Whole life cost modelling in infrastructure asset management

In infrastructure asset management, the whole life cost (WLC) models are normally adopted to achieve two broad strategic objectives: to ensure sufficient funding is available to maintain the portfolio of assets; and to ensure a minimum WLC is achieved while maintaining safety. WLC models can be used to identify the optimal maintenance schedule for an asset, calculate the WLC for different intervention options for a type of asset and forecast work volumes, output and expenditure for a portfolio of assets. This paper will present an overview of the WLC models, identify the benefits of applying WLC models in infrastructure asset management and challenges in developing WLC models, and finally propose a solution in implementing WLC models in infrastructure asset management.