Case study 5.5
Dunedin City Council – Good use of templates and guidance gets a co-ordinated approach and makes everyone’s life easier
Dunedin City Council uses an asset management plan template with supporting guidelines for all its activities. These templates prescribe the minimum level of details for all activities and recognise that not all assets require the same level of planning.
The Council has improved its asset management planning processes since it introduced the template approach. It has also developed a benchmarking framework that aligns with the Auditor-General's definitions of "core" and "advanced" asset management levels,6 which helps individual managers identify areas for further improvement.
The Council is using the benchmarking review to determine the level of sophistication for each of its plans against the level it aspires to. It intends for all its plans to be at least "core" level, with some having characteristics appropriate to advanced plans.
6: National Asset Management Steering Group, Association of Local Government Engineering NZ Inc (2006) 3rd edition (Version 3.0), International Infrastructure Management Manual, National Asset Management Steering Group, Association of Local Government Engineering NZ Inc., page 2.11.