Ross Shares 2023 Global Buried Asset Management Conference Highlights

On 28-30 September, Ross Waugh attended the Global Buried Asset Management Conference in Chicago, USA. He was one of the BAMI-I presenters.

The  BAMI-I (Buried Assets Management Institute-International) hosted the event, a first in their 20 years of operation. The Conference attracted high-quality speakers; we are assured more conferences will come.

To Ross’s surprise, he found himself cutting the ribbon to open the Conference because he had travelled the farthest distance to attend the buried asset management congress.

Ross presented “Consultation with Communities on Service Levels: Reflections on 21 Years of Experience in New Zealand” on Day 1,

In this presentation, he outlined the evolution of practice in NZ. Ross reflected that in New Zealand, we have moved from “no taxation without representation to no taxation without consultation” in local authority rates.

Ross finished his presentation with three short case studies of different consultation practices in New Zealand, which are:

1. The award-winning Timaru District Council wastewater system upgrade.
   
2. The Hastings District Council – Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Heretaunga water network consultation following the Havelock North Water Incident led to significant system reconfiguration and upgrades (ongoing now).
   
3. Wellington City Council challenges with their water and wastewater system faults and renewals.

Ross shared some conference highlights.

“A highlight of the Conference for me was catching up with long-standing colleagues and meeting several new colleagues with similar interests in buried systems infrastructure asset management.

The calibre of conference speakers was very high, with Heather Himmelberger‘s presentation on keeping Asset Management focused and simple and George Hawkins’s (ex-CEO DC Water) presentation on ‘Revolutionising Utility Asset Management’ also being particular highlights.

All the presentations were challenging and thought-provoking. It was a great conference.”

BAMI-I (Buried Assets Management Institute-International) also has a high-quality journal they published, which is well worth looking at if you are interested.

Waugh Infrastructure Management Limited looks forward to continuing interaction and association with @BAMI-I and their excellent work.

If you have any questions on the case studies above, reach out to Ross and be sure to follow our Waugh Infrastructure Management Limited LinkedIn page to keep updated on the great work of our team.

PHOTO CREDIT: BAMI-I (Buried Assets Management Institute-International). Used with permission.