A holistic approach to asset management in the Netherlands

The objective of the national agency for road and water infrastructure in the Netherlands is to deliver best service to the public at lowest life cycle cost, given public acceptable risk. This requires a sound and well-structured system of management and maintenance. Such a system consists of elements such as reliable asset data, long-term performance based maintenance programmes, clear steering objectives and transparent procurement strategies. Asset management will make it possible to show what network performance can be achieved, at which costs and with which associated risks. A model defining an asset owner role, an asset manager role and a service provider role was chosen as a governing principle for the design of the asset management process. The design of the process described in the paper sets the boundary conditions to carry out projects with the minimum amount of hindrance for the user while involving the market in the best possible way.