Lifecycle Cost Forecast Solution
An exceptionally powerful tool to assist in the long-term forecast of capital and maintenance costs for physical assets
Most of us understand the importance of having a well-constructed & informed maintenance and capital plan for our assets. Often it is easy to write in words what needs to be done, but when it comes to forecasting out the plan over an extended period, it becomes very complicated very quickly.
One of the most challenging aspects of preparing forecasts of this nature is accurately projecting out activities when you are dealing with dozens of different cycle durations / intervals, assets with usage which might change over time. This is then compounded by the sheer volume of applying all these different permutations to thousands upon thousands of assets over an extended forecast.
Our class-leading tool handles these computations in just moments and will serve up a monthly forecast of activities up to 50+ years out. All broken down by asset hierarchies and activity types right down to the granular activity-by-activity level – showing each instance of maintenance and renewal work and its associated costs.
This tool is instantly valuable to assets owners, asset managers and contract bidders alike, as it allows them to quickly build a long-term projection of these activities, plus provides opportunities to test the optimisation strategies and provide as outputs the key schedules into Asset Management Plans and for bidders the tender returnables.
For asset managers, managing the competing elements of cost, risk and performance is the asset management challenge. This tool gives you the 'cost' part of this equation, and just as importantly, a tool to very clearly articulate details of the plan (it’s great for stakeholder management).
We believe that being able to easily absorb and comprehend the forecast outputs is just as critical as getting the inputs themselves right (they go firmly hand-in-hand). Our tool makes it easy for staff and stakeholders to be fully engaged in and understand the cost forecast for the asset base – positioning them better to help to validate and improve its accuracy and ultimately make better asset management decisions when reflecting the cost equation back in to the balance of cost, risk and performance.
With this in mind, we provide a suite of high-quality outputs for the tool, both Microsoft Excel tables and Power BI dashboards & reports. Excel is the best format for detailed schedules and bid returnables and Power BI allows us to harness this platform to provide the very best visual representation of overview and summary data.
Use cases:
Utilisation by asset owners and managers to better understand, plan and operationalise asset activities and build annual budgets or works plans
During the bid / planning phase to forecast activities and spend. Outputs can be fed into asset management plans and bid returnables
As a decision support tool, informing asset managers and executives and enhancing operational and commercial decisions
As a stakeholder engagement tool, to provide confidence in the asset management plan and the financial management thereof
Scenario testing in the search for cost efficiencies & proofing asset management optimisation strategies
Suitable for use with all types of physical assets – infrastructure, vehicle fleets, buildings, machinery, plant, structures, etc
Key features & benefits:
Flexible inputs:
asset data - asset classes, quantities, locations, ages and life measures, etc
customised service profiles in addition to standard time-based cycles / intervals
activity schedule - activity types, cycles / interval selection, unit rates, etc
Tool outputs include:
calculates activity instances (counts) down to monthly periods for 50+ years
unit rates and escalation (based on numerous user-defined escalation profiles)
forecast spending for each activity instance
asset cost, age and expiry metrics
numerous dashboard reports showing activity and spending by activity type, asset classes & sub-classes, periods (years or months), locations, etc
The split between model and output files allows for control and restricted access to the data & inputs whilst allowing for easy organisation dissemination of a separate spreadsheet output file whilst retaining the ability to serve up the forecast via a Power BI reporting suite.
Dashboards and filters provide a seamless ability to drill down from top-level figures right down to granular activity levels - providing easy validation and increased engagement and understanding of the forecast.
While the tool is quite sophisticated, it is ready to use straight out of the box and can be generating outputs within an hour (allowing for the first batch of data inputs to be loaded). It is also readily customisable based on your organisation's specific context and requirements.
Tool & outputs:
Based on an organisation’s asset data and activity inputs, the tool generates a monthly forecast of capital and maintenance activities for any length of time out 50+ years.
The model outputs to both:
Powers model engine
Provides easy of data input
Better suited for more detailed reports and schedules
Pivot tables provide drill-down capability and flexible outputs
Best platform for data overviews
Provides interactive charts and visuals for improved user engagement
Accessible on phone and tablets
The model is designed to be loaded onto a client’s own IT platform, so you maintain control over access and data (IE there are no proprietary systems).
Value we provide our clients:
The value proposition is clear & compelling:
Clients get access to a highly flexible class-leading asset management decision support tool that produces a very granular long-term forecast of activities designed to maximise visibility and facilitate asset management optimisation
Massive time savings in terms of getting the initial forecast setup and ensuring quick turn-around on model changes – this ensures the team can spend more time reviewing and validating outputs and can be a “game-changer” for bids
