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Infrastructure Planning
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Capital Optimization
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Value & Risk Analysis
In recent findings sponsored and
published by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the
American Water Works Association, and the Association of
Metropolitan Water Agencies, the challenges and risks
faced by drinking water and wastewater utilities in North America
are described as follows:
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Aging infrastructure in need of repair,
rehabilitation, and replacement attention through
intensive asset management; |
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Regulatory challenges in the context of water
quality standards; |
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Ensuring adequate long-term water supply in the face
of changing climate situations and drought
conditions; |
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Protecting public health by ensuring the security of
water supplies; |
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Capital constraints caused by public funding cuts,
new regulatory requirements, infrastructure asset
maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement
needs, and increasing water supply costs; compounded
by |
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Rising material and energy costs that are
significantly affecting ongoing operational expenses
and capital projects; and |
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Workforce planning including pending retirements,
recruitment challenges, and retaining skilled and
qualified staff. |
Drinking Water and Wastewater sector executives in North America
are well aware of these challenges and risks. The
findings only magnify these challenges and serve notice
that the risks will worsen if not addressed and
mitigated.
Less well known are the tools, processes, and best
practices available to executives in the drinking water
and wastewater sectors to
quantify the risk, mitigate their impact, and measure
the operational and financial effectiveness of proposed
solutions.
Since 1989, UMS Group has provided tools, process, and
best practices to the utility industry, specifically to
drinking water and wastewater utilities. Our solutions are
successful in the European and Australian drinking water and
wastewater sectors – where the same challenges and risks
rose to public policy consciousness in the 1990’s.
Today, executives in North America are turning to UMS
Group for the end-to-end expertise to address the
challenges and risks in their drinking water and wastewater
utilities.
Our
Clients understand that assessment, mitigation and
resolution must start today when planning for long-term
business sustainability. They recognize that mitigation
efforts and solutions are only effective when supported
by a strategic planning process and operational best
practices.
In
fact, UMS Group’s expertise, in Risk Assessment, Asset
Management, Performance Benchmarking, and Regulatory
Support, represents a lifecycle of end-to-end solutions:
from planning to best practices designed specifically
for the challenges faced by the drinking water and
wastewater sectors.
Typical of our end-to-end solutions are
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Innovative business and regulatory strategies |
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UMS
Group will evaluate you current business practices and
recommend asset management and performance management
practices and strategies meeting current and
anticipating future regulatory environments. |
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UMS
Group will evaluate your customer expectations of
service provided to them from your utility and help you
implement key indicators for measuring your program. |
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Drinking
Water and Wastewater utility best practices |
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With almost 20 years of experience and extensive staff
knowledge, UMS Group will provide best practices
solutions that get results in implementing Asset
Management and Performance Management programs. |
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Investment optimization tools and processes |
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With today’s limited budgets and the need to maintain
and extend an aging infrastructure, UMS Group provides
tools specifically designed to capturing the values of
your utility and compare them to the risks faced by your
utility to select capital projects and conduct
maintenance. |
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Diagnostic methodologies and benchmarking data spanning
five continents |
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UMS
Group has a data library that compares your
methodologies and work practices to other North American
drinking water and wastewater utilities to help your utility in
the development of an Asset and Performance Management
program. |
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Value and Risk Management Methodology |
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UMS
Group views Value and Risk Management as intrinsic to
effective Asset Management, e.g. maximizing the
lifecycle and return of utility-owned and managed
physical assets in the delivery of drinking water and
wastewater services. |
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Successful Value and Risk Management spans the lifecycle
of risk assessment, investment planning, project
delivery, followed by work management – the entire
lifecycle being guided by agreed-upon service
objectives. |
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UMS
Group will provide best practices recommendations,
diagnostics methodologies, tools and processes along the
continuum of the Value and Risk Management lifecycle. |
At
UMS Group Inc. we are dedicated to bring the latest
Asset and Performance Management techniques and
solutions to the Water and Wastewater industry.
Please contact
Tony Saker at UMS
Group Inc. to learn how you too can bring UMS Group’s
proven success methods and solutions to your utility.
* "Findings
and Recommendations for a Water Utility Sector
Management Strategy: A Final Report Submitted by the
Effective Utility Management Steering Committee to the
Collaborating Organizations", published by: American
Public Works Association, American Water Works
Association, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies,
National Association of Clean Water Agencies, National
Association of Water Companies, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Water Environment Federation; March
30, 2007
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