One of the main draw-backs of the existing IMS was that a limited number of licenses had been purchased it was not available to all operational staff for day-to-day management. One of the primary objectives of the new system is to provide universal access to the system and promote the practical management tools to the operators and supervisors of the system. In February 2013 the Works and Assets module of the TechnologyOne Pty software was purchased. Between that date and December 2014 extensive effort has been expended to build and configure the software to meet the needs of water, wastewater and stormwater asset management. The project evolved to include the revision and integrate the financial accounting system. 6.1.2 Geographical Information System The ESRI ARCMap GIS system has become a cornerstone for information management within the Council. The existing AMIS has well developed automated interface with the GIS. It has been recognised that the GIS has many tools and features that can be leveraged by the AMIS and this is a prime consideration in the selection of the AMIS upgrade. The GIS is also widely used by other departments and is a primary source for accessing and coordinating information. Service information can be viewed by all staff through the GIS viewer Dekho. 6.1.3 Computer Modelling The Council has very high quality in-house network modelling capability augmented by specialist consultants. Models are used extensively to predict behaviour of the reticulation network and as a planning tool for future designs. Models are verified by on-site observations and measurement and have a high level of reliability. 6.1.4 Financial Forecasting Asset re-valuation is currently undertaken manually based on information from the asset register. Unit rates and prices are updated from contemporary contract prices and where possible are verified with rates from other councils. Where insufficient direct information is available historical construction/purchase costs are inflated through nationally published construction cost indices. Current financial forecasts are considered to be moderate to good. Improvements in asset condition grading and life expectancy determination, further refinement of unit rates and asset component analysis may be expected in the future. Capital cost forecasting is considered to be good/ very good although cost pressures from the Canterbury earthquake resource drain are not yet apparent and are certain to have an impact on future works. 6.1.5 Customer Service Data The introduction of the Water Services Database in 2010 and the accurate logging of customer service requests have added great value to asset management. There is now an accurate mechanism for registering customers’ calls and recording response times. There is a facility to sort and filter service requests in order to monitor performance of assets. The current database however was only introduced as a temporary solution. The permanent solution will be incorporated into one of the existing business systems (AMIS, Property & Rating, Finance) or have high quality interface with them. It is likely the customer service module in either the Property & Rating database or the new AMIS will replace the temporary database. The ability to associate the customer service request with a subsequent maintenance work order is fundamental to improved asset management. Page 61