Digital Twins for Engineering Asset Management:Synthesis,Analytical Framework,and Future Directions

Effective engineering asset management(EAM)is critical to economic development and improving livability in society,but its complexity often impedes optimal asset functionalities.Digital twins(DTs)could revolutionize the EAM paradigm by bidirectionally linking the physical and digital worlds in real time.There is great industrial and academic interest in DTs for EAM.However,previous review studies have predominately focused on technical aspects using limited life-cycle perspectives,failing to holistically synthesize DTs for EAM from the managerial point of view.Based on a systematic literature review,we introduce an analytical framework for describing DTs for EAM,which encompasses three levels:DT 1.0 for technical EAM,DT 2.0 for technical-human EAM,and DT 3.0 for technical-environmental EAM.Using this framework,we identify what is known,what is unknown,and future directions at each level.DT 1.0 addresses issues of asset quality,progress,and cost management,generating technical value.It lacks multi-objective self-adaptive EAM,however,and suffers from high application cost.It is imperative to enable closed-loop EAM in order to provide various functional services with affordable DT 1.0.DT 2.0 accommodates issues of human-machine symbiosis,safety,and flexibility management,generating managerial value beyond the technical performance improvement of engineering assets.However,DT 2.0 currently lacks the automation and security of human-machine interactions and the managerial value related to humans is not prominent enough.Future research needs to align technical and managerial value with highly automated and secure DT 2.0.DT 3.0 covers issues of participatory governance,organization management,sustainable development,and resilience enhancement,generating macro social value.Yet it suffers from organizational fragmentation and can only address limited social governance issues.Numerous research opportunities exist to coordinate different stakeholders.Similarly,future research opportunities exist to develop DT 3.0 in a more open and complex system.

Blockchain and Digital Transformation of University Asset Management

As educational activities realize value transmission and value realization through a digital form, the Digital transformation of universities continues to advance. The quantity of asset data continues to grow, with internal value reflected in education, management, and services, while external value is reflected in policies, resources and reputation. Therefore, effective management of university assets is particularly important. Blockchain is an important infrastructure for Digital transformation, which provides a trusted environment for the occurrence of various collaborations and will reshape many collaboration mechanisms. This paper discusses the current situation and problems faced by universities in the process of Digital transformation. We analyze the development opportunities brought about by Digital transformation and the specific problems faced by physical asset management in detail. We discuss the data platform optimization, asset data application, digital asset security, planning strategy, and construction path of digital transformation involved in the physical asset management of universities.

Track Bed Total Route Evaluation for Track Renewals&Asset Management“A Network Rail Perspective”

Over the last 10 years there have been significant developments and improvements in the understanding of railway track bed in the UK and its relationship and impact on track quality,ballast life and maintenance following track renewals.This paper aims to describe the process adopted by Network Rail for track bed investigation and design which offers Network Rail optimum design solutions and value for money from an investigation and construction perspective,balancing design with possession availability to maximise construction output.It also describes innovative investigation and construction techniques that have been developed over the last 5 years maximising the use of rail mounted asset condition data collection systems which run at line speed,allowing targeted investigations and in some case removing the requirements for physical site investigation.It also allows Network Rail to predict sections of track bed which may be affected by line speed increases which would cause the track bed to fail prematurely or,retain its ability to maintain good track geometry post line speed increase.These problems can manifest themselves as stiffness related problems such as critical velocity issues(surface wave velocity,Rayleigh Wave velocity)or,sub-grade erosion resulting in high rates of deterioration in the vertical track geometry.The paper also describes the development and installation process for Enhanced Axial Micropiles to address stiffness related track bed problems whilst leaving the track in-situ a technique which is new to the UK railways.

A Blockchain-Based Life-Cycle Environmental Management Framework for Hospitals in the COVID-19 Context

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency, many hospitals were built or renovated around the world to meet the challenges posed by the rising number of infected cases. Environmental management in the hospital life cycle is vital in preventing nosocomial infection and includes many infection control procedures. In certain urgent situations, a hospital must be completed quickly, and work process approval and supervision must therefore be accelerated. Thus, many works cannot be checked in detail. This results in a lack of work liability control and increases the difficulty of ensuring the fulfillment of key infection prevention measures. This study investigates how blockchain technology can transform the work quality inspection workflow to assist in nosocomial infection control under a fast delivery requirement. A blockchain-based life-cycle environmental management framework is proposed to track the fulfillment of crucial infection control measures in the design, construction, and operation stages of hospitals. The proposed framework allows for work quality checking after the work is completed, when some work cannot be checked on time. Illustrative use cases are selected to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed solution. This study provides new insights into applying blockchain technology to address the challenge of environmental management brought by rapid delivery requirements.

Asset specificity and farmers' intergenerational succession willingness of apple management

Understanding the factors behind apple farmers’willingness to pass on the management of their farms to their descendants is crucial to the continuity of apple production.Due to the high specificity of the human capital,physical assets,land assets,and geographical location in apple production,this study used a binary logistic regression and a mediating effect model to explore the impact of asset specificity on farmers’intergenerational succession willingness of apple management(FISWAM)and to examine the mediating effects of loss aversion in the impact of asset specificity on the FISWAM.The results showed that about 18.68%of the respondents expressed willingness to transfer their apple business between generations,and the FISWAM was generally weak.In addition to the negative impact of geographical location specificity(GLS),human capital specificity(HCS),physical assets specificity(PAS),and land assets specificity(LAS)can enhance the FISWAM.Loss aversion plays a partial mediating role in the impact of PAS,LAS,and GLS on the FISWAM.

The Application Mode of Blockchain in University Asset Management

With the development of higher education, the scale of university assets has become more diversified, complex and decentralized. Traditional asset management is inefficient. Information is not transparent and management responsibilities are unclear. This paper analyzes the difficulties in the process of asset management in universities and discusses the advantages of blockchain technology. We research on the application of blockchain technology in the process of asset management in universities and propose a framework design based on blockchain technology to standardize the asset management process. The result improves the efficiency of asset inventory and ensures the credibility of asset information. It helps to prevent asset information tampering, and improves the security of asset data. It also pushes the asset management mode from static to dynamic.

Study on life-cycle risk management of high earth-rock dam project

Based on advanced computer technology, internet of things （lOT） technology, project management con- cept and professional technology and combined with the innovative theories, methods and techniques in earlier hy- dropower projects, the life-cycle risk management system of high earth-rock dam project for Nuozhadu project was developed. The system mainly includes digital dam, three-dimensional design, construction quality monito- ring, safety assessment and warning, etc, to integrally manage and analyze the dam design, constructional quality and safety monitoring information. It realized the dynamic updates of the comprehensive information and the safe- ty quality monitoring in the project life cycle, and provided the basic platform for the scientific management of the construction and operation safety of high earth-rock dam. Application in Nuozhadu earth-rock dam showed that construction safety monitoring and warning greatly helped accelerate the construction progress and improve project quality, and provided a new way for the quality safety control of high earth-rock dam.

Optimal fuzzy switch placement to increase automation level of electric distribution network considering asset management principles

Since distribution sector is inherent into high amount of failures, distribution companies (DISCOs) are responsible of attaining an acceptable value for the reliability indices and otherwise they will face up to complaints. So they are usually obligated by regulators to invest on reliability improvement of network. But this investment on reliability is usually from the DISCO’s viewpoint and is also irrespective of customer satisfaction level. In other words, customers are not at the same level of sensitivity to interruptions but DISCO improves the reliability of network without considering the differences in importance degree of loads and their level of reliability requirement. On the other hand DISCOs attempt to reduce their investment costs as much as possible. This paper introduces a novel approach in the field of joint switch placement that can reduce the switch cost from the perspective of asset management policies. To this end, two switch placement plannings in different types of strategies are performed to compare their results. Firstly as witch placement is performed based on reducing the total energy not supplied (ENS) of the system. Then by revising the strategy, a fuzzy switch placement is performed from the DISCO’s point of view which just considers the total ENS of load points most sensitive to interruptions known as important or critical loads. Furthermore, by meeting the related constraints, the reliability of low sensitive customers is disregarded. This is a load importance based planning which can result in switch cost reduction relative to the amount achieved in previous strategy and implies the management of risks associated with reliability and respective constraint. Fuzzy method and new switching mechanism in fuzzy environment of network are implemented to modeling and controlling the risks associated to ENS of critical loads and also the ENS of system.

Life-cycle cost model and evaluation system for power grid assets based on fuzzy membership degree

Life-cycle cost(LCC)theory can be effectively applied to improve the efficiency and quality of power plant equipment and asset management.However,specific aspects of the LCC calculation and evaluation model require further research for practical application.This paper proposes an LCC assessment model for the management of electric power plant equipment during its service life.A membership function method based on fuzzy logic is used to improve the allocation of modernization and overhaul projects to multiple equipment assets.An LCC assessment model and evaluation system for power equipment are proposed and successfully applied to the equipment and project management of a Guangzhou power plant in the China Southern Power Grid,providing a decision-making mechanism that facilitates efficient operation and optimal utilization of power plant equipment and assets.

Revealing Importance of Management of Assets in Investment Trust Companies by DEA Analysis

In this paper,contribution of sources to the efficiency of Turkish investment trust companies is investigated by eight models which are constructed by different combinations of inputs of DEA analyze structure.Input oriented CRS based data envelopment analysis(DEA)and also Malmquist Productivity Index are applied for the time period of 2009—2016.Inputs of the CRS model are preferred as financial investments,cash and cash equivalents,cost of sales,and total sales while net profit and net sales are outputs of the models.It is reached at the conclusion that only management of investments is providing better results than only focusing on cash or cost management.In addition,effects and contribution of investment management parameter when it is added to the other ones is found more.

Asset Life Cycle Management in Finnish Water Utilities

The aim of this paper is to improve the water industry asset life cycle management framework towards more resilient water services in Finland. This paper is based on a literature study and a web-based semi-structured thematic interview, in which the Finnish water utility managers identified the current status of their utilities’ asset management. The water services professionals are extremely worried that, by and large, water and sewage networks are still deteriorating, although the networks are nowadays rehabilitated more systematically. The survey reveals that although most of the surveyed utilities have adopted several processes and sub-processes of asset management, and a few utilities are even using some asset management guides, as a whole a strategic approach to and a comprehensive framework for optimized management of physical assets are not practiced. Therefore the development and introduction of specific asset management guidelines should be considered. In order to support successful usage of the asset management framework, the basic concepts and principles of engineering asset management should be included in educational and professional development programs, in particular at the university level.

30 years of reform of China's state-owned asset management system

Reform of China’s state-owned asset management system is an important component of China’s economic system reform,but also a key factor in rejuvenating the national economy.In this article,the authors analyzed the background of the reform,summarized the reform process and discussed related question on how to deepen the reform.

GIS Enabled Condition Based Asset Management of Gas Distribution Network: A Case Study of Shahdara, Lahore Pakistan

World energy consumption increased by 56 percent, from 524 quadrillion Btu in 2010 to 820 quadrillion Btu in 2040. The increased demand in energy consumption is fulfilled by different renewable and non-renewable sources such as petroleum, natural gas, electricity, nuclear etc. Natural gas is one of the most important sources of energy. SNGPL has been managing a 94,263 km long gas pipelines network covering approximately the northern part of Pakistan. In this paper we have presented the use of condition based maintenance (CBM) management techniques with a?geographical information system (GIS) for asset management of a gas distribution network of?SNGPL. The continuous monitoring and updating of asset data reveal where the assets are located and which needs maintenance or which lies in critical condition. The system helps to save time and reduce visits to the sites and labour reduction.

Investigain:A Productive Asset Management Web Application

The Investigain is a progressive web application to make mutual funds investments through a Systematic Investment Plan.The application utilizes the web’s modern capabilities,such as Asynchronous JavaScript and XML(AJAX),JavaScript,and Hypertext Marker Language(HTML5).The application also uses a powerful relational database management system,such as MySQL,to display asset management information.The application has two portals,one for investors and one for a particular asset manager or asset management company.Each investor has an account in the investor portal.The investor can view his/her profile,current balance,balance history,dividends,the units of mutual funds bought,unit price,the value of each mutual fund,and can pay installments using an embedded online payment gateway.Asset managers can monitor all investments,manage user accounts,and reimburse dividends using the admin portal.This paper also presents the experimental results of using the Investigain application,compares them with existing systems,and details the application’s prospect to improve its socio-economic conditions.The system’s frontend is designed with Bootstrap and jQuery frameworks.The backend is designed using Hypertext Preprocessor(PHP)server-side scripting language.The system demonstrated increased satisfaction from its clients.

Study of Customer Relationship Asset Management from the People-oriented Perspective

With the advent of the knowledge economy and information age in the 21st century,the relationship between managers,the managed personnel,and customers has undergone tremendous changes.In order to meet the needs of the development of the times,the business management has gradually turned to the study of people,and humanistic management has become one of the important factors influencing the sustainable development of enterprises.This paper came up with people-oriented management approaches and countermeasures for enterprises from corporate culture,customer satisfaction and loyalty,balance sheet management,customer database establishment,and improvement of the rate of return of customer relationship assets.

Local Government Asset Management:Affecting Factors and Policy Implications on Government Work Unit of Central Java Province in Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the influence of Human Resource Competence,Regulation,Information Technology,Reconciliation,and Internal Control System on Asset Management in Local Government Work Unit(abbreviated SKPD)of Central Java Provincial Government.This research is conducted because there is still record in the Final Report of Inspection by the Republic of Indonesia Audit Board(abbreviated BPK)concerning problem of asset management conducted by some SKPDs of Central Java Provincial Government,although in general the Local Government Financial Report of Central Java Province has got opinion“Reasonable Without Exception”.The data source of this research is primary data collected through interview method on asset management officers at the 48 SKPD in Central Java Provincial Government.Data analysis method used in this research is multiple regression analysis.This research finds that the Human Resource Competence,the Regulation,the Information Technology,the Reconciliation,and the Internal Control System have positive and significant effect on the Asset Management at the Local Government Work Unit of Central Java Provincial Government at level of significance 0.05.Ability to explain of the independent variables to the Asset Management variable is equal to 67.7%.

An Investigation Into the Significant Impacts of Automation in Asset Management

This paper explores the implications of applying automation, and a technological force in which computer systems can fulfill human tasks, in the asset management industry. The investigation explores a number of significant topics in which managers should begin contemplating, including workforce origination post automation and the primary skills necessary to facilitate augmentation, and how robot advisors could challenge an organisation’s value proposition. The investigation was centered on Jupiter Asset Management （JAM） to support their preparations for automation, as well as to provide insight from the “grass roots”. Research centered on interviews with experienced individuals within automation and asset management. The first interviewee was Simon Crawford, a Fixed Income, Multi-Asset Performance, and Risk Manager. The second interviewee was Daniel Hulme, CEO of Satalia and Advisor to the UK Home Office. Of crucial importance to the success of this investigation’s data analysis before and after the commencement of interviews, was the use of an analytical pattern matching produce, which examined qualitative information. The findings identify that current entry level occupations with systematic and repetitive tasks in a fixed domain, will be automated. Placing a greater demand for analytical abilities in junior recruits as the cognitive understanding of what data represents is a weakness of Artificial Intelligence （AI） thus strengthening augmentation between employees and technology. Automated investment profilers known as robo advisors will challenge the value proposition of organisations, such as JAM, which in time will need to be onboard with the technology to remain competitive within a growing millennial market. The paper concludes that there is an evidentneed for asset management firms to design training processes that blend enhanced senior level shadowing, with programmes focused on broadening juniors’ abilities to interpret and apply AI’s generated data through a series of newly identified skills.

Integration of Digital Technologies into Underground Utility Asset Management

Installation, detection, maintenance, mapping, and management of underground utility assets present challenges to owners, engineers and contractors. Industry-wide practices include the use of geophysical and similar technologies to determine depth and location, and 2D as-built plans integrated with GIS databases for information management. The feasibility of incorporating 3D BIM models of the subsurface to replace the 2D plans to improve visualization and data management is examined in this paper. Obtaining an accurate image of the underground infrastructure would help minimize excavation accidents due to equipment-utility collisions and prevent property damage. Further, the inclusion of automated data collection and sharing features realized through BIM technology can enhance operations of smart cities. The research methodology consists of a state-of-the-art review of the current underground utility management systems, combined with statistical analysis of survey responses received from utility providers and one-call centers in the U.S. Three categories of utility practices are identified based on the level of digital technology integration. It is found that a vast majority of utility firms have adopted GIS databases with 2D plans, depth and other asset information, while a smaller percentage of providers have achieved full GIS-BIM integration, incorporating a wide range of asset data. Future progress on broader implementation appears to be constrained by the digital literacy of personnel and high costs of technology acquisition and application. A three-step framework for converting 2D plans to 3D BIM models is also presented and discussed. The process model proposed for this purpose allows the utilization of commercially available software with minimal need for additional coding.

Tangible Assets Threats and Hazards： Risk Assessment and Management in the Port Domain

Port systems are more prone to being risk oriented. Many specific methods have been found to assess risk in a port area or operation. A review is presented in different approaches on human and environmental risks in port area. On the other hand, there is no specific risk management method or fi＇amework to cope with threats and hazards regarding on port machines or material accidents and port assets damages or losses. This paper presents a risk management methodology, seeking to investigate a process of assessing the assets hazards and damages into the domain of port container terminal, by taking into account its different factors and their mutual influences. This methodology constitutes a decision support framework that will be used to conduct port to port risk evaluations or to assess a whole port＇s and terminal＇s risk level in the critical field of assets damages and losses, in order to facilitate improvement strategies. An empirical study is contacted for the years of 2003-2012, in order to provide evidence for risk assessment and management in an economic effective way, regarding port assets damages and losses, at the Port Container Terminal of Piraeus in Greece.

Empirical Analysis on Asset Impairment and Earnings Management under the Background of Accounting Standards Variance

Earning management is a pioneering research subject and a world problem rising in international economics and accounting field since 1980s. It is also common in listed companies of our country and has a degree of adverse effect on sound operation of market economy. The exploration on earning management firstly is based on knowing the related research achievements at home and abroad to compare the environment and background of different theories generating. Then the paper starts from the definition to analyze the effect of concrete accounting standards on earning management complemented with the proof of cases. Lastly, the paper analyzes the data of some listed companies from 2008 to 2011 with empirical method, and verifies the effect of implementing asset impairment criteria on earning management of listed companies from the view of industry. Focusing on the comparative study of industries, the paper draws valuableconclusion which is consistent with the real situation, and the paper refines the research of domestic earning management.