landfills to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make better use of waste. To meet this challenge and contribute toward solutions, a group of municipal partners together with Investissement Québec CRIQ and Gazon Savard Inc. and supported by GMF piloted an innovative mechanobiological treatment (MBT) system that separates and processes organics from garbage in a treatment facility. Participants learned a great deal about MBT and about trialing such technology and have helpful recommendations for other municipalities exploring similar options. 

Background

Organic materials such as food waste, garden waste, and paper make up about 60 percent of the 5.8 million tonnes of waste thrown out in Quebec every year. This presents several challenges to municipalities:

• They take up valuable landfill space;
• They emit greenhouse gases as they decompose; and
• They have potential value, for instances as sources of recycled material and compost.

A novel approach to waste separation

In many jurisdictions, the solution to reduce organic waste being sent to landfills is a three-way collection system, with a separate bin for each type of household waste (landfill, recyclable, and organic).

Recently, technology has been developed for organics and garbage to be separated after collection, through a process known as mechanobiological treatment (MBT). This kind of system makes waste separation simpler for households, as it allows them to divide their waste into only two streams, one for recycling and one for garbage and organics.

By 2016, this technology was ready for testing, and from 2017 to 2019 a group of municipal partners representing more than 80 Quebec municipalities agreed to join a pilot project. The partners involved were:

• Bellechasse Regional County Municipality (RCM), with a population of about 38,000
• L’Érable RCM, with a population of about 23,000
• L’Islet RCM, with a population of about 17,000
• The Régie intermunicipale de gestion intégrée des déchets Bécancour−Nicolet-Yamaska, which includes the Bécancour and Nicolet-Yamaska RCMs, with a total population of about 44,000
• The City of Saguenay, with a population of about 145,000

The challenge

Situated in rural parts of Quebec, these communities share a common challenge in waste collection: servicing a relatively small population over a large geographic area. In addition to its other benefits, the MBT approach can address such a challenge by reducing the transportation needs of a traditional three-way system. The pilot project sought to answer two questions:

1. How well would the MBT system work in a real-life scenario?
2. Is the system a functional and financially viable option for the municipal partners participating?

Approach

During the project, partners collected more than 150 truckloads of household waste (a total of 1,860 tonnes), which was separated using the MBT approach then processed over a six-week period into compost. For the sake of comparison, the pilot also collected some waste via a three-way system.

Results

The pilot found the following:

• Partners collected more than 150 trucks of household waste (a total of 1,860 tonnes), which was separated via MBT and then processed over a six-week period into compost.
• Compostable organics made up 49 percent of the waste collected, with some slight seasonal variation.
• The MBT system was able to divert 89 percent of these organics, of which 72 percent was composted.
• The compost produced by this kind of system is rated class B, which means it is considered “good compost,” with permitted levels of trace elements and foreign matter contamination. Potential uses include in forestry, road developments and revegetation of degraded sites.
• The estimated cost to process household waste via MBT was $98 per tonne, though this does not include any potential revenue from selling the compost or other components and could be highly variable depending on labour costs, choice of site and other factors.

The organics diversion rate of the pilot was higher than that achieved by three-way collection systems, which range from about 30 to 60 percent across Canadian municipalities. This would represent a significant reduction in the amount of organic waste being sent to landfills, which would in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by decomposition and transportation and extend a landfill’s useful life.

Despite the high diversion rates achieved through this new technology, for various reasons, none of the municipal participants has yet moved forward with an MBT system. However, they found that joining this pilot project was an important step in their decision-making process. Not only did it give them an opportunity to review various options for diverting organic waste, but it gave them a better understanding of the assets they have and the ways their individual situations affect how they can best meet this challenge.

Recommendations

While MBT was ultimately not the best fit for partners in this pilot project, it could be a good option for other municipalities looking for solutions to divert their organic waste. Here are some recommendations for municipalities interested in running their own pilots to consider.

1. Look at the infrastructure you have. Potential benefits of the MBT system as opposed to other options for diverting organic waste will vary depending on a municipality’s existing infrastructure, such as whether it already has a landfill site or a network of ecocentres. This should be taken into account when examining organics diversion systems. Pilot results were not necessarily applicable to the reality of waste processing in participating municipalities. It’s important to design such studies in such a way that local situations are taken into account throughout the process.
2. Plan to be flexible. It would be ideal to have a longer and more flexible schedule both in advance of and during the project.
3. Build strong partnerships. When working with numerous organizations, priorities and perspectives often differ, and it can be helpful to take the time to define these and build relationships at the beginning of a project. One option is to have an independent participant involved to ensure a neutral approach. Should a municipality be interested in moving forward with an MBT system, there could be cost savings by partnering with nearby municipalities on this new infrastructure.
4. Understand the market. In order to make informed decisions, municipalities will need detailed cost estimates, and they should be ready to perform the relevant studies, which could affect timelines. While the compost produced can be a source of revenue, that depends on the realities of the local marketplace; it’s worthwhile to research potential buyers as part of the research process.
5. Check all the boxes. There may be regulatory barriers to transporting and processing waste in new ways. It’s best to clear the project with relevant authorities before proceeding. In addition, as the quality and composition of household waste is unpredictable and can affect the MBT process, a preliminary waste study before beginning the project would be a good idea.