Clients
often come to Collins needing a method of managing
a vast inventory of structural data: inspection ratings,
photos and images, inventory data and various other
categories of information. With databases developed
for several agencies, including Port of Cork and Waterways
Ireland, our in-house database development capabilities
put our clients in a position of being able to better
manage their inventory resulting in the capacity to
prioritise repairs and maintenance operations, and
leading, ultimately, to more accurate forecasting
and budgeting of resources and time.
The
Structure Asset Management System (SAMS) is a simplified
electronic database system designed specifically for
managing the inventory of structures. SAMS’
purpose is to simplify and standardise initial gathering
of inventory data and for maintaining records of inspections
of structures. It is intended to keep basic information
about the configuration and condition of individual
structures at the manager’s fingertips. It also
provides a simple but powerful algorithm for prioritising
maintenance and repair operations based on the condition
of the structure and its role in the overall system.
SAMS
can be modified and customised later to meet special
requirements of the user or to coordinate the data
with other asset management systems. The system can
also be adapted to incorporate other assets in addition
to structures.
SAMS
is a Windows-based data management system that stores
data and photographs, allows sorting by user specified
characteristics, and can print one-page summaries
of each structure. Bound copies of these summaries
can provide a ready reference to an agency's structures.
