Events

Managing physical assets is challenging and critical to public safety as well as to the organizations that own and operate them. The data associated with these assets are complex, voluminous, and distributed across multiple systems. Furthermore, the longevity of physical assets, typically decades, combined with merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, increase the risk of data loss. Out-of-date, inaccurate, or unreliable asset data also increase the potential for a catastrophic event.

To solve the problem, we need to understand the root causes, and then we can apply our information governance principles.

The problem starts with time. Physical assets like buildings, train tracks, roads, or pipelines are built to last – usually more than 50 years. The design and construction take years on their own but represent only 20% of the total cost – and produce far less than 80% of the data about the assets that accrue over time. Longevity inevitably brings multiple record formats. Many buildings and other structures in use today were designed by hand on paper. Those marked up blueprints – the ‘as builts’ – are critical records throughout the life of the asset, but they are not as easily shared or updated as electronic information. Finally, those decades also bring M&A activity where asset data must be transferred to the new owner but often is lost.

The second big challenge is complexity. To understand the full story of a physical asset, you must look at design, construction, inspection, maintenance, and upgrade records. You also must look at financial records: the cost of construction, amortized; taxes over time (particularly challenging for linear assets like roads or pipelines that cross jurisdictions); maintenance and operating costs; and often the records that get the most attention: records related to commercial use or revenue generated from the asset. How many systems do you think contain all those records? Our speaker will walk us through a case study at an international airport undergoing major capital upgrades as it approached its 80 years of operation.

Our Speaker:

Maura Dunn, President of TrailBlazer Consulting, LLC, and CEO of TrailBlazer Learning Academy, Inc., has over 25 years’ experience in information governance for the public and private sectors, in the US and abroad.  Her experience spans the full lifecycle of information governance including assessment, strategy, policy development, technology implementations, training, and operations. Ms. Dunn served as a board member for the Mid-Atlantic Region of ARMA International and on the Leadership Committee of the National Small Business Association. Ms. Dunn currently serves as New England Branch Lead for the Institute of Asset Management North America Chapter.

Ms. Dunn has served as an expert witness in regulatory proceedings and is a respected author and speaker on information governance topics.  Her clients include worldwide leaders in energy, transportation, healthcare, content, entertainment, luxury goods, and professional services.  She has a particular expertise in asset data governance for capital development, operations, safety, and efficiency in the transportation and energy industries.

Ms. Dunn has led dozens of  multidisciplinary teams, comprised of client staff and TrailBlazer experts, in defining and implementing contract lifecycle management, information governance, and asset data governance programs for companies ranging from 100+-year old public utilities to start-up renewable and Fortune 1000 midstream pipeline companies in the energy sector; public infrastructure organizations including an international airport; healthcare companies including leading biopharma and medical device manufacturers. Ms. Dunn provides targeted training to her clients and leads professional training workshops for practitioners. She also makes her techniques, approaches, and expertise accessible to smaller companies through TrailBlazer Learning Academy (www.trailblazerlearningacademy.com). Ms. Dunn holds a Master’s degree in Library Science. She is the co-author of a forthcoming book on information governance in the age of AI.