Publication Number: FHWA-RD-03-020
Date: August 2003

Moving from Theory to Practice at the Fifth National Conferences on Asset Management

Moving from theory to practice is the focus of the upcoming Fifth National Conferences on Asset Management, which will detail how State and local governments have adopted Asset Management programs. An east coast conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 29-30, 2003, with a west coast version scheduled for October 21-22, 2003, in Seattle, Washington.

"Transportation Asset Management is a strategic approach to maximizing the benefits from resources used to operate, expand, and preserve the transportation infrastructure," says Roemer Alfelor of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The conferences will feature case studies by State and local government agencies and six interactive workshops. The first workshop session will highlight tools that can assist in the adoption and practice of Transportation Asset Management (TAM). A panel of representatives from private sector organizations will discuss their experiences in using Asset Management in Session 2. For Session 3, practitioners and researchers will report on their experiences in integrating different data systems. Session 4 will cover the use of TAM as a tool to communicate with decision-makers, stakeholders, and employees, while Session 5 will address local government experiences in implementing Asset Management. The sixth session will provide guidance on how to take the first steps in starting an Asset Management program, including looking at the tools and techniques that have worked for other organizations. Each workshop session will be offered twice in both Atlanta and Seattle.

A closing session will address the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's (GASB) Statement 34, including what various agencies have done to implement GASB 34 and what they have learned.

Conference sponsors include the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, American Public Works Association, Midwest Regional University Transportation Center, Transportation Research Board (TRB), FHWA, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Department of Transportation, Midwest Transportation Consortium, and the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority.

The deadlines for early registration at reduced rates are September 2 for the Atlanta conference and September 23 for the Seattle conference.

For more information or to register for the conference, visit gulliver.trb.org/conferences/Asset. Information is also available from Tom Palmerlee of TRB, 202-334-2907 (email: tpalmerlee@nas.edu) or Fred Scharf of TRB, 202-334-2966 (email: fscharf@nas.edu).

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