Early in 2018, the City of Edmonton adopted an Infrastructure Asset Management Policy to provide clear direction for how the organization should carry out asset management activities to achieve its vision, goal, and objectives. Infrastructure maintenance at the Parks and Roads Services Branch is accountable for all the actions necessary. In order to comply with the recently adopted policy, the branch developed an asset maintenance framework that would allow the section to not only align its practices to the adopted policy but also enable it to manage resource allocation; define clear accountability for financial results as well as for level of services delivered to citizens; and set the foundation for a management system that will allow performance-based reporting on how the execution of the different types of maintenance activities defined in each asset maintenance plan are supporting the expected asset condition levels targeted by the administration.
Susan Urra was born and raised in Chile where she graduated top of her class as an industrial engineer. After working for four years in one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Chile, she moved to Canada to pursue her MBA, which led to a permanent stay and a new career path in the oil & gas industry. After 13 years in that industry as a subject matter expert in risk management and project controls, Susan moved to the public sector. She is currently supervising the development of asset maintenance planning and business performance with the Parks and Roads Services Branch at the City of Edmonton.