Identifying different determinants of asset life

Abstract

Engineering asset management (EAM) involves the life cycle management of engineered physical assets. Within EAM, accurate asset life prediction is an essential scientific research problem. Asset life is defined and evaluated based on four aspects: physical, social and environmental, economic, and technological. Each aspect is represented by a set of determinants. A number of models have been developed to predict the life of an asset; however, most of these models are focused on one aspect. A model jointly considering different aspects of asset life is still highly desired because asset life is a complex function of multiple aspects and determinants. The identification of these determinants is an essential task in asset life prediction. However, a comprehensive literature review has not revealed these sets of determinants and their relationships. The synergies or relationships among these determinants are complex. In order to identify these relationships, existing models are reviewed and analysed to extract the determinants as a foundation for further research. In this paper, these determinants are extracted and identified by surveying and analysing existing models in each aspect of asset life. Furthermore, to model interactions and interrelationships among the determinants, the system dynamics approach is proposed to establish a preliminary influence diagram, which is the first attempt to model the relationships of determinants of each aspect.