Glossary

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Acronyms . A . B . C . D . E . F . G . H . I . J . K . L . M . N . O . P . Q . R . S . T . U . V . W . X . Y . Z . All

Absorption Trench - An Absorption Trench is a trench that is excavated into the ground and is installed along the natural contour of the ground and contains an arch or slotted pipe, aggregate, geo-textile, and is back filled with topsoil. Absorption trenches treat wastewater from toilets, laundries, bathrooms and kitchens. The length of trench depends on the soils absorptive capacity and the local climatic conditions.

Access Chamber - An access chamber (or manhole) is a structure designed to allow access to an underground service, such as a stormwater pipe or a sewer.

Access Facility - An access facility is a physical means of entry or exit for vehicles between adjoining land and a road reserve.

Access Lane - An access lane is a rear or side lane providing access to parking on lots with street frontage and/or short connections between access places or access streets principally to facilitate movement of service and emergency vehicles.

Access Place - An Access Place is a cul-de-sac or minor street providing local residential access with shared traffic, pedestrian and recreation use, but with pedestrian priority.

Access Road - An Access Road is a road that provides access to abutting properties with amenity, safety and aesthetic aspects having priority over the vehicle movement function. These roads are bicycle and pedestrian friendly. They are managed by local government.

Access Street - An access street is a street providing local residential access with shared traffic, pedestrian and recreation use with local traffic priority.

Access Way - An access way is a private road or local street serving very low traffic volumes, whose design need not be dominated by traffic considerations.

Accrual Accounting - Accrual Accounting is an accounting method that recognises revenues as they are earned and expenses as they are incurred.

Accumulated Depreciation - Accumulated Depreciation is the total amount of depreciation charged to an asset from when it was first recognised to a given point in time.

Acoustic Logging - Acoustic Logging is a method of determining the location of a leak in a water main, by placing listening devices at known distances along the main.

Active Asset - "Active Asset" is a term that is sometimes used by some valuers (and others) to describe above-ground networks assets (e.g. reservoir, pump station).

Active Open Space - The term Active Open Space is used to describe land on which formal outdoor sports and other organised physical activities are played or undertaken, such as sporting competitions, recreation centres, exercise grounds and those facilities that are typically hired for use such as tennis courts or swimming pools.

Active Park - An Active Park is a park containing one or more sporting fields or that actively encourages physical activity.

Administration Building - An administration building is an office building from which a business or organisation is administered. The main offices of many local councils are known as administration buildings.

Advanced Asset Management - Advanced Asset Management is Asset Management which employs predictive modelling, risk management and optimised decision making techniques to establish asset lifecycle treatment options and related long term cashflow predictions.

Advocacy - Advocacy is a political process by an individual, organisation or a group which aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions.

Aerial Photography - Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position.

Aerobic Wastewater Treatment System - An Aerobic Wastewater Treatment System is an aerobic biological wastewater treatment system, usually producing secondary treatment.

Aerodrome - An aerodrome is a defined area on land or water (including any buildings, installations, and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.

Aerodrome Beacon - An Aerodrome Beacon is an aeronautical beacon used to indicate the location of an aerodrome from the air.

Aggregate - Aggregate is a material composed of discrete mineral particles of specified size or size distribution, produced from sand, gravel, rock or metallurgical slag, using one or more of the following processes: selective extraction, screening, blasting or crushing. Aggregate is used in the construction of sprayed seals and in concrete mixtures.

Air Valve - An air valve is a valve used on pipes to release air trapped within the pipes as a result of filling or emptying it. Air valves are situated on high points of the pipeline.

Airport - An airport is a location where aircraft such as Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land.

Airport Apron - An airport apron is part of an airport. It is usually the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway. However, the apron is not usually open to the general public and a license may be required to gain access.

Airport Terminal - An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft.

Allotment - An allotment is an area of land shown on an approved Plan of Subdivision, and on which it is planned to construct a dwelling or dwellings.

Allotment Drainage - Allotment Drainage is a system of field gullies, manhole chambers and underground pipes constructed within private property to convey flows through and from allotments.

Altitude Valve - An altitude valve is a type of valve typically found in a storage tank of a water distribution system. It closes to prevent the storage tank from overflowing when a pre-set level is reached, but will remain open while the level is below the set point.

Ancillary Area - The Victorian Road Management Act 2004 defines an ancillary area as an area designated as ancillary area by the coordinating road authority under section 18 of the Act.

Animal Enclosure - An Animal Enclosure is a cage, pen or other structure used to house and or contain animals.

Animal Pound - An Animal Pound is a facility for the tempory housing of stray pets and/or livestock.

Annual Average Daily Traffic - Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided by 365 days. AADT is a useful and simple measurement of how busy the road is.

Annual Budget - An annual budget is a budget that is prepared for a 12-month period. An annual budget outlines both the income and expenditures that are expected to be received and paid over the coming year.

Annual Depreciation - Annual Depreciation (also Annual Depreciation Charge & Annual Depreciation Expense) is the amount of depreciation charged against an asset or a group of assets over the course of a financial year.

Annual Depreciation Charge - [[include annual-depreciation]]

Annual Exceedance Probability - Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) refers to the probability of a flood event occurring in any year. The probability is expressed as a percentage. For example, a large flood which may be calculated to have a 1% chance to occur in any one year, is described as 1%AEP.

Annual Report - An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Local Government annual reports are intended to give ratepayers and other interested parties information about the Council's activities and financial performance.

Annual Service Cost - The Annual Service Cost is an estimate of the cost that would be tendered, per annum, if tenders were called for the supply of a service to a performance specification for a fixed term. The Annual Service Cost includes operation, maintenance, depreciation, finance, opportunity and disposal costs, less revenue.

Aquatic Centre - An Aquatic Centre (also Swimming Pool Complex) is a facility designed for people to swim and/or participate in other water based activities. Aquatic Centres may contain a range of components including; indoor and outdoor pools, kiosks, barbecues, water slides and playgrounds.

Aquifer - An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted. Some Councils rely on aquifers for part of their water supply.

Aquifer Recharge System - An Aquifer Recharge System is a system for pumping or otherwise transferring stormwater or treated wastewater from a surface storage into an aquifer.

Area Lighting - Area Lighting is lighting infrastructure used to illuminate a facility. It may be considered to be an asset or asset component by some Councils, made up of:

  • Electrical Cables
  • Poles
  • Light Fittings
  • Circuit Breakers/Fuses
  • Lamp Starting Equipment
  • Conduit
  • Lamp

Art Gallery - An art gallery is a building or space for the exhibition of artworks, usually visual art.

Arterial Road - An Arterial Road is a road that predominantly carries through traffic from one region to another, forming principal avenues of travel for traffic movements.

Artificial Sandstone - Artificial sandstone is sandstone created by mixing sand and a chemical or biological agent. A number of methods for creating artificial sandstone have been suggested, but to date none of them are being widely used.

Asbestos - Asbestos is a fibrous form of mineral silicates belonging to the serpentine and amphibole groups of rock-forming minerals, including actinolite, amosite (brown asbestos), anthophyllite, chrysotile (white asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos), tremolite, or any mixture containing one or more of the mineral silicates belonging to the serpentine and amphibole groups.

Asbestos Cement - Asbestos Cement (AC) is am material constructed from sand aggregate and cement reinforced with asbestos fibres.

Asbestos Management Plan - An Asbestos Management Plan is a document created to help persons with control of premises to comply with the asbestos prohibition and prevent exposure to airborne asbestos fibres while ACM remain in the workplace.

Asbestos Register - An Asbestos Register is a register of asbestos-containing materials.

Asphalt - Asphalt is a composite material consisting of bituminous binder and mineral aggregate mixed together then laid down in layers and compacted.

Asphalt Overlay - An Asphalt Overlay is a course of asphalt applied to and existing road surface or other pavement.

Asphalt Regulation - Asphalt Regulation is a term used to describe the application of a levelling course of asphalt to depressed or rutted area of pavement.

Asphalt Rejuvenation - Asphalt Rejuvenation is the application of a chemical rejuvenation agent to an oxidized asphalt wearing surface in order to extend the surface's remaining useful life by increasing the quality and quantity of asphalt binder.

Asset - An asset is an object (physical or intangible) that has an identifiable value and a useful life greater than 12 months, that is or could be used by the entity responsible for it to provide a service.

Asset Accounting - Asset accounting is the accounting of the asset accounts such as: cash, accounts receivable, inventory, buildings, land, equipment and intangible assets.

Asset Capitalisation - Asset Capitalisation is the process of identifying expenditure that has contributed to the creation of an asset, and recording that value against that asset in an asset register.

Asset Category - An Asset Category (also Asset Group) is a group of asset types with similar attributes.

Asset Class - An asset class is a grouping of assets of a similar nature and use.

Asset Classification Scheme - An Asset Classification Scheme is the way assets are classified within a database.

Asset Component Checklist - An asset component checklist is a list of component types that could be part of a typical asset of a particular asset type.

Asset Condition - Asset condition is a measure of the health of an asset.

Asset Condition Assessment - An Asset Condition Assessment is the process of continuous or periodic inspection, assessment, measurement and interpretation of the resultant data to indicate the condition of a specific asset so as to determine the need for some preventative or remedial action. It is a crucial part of asset management to determine remaining useful life and an assets capability to meet performance requirements.

Asset Condition Assessment Guide - An Asset Condition Assessment Guide is a document that helps a person conducting an Asset Condition Inspection to assign a consistent condition score to the asset being inspected.

Asset Condition Inspection - An Asset Condition Inspection (also Asset Condition Survey) is an inspection carried out on an asset to determine its condition.

Asset Data Collection - Asset data collection, is the process of collecting physical asset data.

Asset Database - An Asset Database is a database containing asset related information.

Asset Disposal Plan - An Asset Disposal Plan is a plan that documents the timing of, and the costs associated with the disposal of assets. It typically forms part of an Asset Management Plan.

Asset Hierarchy - An asset hierarchy is a framework for segmenting an asset base into appropriate classifications. The asset hierarchy can be based on asset function; asset type or a combination of the two.

Asset Identification Label - An Asset Identification Label is an adhesive plastic tag that can be affixed to an asset to help identify it. The tags may or may not be bar coded.

Asset Inventory - An asset inventory is a list of assets containing sufficient information about the assets to physically locate and identify them.

Asset Maintenance Management System - An Asset Maintenance Management System (AMMS) is a system designed to program & record an organisation's maintenance activities. The term Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is often used to describe the same type of software.

Asset Maintenance Strategy - An Asset Maintenance Strategy is a strategy for the implementation and documentation of asset maintenance practices, plans, processes & procedures within an organisation.

Asset Management - Asset Management is the combination of management, financial, economic, engineering and other practices applied to physical assets with the objective of providing the required level of service in the most cost effective manner. It includes the management of the whole life cycle (design, construction, commissioning, operating, maintaining, repairing, modifying, replacing and decommissioning/disposal) of physical and infrastructure assets.

Asset Management Framework - An asset management framework is a set of documents, systems and processes that addresses an organisation's asset management responsibilities.

Asset Management Improvement Plan - An Asset Management Improvement Plan is a strategic plan that provides for monitoring and control of the Asset Management Improvement Activites. It provides the link between the Asset Management Strategy and the annual operations plans and budgets. This plan will ensure that acceptable progress is made on improving asset management processes and procedures and that progress can be verified and quantified.

Asset Management Maturity Model - An Asset Management Maturity Model is a standardised list of asset management related competencies that can be used to compare how well different organisations are implementing asset management.

Asset Management Plan -
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Asset Management Policy -
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Asset Management Strategy - An Asset Management Strategy is a strategy for the implementation and documentation of asset management practices, plans, processes & procedures within an organisation. It is a high level but very important document that guides the overall asset management activities within an organisation.

Asset Management System - Term Asset Management System (AMS) has two main meanings in the local government context.

Asset Numbering System - An Asset Numbering System is a system for assigning unique asset numbers to assets.

Asset Register - An asset register is a database or document containing specific information about the assets owned or controlled by an organisation.

Asset Renewal - [[include renewal]]

Asset Replacement Profile - An asset replacement profile is the projected variation over time of capital expenditure on replacement of assets.

Asset Revaluation Index - An Asset Revaluation Index is a measure of how the cost of engineering construction changes over time. The Queensland Office of Economic and Statistical Research publishes 3 monthly Asset Revaluation Index updates.

Asset Revaluation Reserve - An asset revaluation reserve is a reserve account that records any surplus resulting from an asset revaluation.

Asset Strategic Plan - The Financial Management Standard 1997 requires asset strategic planning to be undertaken by agencies as part of their strategic and operational planning processes. The asset strategic plan links with other strategic plans of the agency including finance, human resources and information systems as enabling strategies for the delivery of the agency's core services.

Asset Sub-Type - Asset Sub-Type is a field within some asset management systems. It is typically more specific than the asset type field, and may reference an asset's; function, material, size & style.

Asset Sustainability Ratio - The Local Government Association of South Australia collects information on the performance of all Councils as part of its Comparative Performance Measurement Project (CPMP). Sources of this information include a number of government agencies, and a voluntary community survey.

Asset Type - An asset type is a generic name assigned to a group of assets with a similar or identical function. It is usually an important field within an asset database / asset management system.

Attack Hydrant - An attack hydrant is a term used to describe a fire hydrant with flow and pressure suitable for fighting a fire at a commercial premises. In most cases it would be an internal hydrant on a commercial premises supplied from a permanent booster pump or a fire fighting appliance.

Audit Committee - An audit committee is an advisory committee established by a Council to:
(i) focus on issues relevant to the integrity of the Council’s financial reporting
(ii) monitor risk management systems, internal control framework, compliance and internal audit activities
(iii) liaise between external auditors, internal auditors and management.

Audit Trail - An audit trail is a cross-referenced record of relevant information accompanying an entity's financial statements, sufficient in detail and clarity to enable an informed opinion to be formed as to the validity of such statements.

Auditor's Report - An auditor's report is a document stating whether or not in an auditor's opinion the financial statement submitted by an organisation is free from material misstatements and is in compliance with prescribed accounting standards and legislation.

Australian Height Datum - The Australian Height Datum (AHD) is a geodetic datum for altitude measurement in Australia.

Automated Car Convoy - An Automated Car Convoy is a string of computer controlled driverless cars slaved to the directions of the professional driver leading the group. The driverless cars maintain the correct speed and distance from the lead car.

Auxiliary Lane - An auxiliary lane is that portion of the carriageway adjoining through traffic lanes, used to separate either faster overtaking traffic or slower moving vehicles from through traffic, or for other purposes supplementary to through traffic movement.

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