How do you know asset management is improving?

We get asked to help people with their formal Asset Management Improvement Programs. These are projects which cost the organisation a lot of money and effort by their people. What are some of the measures by which they can assess if they are getting tangible results from their hard work?

1.   Decision making – people at all levels are enabled by effective reporting they can understand to make the best decisions with the data they have about the plant, expenditure, choice of work, etc.

2.   Decision making – people are consistent with their decisions so that the call made by one person matches how another person would decide the same issue. For example, would one-person condemn a machine while another would keep it in service?

3.   People competency – people are competent with the systems they use to manage their work.

4.   People competency – people have the requisite experience to understand what they see in the equipment as they inspect it.

5.   Information and reporting – people are confident that there are few to no lurking surprises in the asset portfolio.

6.   Inspections – people are enabled to transition from subjective visual checks to well specified assessments such as measurements, SCADA output or certified condition monitoring.

7.   Inspections – people are not glossing over poor condition but meticulously identify, report and track issues in an efficient manner which will lead to planned rectification.

8.    Data – the system has been set up to ensure people will succeed in their tasks with right master data, such as all plant registered, right work instructions, catalogue data etc

9.   Data – the organisation has determined and documented what data is needed, covering both master data and transaction data. This covers requirements for mechanical, electrical, I&C etc.

10. Standards – standards are fit for purpose and people use them in their day to day work. They are not a tick in the box for the asset management framework.

11. Alignment – decision making is aligned across teams where for example, the finance team and their demands for budget submissions are aligned with the timeline for operational planning and production target setting.

12. Risk management – risk is calculated as quantitative metrics rather than an estimate by experienced people so that for example, capital planning is defensible.

13. Risk management - senior managers respect the risk profile and push for its accuracy to be improved in a sustained manner with improving accuracy year on year.

14. Learning – the organisation promotes learning such that people with 20-30 years’ experience continue to learn even where a concept does not align with their current beliefs.

15. Knowledge – the organisation has a structured approach to corporate learning so as not to forget the solutions of the past to solve the problems of today.

16. Knowledge – knowledge is shared across the company and is not siloed.

About the Author:

Dr. Bob Platfoot has over 20 years’ experience advancing asset management from maintenance and reliability to ISO 55000 and advanced analytics. At Covaris, he focuses on organisational improvement, tackling inefficiencies, enhancing asset intelligence, and driving practical, sustainable solutions.