How the DSP maps onto organisational processes
The DSP is meant to be adopted by organisations that already have mature asset management practice. This section looks at what that practice currently is, where it falls short, and what the DSP adds without displacing.
Asset and network management decisions
Network Rail
Asset management at Network Rail has moved outward. Devolution means that much of the responsibility, previously held as a centralised, strategic function, has now been assumed by the individual routes and regions.
| Current standard | An assessment in 2022 confirmed these approaches conform with the requirements for certification under ISO 55001 |
| Previous standard | Certified under PAS 55 |
| Strengthening plan | Use of the "9-box model" |
| What that leads to | A Value Framework, aiming to capture the broader values generated by the rail network |
| What it builds on | The earlier "value of service" approach |
The lineage here is worth noticing. "Value of service" was used to identify the criticality of each strategic route section and to prioritise investment decision-making. The Value Framework expands on it by reaching for a broader definition of value, which is the same move the DSP makes.
National Highways
National Highways has an ambition for long-term, strategic asset management, in line with the principles of ISO 55000:2014. Three things are meant to enable it:
- Digitalisation
- Standardisation of asset management approaches
- Asset management systems
The stated aim of all three is to support "intelligence-led decisions".
Certification status
Unlike Network Rail, National Highways was not certified at the time of writing. Certification under ISO 55001 was being investigated as of 2022.
The problem: management by asset class
Despite the maturity above, one pattern holds in both organisations.
Asset management is still conducted separately by asset class
This remains standard practice. Semi-structured interviews conducted on DARe suggest that, in practice, there are only limited examples of multidisciplinary asset management across multiple asset types.
The evidence for this is specific rather than general:
| Finding | Detail |
|---|---|
| Still research, not practice | "Cross-asset optimisation" remains an area of R&D for Network Rail |
| A case of best practice | A research-led study on interdependencies between the management of track and drainage assets for rail |
That single best-practice example is instructive. Track and drainage are managed by different disciplines, yet drainage failure is a direct cause of track problems. The interdependency is obvious once stated, and it still took a dedicated study to examine it.
Why the silos harden
Siloing between asset disciplines is not only an organisational accident. It is exacerbated by a sense of competition for limited funding for maintenance and renewals.
This matters for anyone introducing the DSP. If disciplines experience cross-asset analysis as a threat to their budget share, the barrier is not analytical capability.
What the DSP adds
The holistic, systems-level approach offered by new methodologies such as the DSP improves on the current position in three ways:
- Helping to identify systems interdependencies
- Surfacing potential efficiencies that a single discipline cannot see
- Shifting attention to broader outcomes rather than asset-class performance
What the DSP does not do
It does not replace current organisational practice
The DSP builds on existing asset management approaches, which are already well applied within individual asset disciplines.
What it brings in are additional competencies that may currently sit elsewhere in these organisations:
- Carbon assessment
- Whole-life analysis of infrastructure
Both tend to be housed in separate teams, which is part of why they are hard to bring into an asset decision at the moment it is being made.
The position in brief
The DSP capitalises on existing best practice, while placing emphasis on the connections and interdependencies between currently siloed disciplines, and between different organisations, in order to explore the best possible outcomes at the level of the overall transport system.
Sections awaiting source text
Four sub-sections have no text in the source handbook
The source has headings, with nothing written beneath them, for:
- Outline Business cases
- Strategic Business cases
- Operational decisions
- Adaptation Pathways
Nothing has been written here in their place. Related material that does exist: the DSP's fit with the Outline Business Case process is noted in Purpose, and option sequencing over time, which is the substance of adaptation pathways, is covered in Portfolio optimisation.
Sources
- Network Rail (2023). North-West and Central Region Strategic Business Plan: 2024 to 2029.
- National Highways (2022). Our Approach to Asset Management.