The City of Portland Water Bureau has delivered drinking water from the forest to more than 952,200 customers’ faucets since 1895. PWB’s retail and wholesale service area are approximately 225 square miles. The bureau has over $8 billion in system assets, a proposed annual budget of $212 million, and employees over 600 people.
Situation
The bureau needs to replace an aging computerized maintenance management system, that has been used primarily to manage the maintenance work on the water system assets for about 20 years. It needs to be replaced by a new Enterprise Asset Management System, allowing the Bureau to enhance their ability to manage assets effectively.
Critical Issues
PWB and the current system:
- Lack functionality and business processes in asset, maintenance, inventory, and work order management
- Have limited adoption of the current system
- Have undocumented business processes
- Lack good business requirements for a new EAMS
Solution
PWB worked with Ron Pettit and Manoj Garg to define business requirements for a new EAMS. Ron and Manoj interviewed executives, key stakeholders, and 30 to 40 Water personnel to assess the current state, needs, and business processes. Working with PWB management, we authored a Request for Information (RFI) and documented existing business processes.
Results
Approximately one dozen vendors responded to PWB’s RFI. PWB has selected and contracted with a Tier 1 EAMS vendor and the implementation phase of the project has begun.