Asset Management Training Workshops
City of Lexington
North Carolina

In 2022, SDG Engineering conducted two Asset Management Training Workshops for sixteen staff members of the Lexington Water Resources Department.

The Director of the Lexington Department of Water Resources (DWR), Tom Johnson, retained SDG Engineering to develop two tailor made Asset Management Training Workshops (Workshops) for sixteen employees in the DWR. The Workshops focused on the change in culture that is necessary within a utility department to embrace and implement Asset Management principles.

The main assets of the DWR are:

  • Two water treatment plants (total of 9.3 million gallons per day)
  • Three elevated water storage tanks (total of two million gallons)
  • Two wastewater treatment plants (6.5 MGD and 0.3 MGD)
  • One biosolids management facility
  • Thirty-eight wastewater pump stations
  • Approximately 200 miles of drinking water distribution lines
  • Approximately 225 miles of wastewater collection and conveyance lines

Building the Team

SDG Engineering was the Prime Consultant for the Workshops. We assembled a blue ribbon team of five professionals with Asset Management experience to develop these two workshops. Three trainers are certified Professional Water Asset Managers (PWAM) with the Buried Asset Management Institute – International BAMI-I. Combined, the Team has 80 years of Asset Management experience.

For more information on PWAM click here

KURT D. WRIGHT, P.E., BCEE, PWAM
Project Role: Principal

SDG Engineering, Inc.
President

DAVID BURTON, PWAM
Project Role: Client Manager

Waggoner Engineering

TOM ISELEY, Ph.D., P.E., Dist. M. ASCE, PWAM
Project Role: Director – Asset Management Training

Professor of Practice, Purdue University
Chairman, Buried Asset Management Institute- International

JEFF WING, P.E., LEED AP
Project Role: Infrastructure Engineering SME

Dewberry
Water Practice Leader of the Carolinas

RISHI IMMANNI, P.E., GISP, PACP
Project Role: Asset Management SME
Infrastructure, Bus Sol’s & CMMS

Dewberry

Name

Total Years Experience

Asset Management Experience

Percentage of Experience is in AM

Kurt Wright

43

11

26%

Tom Iseley

50

20

40%

David Burton

16

15

94%

Jeff Wing

36

14

39%

Rishi Immani

22

20

91%

Total

167

80

48%

Methodology

The Asset Management Training scope of services for this specific training experience consisted of a field environment followed by a classroom environment.

First Workshop: The first Workshop was conducted in the field. The field experience with the DWR employees enabled the SDG Team to understand the many challenges the employees face in day-to-day operations. A coincidental event occurred during this field experience, which proved very beneficial. On the day of the field experience, the COL had a significant water leak on a sixteen-inch Ductile Iron Pipe water line at a railroad crossing on a four-lane city road. This gave the SDG Team valuable real-time experience with the DWR staff, which was incorporated into the second Workshop.

Second Workshop: The second Workshop was conducted in a classroom environment starting at 10:00 a.m., including lunch, and concluded at 3:00 p.m. The facility was the main conference room in the public works building. This afforded the sixteen participants a comfortable environment to receive the four-hour training and instruction provided by the Team. Included were interactive sessions and question & answer segments. 

Comments Regarding the Asset Management Training Workshops :

The City of Lexington recognized a need to provide staff training on Asset Management. SDG Engineering stepped up and provided an excellent day of training.  The material was well presented by Kurt and his team of experts that made it relatable and interesting!

                                                                                                                                ̶ Tom Johnson, Director, Lexington Department of Water Resources