A Mississauga-based engineering and consulting company searched the world for software to help municipalities prioritize their capital renewal projects and optimize their budgets. With Canada’s infrastructure deteriorating and the majority of buildings, roads, and bridges in need of repair, Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (ISI) envisioned this type of software as imperative to assist municipalities in getting infrastructure deficits under control. After searching commercial offerings from international experts based in Australia, South Africa, England, and the United States, the company’s conclusion was that such software did not exist – until they found it at the University of Waterloo.
“We were given an application demonstration by Waterloo Professor Tarek Hegazi and were thoroughly impressed,” says Neil Roberts, president of ISI. “We strongly believe in the accuracy of his software, EasyAsset, and we’re confident that it has a wide market, huge commercial value, and will help local governments make better decisions and improve cost savings.”
Optimizing asset management is essential, and difficult, because municipalities have a large number of assets and issues to repair. In 2020, the backlog of infrastructure repairs will cost $400 billion to bring Canada’s assets to an acceptable level of condition, service performance, and safety. A huge challenge for teams working to restore these assets is prioritizing repairs and replacements to have the maximum benefit within a limited budget.
EasyAsset can analyze every possible spending option and create a five-year customizable plan that will accomplish 10 to 30 per cent more repairs with allocated budgets, therefore saving taxpayer’s money and providing justification for asset management decisions.
“There is an urgent need for capital renewal budgets to be allocated as wisely as possible,” says Hegazi, a Waterloo civil and environmental engineering professor. “EasyAsset will achieve the highest level of asset improvement possible within an allocated budget, which is not something any current software can do.”
ISI discovered EasyAsset through the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo). Hegazi worked with WatCo to patent the software, secure prototype development, and position EasyAsset for commercialization. Through WatCo, ISI has secured exclusive rights to EasyAsset and the company’s technical team is working closely with Hegazi to convert the working prototype to a commercial version. “We are marketing EasyAsset to our municipality customer base and the early feedback has been very positive,” says Roberts. “We believe ISI is in a great position to take this product to market and help municipalities across Canada, and the world, make more informed capital renewal spending decisions while saving millions of dollars.”
