The guide is designed to support a variety of different uses; it offers an explanation of essential concepts, step-by-step guidance, examples, and different levels of maturity in applying the guidance. These applications are discussed below.
Basic Overview of Asset Value and Related Concepts
Each chapter provides an overview of key concepts that help develop an understanding of the subject matter. Chapter 2 introduces concepts related to calculating asset value. Chapter 3 discusses key considerations involved in calculating asset value. In Chapters 4 to 8 the first section of each chapter further details concepts important for applying the guidance in the chapter. For additional information on TAM concepts, the reader should refer to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) TAM Guide (5) and National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 898: A Guide to Developing Financial Plans and Performance Measures for Transportation Asset Management (6).
Step-by Step Guidance
Chapters 3 to 8 provide step-by-step guidance for calculating asset value. Each chapter describes the options an agency has in determining how to calculate asset value at each key decision-point. These chapters include flowcharts to assist the decision-making process, such as determining how to calculate the initial value of an asset and how to calculate depreciation.
Practice Examples
There are numerous practice examples in each chapter of the Guide. Chapter 3 offers examples from other agencies illustrating the typical scope selections and their impacts on the valuation. Chapters 4 to 8 include examples of how different agencies have addressed issues discussed in the guidance. Chapter 9 details a set of worked example walking through the asset value calculation from beginning to end.
Practice Assessment
Chapters 4 to 8 each include a section titled “Practice Assessment.” This section provides examples of “emerging”, “strengthening”, and “advanced” practices with respect to different aspects of the asset value calculation. All of the practices described illustrate how the guidance can be applied, albeit with varying levels of complexity. In this context, an emerging practice is one that supports the guidance with minimal complexity, an advanced practice illustrates a “state of the art” example in which an agency has addressed some aspect of the asset value calculation in a comprehensive manner, and strengthening practice lies between these two extremes.
Note that the labels applied to the practice examples is designed to be consistent with the maturity scale used in the AASHTO TAM Guide. This resource describes additional tools and approaches for assessing TAM maturity.