Developing a business process model for bridge management

Waterways in northern Ireland is responsible for managing and maintaining Ireland's navigable inland waterways, as established under the British-Irish Agreement in December 1999. As part of this role, Waterways Ireland manages and maintains bridges and an array of other structures on its seven major waterways in order to fulfil its mission of providing a high-quality recreational environment on the waterways in its care, for the benefit of all. Currently, there are 580 structures over the 1000 km of waterways and their associated branches. Of these, 360 are owned, managed and maintained by Waterways Ireland. Recently, Waterways Ireland initiated a programme to develop a business process model for bridge management. This paper describes the business process model, which comprises a set of logical diagrams, textual descriptions and data elements. These components provide both an overview and an in-depth guide to the procedures involved in managing Waterways Ireland's bridge stock, in a format understood by managers and personnel within Waterways Ireland. The following components of the business process model are discussed here: (a) the set of hierarchical procedures and activities associated with managing bridge structures; (b) textual descriptions of each activity contained within the process procedures; (c) workflow diagrams illustrating interrelated procedures and activities; (d) the range of inputs and outputs associated with each activity, together with a description of the personnel responsible for the undertaking of those activities; (e) key performance indicators, which afford quantifiable measurements that reflect the operational efficiency of the various procedures within the business process model.