Aids to maintenance: Guidelines for monitoring system condition
Funds for maintenance are invariably limited, forcing managers to weigh the relative importance of different tasks. To make these decisions managers require comprehensive information on system condition and the impact of that condition on system performance. The guidelines provide standardised methods for carrying out asset condition assessment and assigning priorities to different works. The approach is supported by the software package, MARLIN.
Background
It is widely accepted that, in common with other sectors managing large and dispersed infrastructure, the irrigation sector has traditionally under-invested in maintenance, adopting instead a cycle of build-neglect-rehabilitate. To improve upon this situation requires both strategic changes in the management and funding of agencies and operational change, influencing the methods and technologies used in the field to plan and implement maintenance. This output supports operational change through the provision of a procedure to enhance the planning and prioritisation of maintenance works.

The Guidelines
The first part of the report presents an overview of maintenance procedures in the irrigation sector including case studies on the management of maintenance funding in Sri Lanka and Mexico. The report also reviews the 'types' of asset failure seen in irrigation systems and their consequent impact on function. The impact of physical, environmental and institutional characteristics on rates of asset deterioration and consequent budgetary need is also reviewed. The section concludes with a discussion of the practicality of linking maintenance to 'standards of service' as perceived by irrigators.

The second part of the report describes the MARLIN procedure which provides:

  • A planning tool for periodic maintenance tasks based on objective criteria.
  • Standardised condition assessment procedures linking condition to hydraulic function and structural stability.
  • Guidance on task priorities.
  
  • A dynamic inventory of assets, their condition and maintenance history.

The output also contains a detailed analysis of the performance and maintenance constraints from 1985 to 1997 seen on the Muruthawela Irrigation System in Sri Lanka, where these maintenance planning procedures were developed.

Field application of the procedure is made easier through use of the MARLIN software, developed during this project, but the procedures and proformas provided in this report and the companion document 'A Procedure for Panning Irrigation Scheme Rehabilitation', (OD/TN 84) can also be adopted without use of the software.

Contributors
HR Wallingford Ltd, UK; Irrigation Department, Sri Lanka

Intended users
The guidelines for assessing asset condition and maintenance priorities in this and the companion report OD/TN 84 are aimed at irrigation managers and others responsible for maintenance planning. The wider discussion of maintenance procedures, asset deterioration and the analysis of performance and maintenance will be of value to trainers, researchers and policy makers.

Cornish, G. 1998. Improved irrigation system planning and management: Aids to maintenance, incorporating guidelines for monitoring system condition. HR Wallingford, UK. Report no. OD/TN 94.

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