Setting Service Levels- A simple task or a major challenge in Asset Management? Kevin Young Hunter Water Corp. 11 April 2002

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3 Asset Management - A Definition F Different approaches to meeting or determining service levels - Kevin Young F Asset capability / whole of life costing - Peter Buckland Meeting agreed customer service levels while minimising whole of life costs

4 Setting Service Levels F A number of categories  Environment  Health  Customers  Requires alignment of service levels with Business Plan / Corporate Planning

5 Setting Service Levels F Range of approaches world wide  Fixed mandatory levels under an operating contract / licence  Continuous improvement to higher service levels  Maintaining condition of assets (a proxy approach)  Determined in consultation with customers

6 Hierarchy of Service Indicators in an Operating Licence Framework VehiclePenalty Data Performance Indicators Operating Licence

7 Service Levels under an Operating Licence F Determined based on historic performance F A minimum safety net of customer protection

8 Continuous Improvement to Higher Service Levels F By benchmarking F By “league tables” - comparison by embarrassment F Needs good information of cost / service level trade-off

9 Setting service levels and trade-offs Service Level (Effectiveness) High Avg Low (High Costs) High (Low Costs) Avg Productivity Level(Efficiency) Expected Tradeoff L G Best Performers K A H E I B F J MD C Inefficient: High Cost/Unit of Service Poor Performers: High Cost/Low Service Service Level Potentially Inadequate

Setting of Service Levels - Link to Replace/Repair Decision PER UNIT COST TO COMMUNITY INCREASED FAILURES REDUCED FAILURES LEVEL OF SERVICE RISK( INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ) ie repair costs/ social costs HIGH ASSET LIFE LOW

11 Life Cycle Costs F Must include community costs  water continuity direct costs  social disruption costs  traffic  property damage  environmental costs

Setting of Service Levels - Link to Replace/Repair Decision PER UNIT COST TO COMMUNITY INCREASED FAILURES REDUCED FAILURES LEVEL OF SERVICE RISK( INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ) ie repair costs/ social costs PLANNED ( INTERNAL ) HIGH ASSET LIFE LOW

Setting of Service Levels - Link to Replace/Repair Decision PER UNIT COST TO COMMUNITY TOTAL INCREASED FAILURES REDUCED FAILURES LEVEL OF SERVICE INCREASING COST- DECREASING SERVICE INCREASING COST- INCREASING SERVICE A B A =MIN. COST B =MAX. SERVICE PER UNIT COST- “ BEST VALUE FOR MONEY” RISK( INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ) ie repair costs/ social costs PLANNED ( INTERNAL ) HIGH ASSET LIFE LOW

Setting of Service Levels - Link to Replace/Repair Decision PER UNIT COST TO COMMUNITY TOTAL INCREASED FAILURES REDUCED FAILURES LEVEL OF SERVICE INCREASING COST- DECREASING SERVICE INCREASING COST- INCREASING SERVICE RISK( INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ) ie repair costs/ social costs PLANNED ( INTERNAL ) HIGH ASSET LIFE LOW CUSTOMER DEMAND C C= APPROPRIATE CUSTOMER SERVICE LEVEL AND COST

15 Total Costs (NPV) User Costs (NPV) Minimum Total LCC Agency Costs (Max Network NRM) Agency Costs (Average NRM) Network Roughness (NRM) Life Cycle Cost vs Network NRM Annual Agency Cost ($ Millions) Total Life Cycle Cost (NPV) ($ Millions)

16 Conclusions The setting of service levels requires F An understanding of customers’ requirements and the cost trade-offs F Knowledge of asset degradation and repair/replace trade-offs F Assessment of full community costs F Pricing to be based on full costs of asset replacement and servicing F Good asset management to lead regulatory debate

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