THE ULTIMATE
ASSET MANAGEMENT REFERENCE BOOK
A
Richard Edwards reviews the re you one of these people who is
fed up with those folk from down
International Infrastructure under showing us how to play the
sports we invented? Well, I’m
Management Manual afraid they have done it again, but
this time in the field of Asset
Management. The good news is
that we can learn a lot from the
Asset Management work undertaken in Australia
and New Zealand over the last 10 years as much of
it has been captured in the International
Infrastructure Management Manual (IIMM).
The IAM has recently published the UK
edition of the IIMM and has supplemented the
original content with additional material to give the
manual a UK perspective. This review provides an
overview of the content of the UK edition and also
discusses how useable the manual is as a tool to
help a typical Asset Manager to implement new
techniques.
OVERVIEW OF CONTENTS
▲ SECTION 1 Introduction and benefits of Asset
Management
▲ SECTION 2 How to develop robust Asset
Management plans and guidance on the key
principles and processes.
▲ SECTION 3 Asset Management techniques:
▲ Assessing demand and service levels;
▲ Condition Assessment;
▲ Risk Assessment;
▲ Failure Mode Analysis;
▲ Maintenance optimisation.
▲ SECTION 4 Evaluation and implementation of
Asset Management Systems to support the
implementation of Asset Management plans.
▲ SECTION 5 Reference section on context and
approach to Asset Management in different
countries and industry sectors.
The manual starts with a useful glossary of
terms and acronyms that are used throughout the
manual. As Asset Management brings together
engineering, production, IT and finance
organisations, clarity of definitions is extremely
important. This list of definitions could therefore be
used as the basis for definitions in Asset
Management standards and procedures being
developed within an organisation. One note of
caution would be that the definitions are largely
based on Australian and New Zealand practice,
and may therefore require some adjustment to
reflect UK practice and terminology used within a
specific organisation.
SECTION 1 is fairly brief but provides a
useful overview of the benefits of a total Asset
Management approach and discusses the
importance of developing Asset Management
plans that are linked to strategic business drivers.
SECTION 2 covers the principles and
processes for successfully developing and
implementing Asset Management plans. There is
an increasing requirement on organisations in the
UK to develop Asset Management plans,
particularly in the public sector, and this section of
the manual contains guidance on the approach
and structure to developing such plans.
The section starts with guidance on how to
ensure that the right parts of an organisation are
engaged in the Asset Management planning
process, including the identification of champions
and Asset Management coordinators, to ensure
the decisions made by the Asset Management
teams will be both supported and sustainable in
the longer term.
For people who are responsible for
developing Asset Management plans and do not
know where to start, there is a step by step guide
to structuring a plan followed by several pages of
practical advice about content that provides a
good checklist for items that should be considered
in each section of the plan.
These plans can cover a considerable
number of improvement initiatives and it is
therefore important that there is a consistent
framework for assessing and prioritising these
initiatives. The section on Planning for Asset
Management Improvement provides guidance on
how to identify corporate priorities and to
understand the gaps between an organisation’s
current capability and that required to achieve the
objectives. This framework can then be used
during the implementation phase to ensure the
Asset Management planning process continues to
address the corporate priorities and can also be
used to consistently measure the benefits
delivered from Asset Management initiatives.
SECTION 2 is packed with case studies,
which are useful to place the principles being
discussed into context and to see how different
organisations interpret Asset Management
requirements.
SECTION 3 provides guidance on
techniques from across the Asset Management
lifecycle. Techniques for establishing service
levels that reflect the business drivers of a
particular business are described, along with
techniques for reporting on performance
measures against these service levels. Typical
performance measures are listed from a number
of different industry sectors, including the
discussion of problems that can emerge from
specifying inappropriate performance measures.
There is also a useful discussion on the differences
in perception of performance from a range of
stakeholders ranging from the service provider to
the wider public community.
SECTION 3 then concentrates on
describing a number of good practice asset
management techniques including condition
assessment, failure mode analysis, risk
assessment and management, optimised
decision making, maintenance analysis and
management, demand management and lifecycle
costing. The description of these techniques is
again supplemented with examples and case
studies from various industries to allow the reader
to compare the approaches used by these
different organisations.
SECTION 4 describes how Asset
Information Systems can support the
implementation of Asset Management plans. This
section covers the different modules of a typical
Asset Information System, the evaluation of
different software solutions and the argument for
and against developing systems in house.
Guidance is provided on the development of an
asset hierarchy, asset identification, data capture
and data management. Although this guidance is
based on good practice, again supported with
case study material, it does not cover some of the
more recent developments with respect to Asset
Information Systems in complex Asset
Management environments, namely the
development of industry-wide asset naming
conventions, (e.g. STEP in the UK oil and gas
industry) and object orientated databases that
allow the functionality of Asset Information
Systems to evolve as business requirements
evolve, without the need for expensive software
development.
SECTION 5 provides a useful overview of
the legislative framework, regulatory requirements
and approach to Asset Management for key
industry sectors in Australia, New Zealand and the
UK. The financial reporting and accountancy
requirements, which have a major impact on Asset
Management, are also summarised in this section.
PART 3 OF SECTION 5, which covers UK
industry, makes fascinating reading in describing
the different drivers and approaches to Asset
Management in 14 different industry sectors. The
Institute of Civil Engineers ‘State of the Nation’
results from September 2002 (see page 5.47)
show the relative state of the infrastructure
across different industry sectors in the UK –
interesting reading!
“THE MOST
COMPREHENSIVE
COLLECTION OF ASSET
MANAGEMENT GOOD
PRACTICE AND CASE
STUDIES AVAILABLE”
PLUS POINTS
▲ Comprehensive manual of Asset Management
good practice
▲ Over 70 case studies
▲ Practical & straightforward guidance to all key
asset management techniques
▲ Comparison of different industry sectors in UK,
Australia & New Zealand
MINUS POINTS
▲ Can be a little inaccessible for the occasional
reader
▲ Case studies are primarily Australian and New
Zealand organisations and may not have
relevance for some readers
▲ Asset Information section excludes latest
developments in Asset Management Systems
Overall, the UK edition of the International
Infrastructure Management Manual is a ‘must’ for
anyone with an interest in Asset Management.
There is a huge volume of good practice material
to help the Asset Management practitioner to put
the case for Asset Management in their
organisations and the style is straightforward
and practical.
There are over 70 case studies throughout
the manual which give practical examples of the
principles and techniques discussed. One
drawback may be that, as these case studies are
primarily based on organisations in Australia and
New Zealand, they may lack relevance for certain
UK based readers.
One criticism of the manual is that the
material can be a little inaccessible if the reader is
not familiar with the structure of the manual.
Although the manual is well indexed, it can be
frustrating looking for some specific guidance on a
subject if it is not specifically referenced in a
section header. Maybe a guide to the use of the
manual would be a useful additional to the
introductory section in the next edition.
In summary, the plus points far outweigh the
minus points and I would encourage all IAM
members not only to obtain a copy, but to also
contribute material for the next edition to ensure
the case study material can be more
representative of UK experience. ▲
Richard Edwards is a Director of Asset
Management Consulting Limited and a
Council Member of the IAM.
The UK edition of the International
Infrastructure Management Manual is
available from the IAM for £150 plus VAT,
or just £100 for IAM members. Contact
iam@iam-uk.org for more details.