If asked to close your eyes and imagine a factory, what comes to mind? You probably envision large walls, people wearing PPE, and machinery forming production islands. All these elements need to be managed, and effective asset management can enable the sustainability of the entire business.
Industry is an environment where humans, machines, and tools interact to produce various inputs and products. Therefore, industrial asset management is crucial for business success. Strategically managing assets can mitigate risks, control costs, and ensure sustainable production.
Investing in materials and equipment for industrial plants is substantial. Many materials are imported and must remain operational for years to ensure production. Neglecting maintenance routines, coupled with a focus solely on repairs, can lead to financial drain due to inefficient maintenance interventions.
But what is asset management, and how can methodologies be applied to ensure business sustainability?
What is an Asset? An asset is something that has real or potential value for an organization. The value of each asset can vary between organizations and can be tangible or intangible. Machines, scaffolding, computers, robotic arms—everything within the organization’s environment that generates value can be considered an asset.
Due to their number, a company may choose to manage its assets in groups, according to specific needs. Groups can be formed by types, systems, or portfolios of assets. The management will focus on the value these assets can provide to the organization.
What is Asset Management? Some companies still view asset management merely as maintenance routines or acquisition and disposal. However, asset management should go beyond and encompass various coordinated activities—financial, operational, maintenance—that consider costs, opportunities, and risks to produce more value for the organization.
Therefore, it’s much more than inspection routines and interventions. When done correctly, asset management can ensure:
- Improved financial performance
- More assertive investment decisions
- Better risk management
- Increased productive efficiency
- Enhanced organizational sustainability
This is the premise of the ISO 55000 family, a series of standards launched since 2014, which is considered a milestone in asset management history by defining a global standard focusing on consistent and sustainable management planned and executed over time.
Fundamentals of Asset Management According to ISO 55000 In general terms, ISO 55000 presents the concepts of the discipline and is complemented by two other standards: ISO 55001, which specifies requirements for implementing and maintaining an asset management system, and ISO 55002, which provides guidelines for applying these systems.
ISO 55000 establishes some fundamentals for asset management:
- Value: Assets exist to generate value for the organization.
- Alignment: Asset management translates organizational objectives into technical and financial decisions, plans, and activities.
- Leadership: Leadership and workplace culture are determinants of obtaining value.
- Assurance: Asset management ensures that assets will fulfill their required purposes.
Thus, good management should balance asset performance and risks, aligning with the company’s strategic objectives to guide smarter decisions and achieve tangible gains, ensuring business sustainability.
Business sustainability involves various technological, human, administrative, and financial variables that can generate a competitive advantage when managed skillfully. In terms of profitability, for example, asset management can make a difference. Knowing which assets to buy, when to buy them, and how to ensure their useful life prioritizing those that generate more value for the organization are crucial pieces of information for providing clarity and security in decision-making.
The Challenges of Balancing Implementation and Gains Delving into the ISO 55000 family study leads to an implementation planning that connects the entire organization, moving away from simple and isolated actions to become a broader and denser project.
It can be tempting to prioritize intervention activities that will provide a quicker financial return. Generally, and pragmatically, it is important to show that asset management brings quick benefits to capture the organization’s attention to the broad list of improvements needed.
On the other hand, it is possible to incorporate systematic continuous improvement, going beyond “quick wins” and building a management system that unleashes the full potential of assets. Ideal asset management thus produces “quick wins” but also focuses on mature process implementation.
For the full success of an asset management plan, it is advisable that top management, employees, and stakeholders are familiar with the concepts and standards of asset management to guide the planning implementation, control activities (e.g., policies, processes, or monitoring actions), and monitoring activities to exploit opportunities and reduce risks to manageable levels.
AssetIn: The Timenow Way of Asset Management With over 26 years of experience in managing industrial projects, Timenow understands the challenges of good asset management. These include:
- Maximizing asset value
- Reducing financial losses
- Optimizing Return on Investment (ROI) through reliability
- Reducing maintenance and operation costs
- Improving reputation and reducing environmental and social impacts
- Optimizing inventory
- Developing a maintenance strategy focused on the business
- Optimizing OEE
- Managing short-term effects
With this in mind, we developed an asset management model for industries aiming for high performance. The comprehensive study of the ISO 5500x family guided the development of AssetIn—a product that aligns with the purpose, methodology, and management of asset management implementation. Our main goal is to maximize asset value, achieved by focusing on risk, cost, and performance management.
How AssetIn Works Through a diagnosis, it is possible to measure the client’s current maturity level in processes and prioritize gap-closing activities that will provide attractive returns—the “low-hanging fruits” that will lead the organization to understand the importance of implementing continuous improvements.
With the diagnosis in hand, a methodology can be developed that defines recommendations and technologies, prioritizes opportunities, and applies agile methodologies to solutions, ultimately leading to the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP).
Next, during the implementation phase, the tactical implementation plan is defined based on process evolution, and governance processes and professional development are created.
Investing in the development of a good asset management plan is the best way to optimize costs, improve performance, and manage business risks.
The path to excellence involves structuring 17 macro processes so that the client can capitalize on gains in different phases and allow the project to mature naturally.