A FRAMEWORK FOR CONDITION ASSESSMENT AND ASSET MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE MARINE (FERRY) INDUSTRY

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and the North Carolina Ferry Service (NCFS) Division is responsible for extensive infrastructure which includes numerous assets. As with any organization with an extensive list of assets, it is imperative that owners establish a methodology to manage those assets. Although the NCFS has an established QC program and efficiently managed operations, research to further assess, benchmark, develop and formalize methods to manage assets was explored. The transportation industry has several established life-cycle costing methods utilized for the asset budgeting process; however, there are no specific guidelines for planning for asset management for the marine industry. The research provides a framework for the asset inventory process and additionally for conducting condition assessments. A case application for NCFS provides a "snapshot" of current conditions in the form of condition assessments for all 21 vessels, and the application of the condition assessments into an overall framework for their long-term asset management practices. The framework provides a foundational platform for DOT marine transportation divisions to incorporate the DOT reporting needs for the State of Good Repair (SOGR).