Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld earlier this year approved the 2025 Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) for the Maryland Department of Transportation
In keeping with statewide modernization efforts and our larger commitment to data-driven decision making, this past January, Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld approved the 2025 Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) for the Maryland Department of Transportation. Just what exactly is a SAMP and why is it important, you may ask. Well, a strategic asset management plan, or SAMP, as it is more commonly known, is a document that describes the goals, objectives, and overall strategy for establishing a successful asset management program in an organization.
For an agency as large and nuanced as MDOT, the Plan is the blueprint that supports an Asset Management Policy and communicates the program’s purpose, vision and desired outcomes. What’s different about this one? The MDOT SAMP is unique within our industry as it addresses one of the most diverse asset portfolios in the nation and supports the alignment of six agencies responsible for administrating all forms of transportation in the state.
A Roadmap for the Future
The new SAMP establishes a dynamic roadmap for advancing the tools, systems and processes necessary for achieving MDOT’s asset management goals. It incorporates a refreshed organizational vision that both updates the strategy laid out in the original 2019 SAMP and builds on our past successes; thereby providing an informed continuity that will help us address critical industry challenges such as climate resiliency and the need for proactive lifecycle management. The 2025 SAMP will guide several upcoming initiatives, including developing a Tactical Asset Management Plan and improved asset data governance frameworks. These resources will ultimately enhance the modal administrations’ ability to forecast system preservation needs and assess their investment in state-of-good-repair projects.
Coordination Remains Key
One of the key purposes of the SAMP is to improve coordination with the Secretary’s Office to deliver improved decision-making, data transparency and performance reporting at the MDOT level. Thus, in order to achieve this significant milestone, representatives from each of MDOT’s modal administrations, with support from our consulting partner, WSP, devoted their time and considerable experience. The development of the SAMP started a year ago, and it was sponsored and overseen by MDOT’s Asset Management Senior Steering Committee and facilitated by the Department’s Office of Capital Programming and Asset Management. Other key MDOT staff contributed actively with their hands-on knowledge through the Technology, Human Capital and Procurement & Finance Strategic Working Groups.
The 2025 MDOT Strategic Asset Management Plan is a crucial milestone in our ongoing commitment to deliver safe, reliable and sustainable transportation to Maryland residents and businesses and ensure that we maximize the value and impact of our investments.
Ellery Loomis is an Asset Management Program Manager at the Maryland Department of Transportation. Eduardo Plasencia, is a contractor supporting the Department’s Asset Management Program
