Creating Asset Management Systems in Challenging Environments

The country of Oman spans more than 119,000 square miles, much of it covered by hot, dry deserts. In order to provide usable water to all of its citizens, the Public Authority for Electric and Water (PAEW) in Oman must remove the salt found in the water it collects from neighboring oceans. With 35 desalinization plants plus wells, reservoirs and pumping stations spread throughout the country, the PAEW needed help tracking each plant’s assets to operate more efficiently.

The PAEW enlisted the services of Malcolm Pirnie the Water Division of ARCADIS, a utility management consulting firm, to help them implement an asset tracking program. The
first step was to build an asset registry for every item in every plant. Members from Malcolm Pirnie and the PAEW assessed wells, pumping stations and reservoirs along with each of the 35 facilities to perform a physical inventory. From water pumps to wells and even whole buildings, every piece of equipment in the plant required an asset tag. Currently, the total number of all water assets for the PAEW is at 25,000 and counting.

“We are confident the Camcode tags will help the PAEW successfully implement their asset management system.”

Malcolm Pirnie then came to Camcode looking for durable asset tags that would withstand the heat and blowing sand found in Oman’s environment. In addition, the PAEW and Malcolm Pirnie were depending on the asset tags to help track physical conditions and functionality of the equipment being tagged. This would allow them to evaluate equipment for repair or possible capital improvements.

Camcode’s Metalphoto® asset tags were selected because of their durability in outdoor environments, including heat and sand, as well as their resistance to chemicals and corrosives which may be found inside the plants. The tags, which feature a number, barcode and the national emblem of the Sultanate of Oman, have a combination of both adhesive and one hole to create greater flexibility in attachment options throughout all plants.

“We needed the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of tags,” said Scott Lehman, Geographic Information Systems Professional and Consultant for Malcolm Pirnie. “It was necessary to have an asset tag that could withstand the outdoor elements, yet was simple enough to meet basic tracking needs. We achieved both with Camcode’s asset tags.”