Best Practices of Distribution Networks Asset Management in view of PAS55 Framework

By Matar S. Al-Mehairi (Member IAM) and Sharif M. Al-Batayneh (Member IEEE)

Asset Management Department, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA)

assetmanagement.iirme.com ■ +971 4 407 2526 ■ register@iirme.com

Best Practices of Distribution Networks Asset

Management in view of PAS55 Framework Al-Batayneh, Sharif M. (Member IEEE), and Al-Mehairi, Matar S. (Member IAM)

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), Asset Management Department

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Abstract--“In the race for excellence there is no finish line [1]”, and from the Utilities Operators/Managers view point the race for

excellence is solely a race for an optimum Asset Life-Cycle Management. Especially for Distribution network operators/managers,

having an intensive portfolio of assets, with all the related costs, risks & performance involved in the whole life cycle management

process. Nowadays, Asset Management teams are facing an uphill challenge, with continual (on daily basis) increase in an already

huge asset portfolio, and with the recent economic crisis adding yet another stone to hurdle the efforts of the Asset Management

approach adopted by many utilities worldwide. Challenges, led by the ageing infrastructure and the increase in their failures, are two

of the most arguable and debatable topics. Theft of copper is yet a new risk which is to be either controlled or eliminated as per the

organizations strategy, and this is another task for the Asset Management team. Invisible assets, such as cables are a critical part of

the infrastructure which needs to be addressed & condition monitored under the RCM philosophy. Asset Management is to optimize

the three pillars of the whole life cycle activities of assets: risk, cost & performance, and this can be done within the guidelines of the

PAS 55. This paper will highlight the best practice model of the Distribution Power Asset Management under the Dubai Electricity &

Water Authority in view of PAS 55.

Index Terms-- Asset Management, Condition Monitoring, Crisis Management, Failure Investigation, Life-Cycle, Publically Available

Specification (PAS), Risk Management.

I. INTRODUCTION

ISTRIBUTION Network operators/managers worldwide

face a continuous challenge for the sake of achieving the

optimum balance of the whole-life-cycle of their assets, and

here we mean physical assets. As per PAS 55, “Physical assets

represent only one of the five broad categories of asset types

[2]”. All the asset types should be managed intrinsically to

achieve the total business objectives, however, the focus of

our discussion and as well the scope of PAS 55 is focused

objectively on the physical assets. Figure-1 highlights the

correlation of physical assets to other asset types as defined in

the PAS 55 [2].

Fig. 1. Critical interdependencies between assets [2]

In any utility, Assets might have two extremely opposing

impacts on the business, either drive business (i.e. not

manageable) or serve business (i.e. managed to serve business

goals). Any Asset Owner/Manager would like to have the

latter case; wherein they can manage their assets optimally to

deliver the planned business goals.

Distribution Asset Management in DEWA was established

in 2009 upon an extensive urge for the assignment of an

independent body under the Distribution Power Division to

take-over the responsibility of managing the existing portfolio

of physical assets and regularizes the practices of Operations

& Maintenance to be in-line with internationally adopted best-

practices. The assets of Distribution Network of DEWA are

outlined in table-1 & 2 below:

TABLE 1

Distribution substations & capacities as on 2011

Voltage

level Sub level

No. Of

Substations Capacity

In MVA

132kV*

132kV 2 -

132/33kV 17 3,795

132/11kV 147 22,770

33kV

33kV 3 -

33/11kV 37 1,235

33/6.6kV 95 3,035

11-6.6kV - 25,656 34,228.75

Within a quick look on the above table, one understands

the sum of Assets/Asset systems underlying these figures; of

which requires systematic & well-coordinated practices to

optimally manage them.

TABLE 2

Length of Distribution Cable & OHL network

Voltage level Type Length (km)

11-6.6kV OHL 721

Underground 23,978

33kV OHL 113

Underground 1,985

D

________________________________

* Distribution ownership of assets under the 132/33kV & 132/11kV substations is only for 33kV & 11kV switchgears, respectively.

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Fig. 2. Growth of 11-6.6kV Cable system in DEWA

As seen in Fig. 2 above, the MV cable network (for 11-

6.6kV) have seen a vast growth in between 2005 and 2011.

The rate of expansion seen was approximately 150%.

The results of an optimized life-cycle Asset Management

can be outlined by the below:

Increased customer satisfaction.

Better occupational, health & safety practices.

Increased ROI.

Achieving sustainability.

Improved risk management.

Controlled & systematic processes.

Staff empowerment.

II. ASSET MANAGEMENT & PAS 55

Asset Management in its essence is not simply a

department or section that is established in any utility, but

rather is an organization culture. A culture which is adopted at

all levels of the organization ensuring the buy-in from all

concerned stakeholders for the successful adoption of Asset

Management. Figure 3 highlights the different levels of assets

& their management [2].

Fig. 3. Levels of Assets and their management [2]

At each level we can outline the requirements as below:

“Managing Assets” level (operational level): Optimize

life-cycle activities, such as; acquisition, utilization,

maintenance & disposal of assets.

“Managing Asset Systems” level: In this level our

concern is to ensure the performance is sustained and the

cost/risk are optimized.

“Managing Asset Portfolio” level: CAPEX optimization

and planning for sustainability.

“Corporate/Organization Management” level:

Organizational Strategic Planning level, which is beyond

the boundary of PAS55 framework.

When looking at ageing infrastructure, we take normally

replacement decisions (at expected end of life of equipment-

refer figure 4 below) and while taking that decision we might

fall under two extremes, either:

We replace too early; thus, incurring extra costs on the

non-utilized life of replaced equipment; or

We replace too late; upon encountering too many failures,

again incurring extra costs on repairs, spare parts, or loss

of revenue due to shutdowns, etc.

Fig. 4. Asset expected-life curve

There is a threshold point on the curve (named “P”) upon

which many decisions can be taken; this point is to be defined

by Asset Managers for each of their assets. This potential to

failure point, if properly defined, can extend the life cycle of

equipments and thus improve on asset utilization. It is a

challenge to any Asset Manager, but the outcomes are

rewarding.

To decide on this point it is essential to have an established

and reliable data for the utilization of the assets, namely,

Maintenance records, failures records, condition history, or

other relevant data depending on the business of the

organization.

A correlation of all the above data will be necessary to

analyze any trends, probabilities, or repeated failures and the

scope of works that can anticipate for them in order to get an

approximation of the above point (“P”).

In another perspective, there are many factors to manage

assets of which can be outlined by the followings:

Benefits/goals outreached: short term vs. Long term.

Cost savings: expenditures vs. Performance levels.

Availability: Planned vs. Unplanned.

Financial: Capital costs vs. Operating expenditures.

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Asset Levels: Discrete equipment vs. Complex functional

systems (e.g. utility networks).

All the above factors to be embedded in the framework of

the PAS55, which defines for each level of the organization

hierarchy the requirement of that level (refer Figure 3 above).

Accordingly, a proper SWOT analysis is recommended to be

able to decide on the factors upon which Asset Managers will

manage their assets. As many of the decisions will dictate how

well the business would perform (Strengths & Weaknesses),

and what challenges (Threats) it will encounter as well what

opportunities will open up for exploring.

Asset Management drivers comes from the criticality of the

assets/asset systems to its business core purpose. These drivers

might be one or a combination of the follows:

Sustainability: From three perspectives; i.e. economy

(expansions, seeking alternatives, etc.), society (consumer

satisfaction, awareness, etc.) or environment (reducing

pollution, seeking environmental friendly solutions, etc.).

Reliability & Safety (consistent with performance & risk).

Accountability (or “do what you say”).

Privatization: From the perspectives of achieving

appropriate service levels within a cost saving boundaries.

Regulation.

Asset Management can be sub-divided into two main

disciplines:

A. Asset oriented: concerned with age, condition and

performance of the physical assets. Here we apply the

Life-Cycle concepts.

B. Service oriented: concerned with the stability of the

services, its cost benefit and expenditures involved (seen

from the two perspectives of CAPEX and OPEX).

The first discipline concentrates on the network items and

their maintenance policies or condition monitoring practices.

This is covered by following the manufacturer’s

recommendations, the experience gained from operating them

and a sound engineering judgement [3]. Eventually,

maintenance cycles are produced for all equipments, and

periodicity of equipment condition assessments are agreed to

have an optimum life-cycle planning.

Nowadays, attention and importance is given to the

discipline of Services, primarily to address questions of

quality, such as customer interruptions, restoration times and

power quality (avoidance of voltage sags, harmonics, etc.).

Furthermore, the running costs of the network have also come

under the spotlight [3].

III. ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STRUCTURE

From the top of the hierarchy, emphasized by the

Organization Strategy down to the individual assets and their

day-to-day activities, PAS 55 gives clear alignment between

the Organizations’ vision/aspirations and the assets/asset

systems’ capabilities as depicted in figure-5 below [2].

Fig. 5. Planning & implementation elements of asset management system [2]

At the core business of Asset Management, PAS 55

outlines what to do, but not how to do it. It is more like a

check-sheet! The key elements for the preparation of the Asset

Management Policy, Strategy, Objectives, and Plans are

outlined as below:

For Asset Management Policy:

Stipulates principles & mandated requirements for control

of asset management.

Derived from & consistent with Organizational Strategic

Plan (OSP).

Consistent with other Organizational Policies & Risk

Management framework.

Complies with stakeholder requirements.

Committed to continual improvement.

Provides framework for:

Development & implementation of Asset

Management Strategy.

Setting Asset Management Objectives.

Documented, implemented, maintained & communicated

to all stakeholders.

Reviewed periodically.

From the content perspective, Asset Management Policy

might be produced in two parts:

Internal:

Detailed,

Contains confidential parts.

External (for stakeholders):

Summarized,

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Contains non-confidential parts.

As per Figure-5 above, life cycle activities contains a term

called functional policies, which unlike the normal policy,

contains specific processes/activities and provides direction

and control. Likewise, there can be functional strategy &

functional objectives.

For Asset Management Strategy:

Long term optimized approach, with time horizon

equivalent to OSP.

Derived from & consistent with:

Asset Management Policy.

OSP.

Considers life-cycle management requirements of assets.

Accountable for:

Asset related risks,

Asset systems criticalities.

Identify current & future function, performance &

condition of critical assets.

Communicated & reviewed.

For Asset Management Objectives:

Specific & measurable outcome from:

Asset systems to implement Asset Management

Policy & Strategy.

Asset Management Systems.

Derived from & consistent with AM Strategy.

Detailed & measurable level of performance of the assets.

Considers legal, regulatory & statutory requirements.

Accountable for:

Stakeholder & financial expectations,

Operational & business requirements,

Risks.

Improves on Asset Management practices, tools &

technologies.

Communicated & reviewed.

For Asset Management Plans:

A document(s) which specifies:

Activities & Responsibilities,

Resources & Timescales; required to implement

Asset Management Strategy & deliver Asset

Management Objectives.

Applied on each phase of Asset life cycle planning, i.e.:

Acquisition (construction, procurement,

modification, designing or commissioning).

Utilization.

Maintenance (inspection, Condition Monitoring,

testing, repairing, refurbishment and life extension).

Disposal.

Documented & maintained.

Asset Management enablers is yet another key terminology

utilized in PAS 55, of which can be any one of the below:

Supportive systems,

Procedures,

Processes,

Activities,

Resources.

Asset Management enablers and controls ensures the

viability of Asset Management Policy & Strategy and their

consistency with the Organizational Strategic Plan. Further it

ensures that the Asset risks are identified, assessed &

controlled. Like other Asset Management documents, this

should also be communicated & maintained.

An effective, step by step, implementation of the PAS 55 is

depicted in Figure-6 below [2], in which it follows the PDCA

management framework (Plan-Do-Check-Act). This

framework was adopted by DEWA under the Integrated

Management Systems (IMS).

Fig. 6. Structure of PAS 55-1:2008 [2]

IV. CHANGE MANAGEMENT APPROACH

The approach of Change Management in any organization

is a challenging yet rewarding practice, as it will improve on

many aspects related to operational & managerial levels. From

the perspective of PAS 55, change management assesses &

considers the below [2]:

Revising the organization holistically, including:

Structure,

Roles,

Responsibilities.

Revising the Asset Management, including:

Policy,

Strategy,

Objectives,

Plans,

Processes/Procedures.

Introducing:

New Assets & Asset Systems,

New Technology,

New contractors & suppliers.

As mentioned above introducing new technologies are part

of change management, yet, introducing new technologies for

the sake of mentioning that one is using technology is not

sufficient to provide justification for change management.

Careful and planned integration of technology with business

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processes and activities help drive performance improvement

[4], thus, leading to proper change management practices.

Change management cycle is elaborated in the below

figure (figure-7) in which adoption should start from the

senior management as to adopt the Asset Management

practice [5] or to transform their existing practices to be in line

with PAS55.

Fig. 7. Change Management – A major enabler [5]

V. PERFORMANCE & CONDITION MONITORING

Asset Management is concerned primarily with Monitoring

of performance related parameters & condition related

parameters, of which they apply separately for:

a) Performance Monitoring relates to the Asset

Management Systems (i.e. to highlight non-

conformities), while;

b) Condition Monitoring relates to physical Assets (i.e.

to highlight defects, deterioration, failures).

Improvement feedbacks on Condition Monitoring practices

will come from failure/defect investigations (refer Section VII

below), to concentrate on the parameters or the

equipments/part of equipments that are vulnerable to failure.

Accordingly, several diagnostic methodologies are adopted for

this purpose, in order to evaluate the healthiness of assets,

like:

Partial Discharge detection,

Off-line Partial Discharge & tan delta (for Cables),

Ultra-Sonic Discharge detection,

Temperature/Thermal trending,

The above might be incorporated for early detection of

deterioration/defect, and trending the parameters obtained to

analyze the existence of any abnormal patterns that indicates

failure, thus preventing/reducing their chances. Trending

studies and building a consistent criterion for condition

assessment is a vital task for Asset Managers.

Condition Monitoring practices once adopted can improve

on the clearance of most critical defects and can assist in the

avoidance of critical asset failures. Seeking new technologies

in this aspect will help many Asset Managers in the positive

improvement of Asset condition & performance. The figure

below (figure-8) highlights one of the Condition Monitoring

practices done through thermal imaging.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 8. (a) Normal image of 11kV Oil type Distribution Transformer, (b)

Infrared Thermal image of the same

To monitor any parameter we have to have KPIs (Key

Performance Indicators), and these might be:

Leading Performance Indicators (+): Wherein it can give

us early alarm for non-compliance of monitored

parameter.

Lagging Performance Indicators (-): Wherein it indicates

the actual achievement (i.e. number of incidents/failures-

AIR, number of consumers affected, duration to restore

supply-CML, duration of repair work-MTTR, etc.).

Leading Performance Indicators assist us in taking

proactive measures (preventive in nature), and Lagging

Performance Indicators assist us in taking reactive measures

(corrective in nature). It is thus of great importance to measure

these KPIs, and record them to measure actual performance

against plan [6]. This is required for future analysis and to be

able to follow-up all corrective and preventive measures

which eventually serves for the continual improvement

initiatives.

VI. RISK MANAGEMENT

For any organization it is essential to identify the risks and

assess them according to their core business objectives. After

this they should establish a proper risk management

framework in which it will outline the methodology to tackle

them.

At the identification/assessment stage we shall be able to

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identify risks related to:

Physical Assets failures (i.e. functional failures, ageing,

damage, terrorism acts, etc.),

Operational related risks (i.e. level of control, human

actions, performance monitoring, safety, etc.),

Environmental related risks (i.e. wind storm, earthquake,

flood, etc.)

Scarcity of external supplies/services (e.g. spare parts.

Stakeholder requirements (e.g. regulatory).

Life-Cycle related risks (e.g. maintenance vs. replacement

decisions).

At the methodology stage, we shall consider the below in

the formulation of the framework:

To be proportionate with the risks identified.

Be defined (i.e. scope, nature, criticality, timing), and thus

allow for proactive measures rather than reactive ones.

Assessed properly for identifying any changes or

cascading of the risk.

Risks to be classified in such way that we identify which

risks we need to, either; control, eliminate or avoid in the

first place.

Risks handled should be up to the level of our

capabilities.

The methodology should be monitored for its three key

elements: implementation, effectiveness, and timeliness.

An outcome of proper application of Risk Management is a

contingency plan, wherein an organization will identify the

risks and come up with most applicable scenarios of crisis that

they might encounter and put an equivalent contingency plan

to mitigate them, and control the consequences as much as

possible. For that, any organization should have:

An established plan/procedure to be implemented in case

of crisis.

Segregation between Assets related risks from activities

related risks.

Segregation between actions related to mitigation of crisis

to those related to response to crisis.

Competent & trained personnel in contingency planning

& crisis management.

List of stakeholders affected or required for response on

crisis.

Contacts of relevant personnel, services, external

agencies, etc. required for action.

Resources location & availability.

Communication hierarchy.

A recording/reporting team.

VII. INVESTIGATION

Any Asset is vulnerable to failure during the utilization

period of the life cycle or at its expected end-of-life, and thus

comes the importance of having an investigation process or

procedure in place to take proactive actions to mitigate any

failure or incident or non-conformity. Root-Cause Analysis

(RCA) is essential to tackle the above situations, in which it

will highlight all preventive measures that will be taken and

consider the recommendations that are most relevant to

control & improve Asset conditions and the Asset

Management Systems in practice.

In an asset intensive organizations, such as electrical

utilities, RCA is required to provide on-time and credible

remedial & preventive measures that will serve the decision

making / improvements in favor of providing reliable and

uninterrupted supply of electricity through proper asset life

cycle management.

RCA is done based on good judgment of the facts collected

from site of failure, system sequence of events, protection

data, etc. If confidence is high on the RCA results, then most

of the preventive & corrective measures produced from these

studies will be beneficial in reduction of failures or non-

conformities. System performance and KPIs will indicate the

improvements seen in the above as a measure. The figure

below highlights one of the consequences of cable termination

related failures where an extensive damage is seen in the cable

compartment and total shutdown of the whole bus bar was a

cascading-effect, leading to an interruption of 300 consumers.

Fig. 9. Failure of 11kV Cable termination

Investigation findings should be communicated to all

relevant stakeholders with the findings and the preventive &

Corrective actions taken/to-be-taken. Most importantly is the

feedback cycle of the investigation findings towards the

improvement of the Condition Monitoring tasks (refer Section

“V” above). As it will serve to highlight the failure root-cause,

thus assisting the Condition Monitoring groups to focus or

improve on the detection of such causes (or parts of the

equipment).

Based on failure investigations, many opt-to-fail assets

were safeguarded and proactive measures were taken to avoid

the extensive damages that might be incurred if failure took

place. Figure-10 below highlights one case of 11kV cable

termination in which it was Condition Monitored at an earlier

stage and shutdown was taken for only one panel for

rectifying the defect observed. Unless this was done, a

possible failure would have taken place, and the consequences

or cascading effects might be more devastating.

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Fig. 10. Early detected cable termination abnormality

VIII. CONCLUSION

Imagine a case of an Asset which fails at a certain point of

time, at which you as an Asset Owner/Manager/Operator

discover that it was missed from your asset register, or was

never Condition Monitored! This implies that Asset

Management is an essential component of the structure of any

organization. PAS 55 is a check-sheet for the optimum Asset

Management practices, giving organizations guidelines on

balancing Asset Life cycle in view of cost, performance &

risk. Figure-11 below depicts the urging need for having an

optimized life cycle planning for our assets in an equiangular

triangle, in case we will have a sharp edge (acute angle)

towards any one of the ends (whether cost, risk or

performance) then we will be either:

1. Over-spending on maintaining or replacing our assets

(cost pillar), or

2. Over-stressing our assets with overloads, failures, and

risking in OH&S (risk pillar), or

3. Exceeding performance expectations to satisfy

stakeholders blindly (performance pillar).

Fig. 11. Optimization of cost, risk and performance to get a balanced life-

cycle

ISO 55,000 is an upcoming standard, which is being out-

looked now for the optimized Asset Management which is

planned for publication by February 2014. This shall be a

continuation to the PAS55 with a highlight on how to get

things done in view of Asset Management best practices.

I. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions and

efforts of the Asset Management team which assisted in

enlightening the way forward in the preparation of this paper.

Further would like to extend the appreciation to higher

management represented by our leader and role model Mr.

Saeed Al-Tayer (MD&CEO) and Mr. Mohammed Al-Suwaidi

(Vice President of Distribution Maintenance).

The above work wouldn’t have been accomplished without

blessings from Allah the most graceful and the support of our

families and their patience on the delayed working hours and

missing many weekends from being attached to them.

II. REFERENCES

[1] His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, My Vision -

Challenges in the Race for Excellence, Dubai: Motivate Publishing,

2006. [2] PAS 55-1: Asset Management, Part 1: Specification for the optimized

management of physical assets: British Standards Institution, 2008.

[3] R.P Hoskins, A.T. Brint, and G. Strbac, "A structured approach to Asset

Management within the electricity industry," Nov. 1998.

[4] S. Scott, “Asset Management: Measuring Best Practices, Performance,”

Electric Light and Power; Jul/Aug 2009; 87, 4; ProQuest.

[5] Amit Anand, “Enterprise wide Asset Management transformation in the

Middle East,” presented at the 1st Government Asset Management

Conference. Dubai, UAE, 2012.

[6] Martin Osborn, "Practical Application of PAS55 in the water sector and

lessons for other sectors," presented at the 1st Government Asset

Management Conference. Dubai, UAE, 2012.

III. BIOGRAPHIES

Matar Al-Mehairi, a member of IAM, UK. He is

holding a Higher Diploma in Mechanical Eng. from

HCT-Dubai, Bachelor of Engineering Management

from HCT-Dubai, Master in Public Administration

from DSG-Dubai in cooperation with Harvard

Kennedy School, Gov. Leader of Sheikh

Mohammad Bin Rashed Leadership Program and

currently pursuing EMBA from HCT-Dubai.

His employment experience includes Distribution

Operation & Maintenance fields in Electric utility

(Dubai Electricity & Water Authority), joined DEWA in 1999 and presently

working as a Sr. Manager Asset Management Department under Distribution

Power Division with wide range of experience in the Electrical & Mechanical

fields as well as Management & Leadership Skills. His skills include Strategic

Thinking & Analysis, Knowledge Management, etc. He already initiated to

bring all DM Department activities in compliance with PAS55, then entire

Distribution Power Division. (Email: matar.almehairi@dewa.gov.ae).

Sharif Al-Batayneh, a member of the Institute of

Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is

holding a B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering

from the American University of Sharjah (Fall 2003).

His employment experience included Distribution

Operation & Maintenance fields in Electric utility

(Dubai Electricity & Water Authority) as he joined first

in 2004 as an Engineer in Distribution Operation

Planning, then moved to Distribution Operation Studies

in 2006 as a Senior Engineer. Since 2009 he was

appointed as an Assistant Manager in Asset Management Department under

Distribution Power Division and looking mainly after the failures of the

Distribution Network Assets. (Email: sharif.albatayneh@dewa.gov.ae).