PhD Dissertation Final Oral Defense (April 2024)

Title of dissertation: AN OPTIMIZED ASSET MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR CRITICAL PUBLIC UTILITIES IN UAE

Name of Candidate: Alya Omran Alquraidi Alshamsi | PhD in Engineering - Engineering Systems Management
Name of Supervisor: Dr. Mahmoud Awad

Abstract

Asset management (AM) plays a significant role in ensuring systems’ availability and sustainability of utilities. It is essential due to the ever-demanding pressure to provide high quality services at minimum cost in a sustainable manner. An efficient AM is the linchpin that safeguards a resilient service to the community through system availability maximization and service disruption avoidance. This requires an integrated holistic AM framework to ensure complete value realization of assets. Despite the importance of public utilities, there is a wide variety of practices of how providers manage their assets. The lack of integrated and comprehensive asset management approach may lead to inefficiencies in cost and availability of the assets. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the current status of the AM governance of critical fixed assets in critical public utilities in the UAE and develop a tailored framework to satisfy its specific needs. A comparative analysis was conducted to analyse the benefits and challenges of AM standard deployment and its impact on AM performance. Based on subject matter experts’ interviews followed by a survey, it was observed that the available standards lack some important elements of utilities AM such as resilience, digital transformation, and circular economy. Structural equation modelling was done to identify the relationship between the asset management life cycle stages and the performance in public utilities. The results showed that all stages have a positive impact on the AM performance and highlighted the importance of proper planning on all subsequent stages. Consequently, a maturity model was be developed to assess the utilities performance and provide decision makers with a set of recommendation actions to enhance their maturity level. The maturity model was validated using a case study for a utility organization in the emirate of Sharjah. The proposed utility framework along with the maturity model aid decision makers with a tool to assess and enhance current performance which as an important impact on public wellbeing.

For more information, please contact [email protected].