Improving asset management for Canadian municipalities to realize better value from their assets has been recognized as a national need. The Toronto Metropolitan University, PEMAC Asset Management Association, and Municipal Representatives across Canada have partnered on a project to address this need. A grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities supports the project. The project aims to provide timely and effective asset data and information for Canadian municipalities to improve their maintenance management programs and operational readiness. The project involved four primary activities: (1) conducting a national current-state survey of Canadian municipalities, (2) surveying municipalities with success stories, (3) developing/delivering a training course, and (4) developing a white paper and a business case. The national survey has been conducted to determine how asset and maintenance management and reliability engineering data and information are collected, when, and how it is set up in various systems across the asset's lifecycle phases. Municipalities from very small to very large responded to the survey, and 71 responses were received. The six-week live-online training course (52 participants) addresses maintenance and reliability readiness for the four lifecycle phases (plan, design and acquire/build/commission, operate and maintain, and decommission and dispose). In addition, the course addressed emerging technologies, data standardization, and sustainability (climate change and circular economy). The success stories survey aims to gather information regarding the municipality's exemplary work and covers small, medium, and large municipalities. Finally, a whitepaper, business case, and practitioner’s guide are developed. These documents aim to increase the profile, understanding, benefits, and requirements for asset master data and information readiness during an asset's acquisition phase before being handed over to the operations and maintenance phase. Based on the course and survey findings, specific recommendations are made to advance MDRR during the capital project and equipment acquisition phases.
