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Asset Management Plan (Part 1 of 4): 13 Key Elements of a Successful Implementation

A sound Asset Management Plan (AMP) that is based on the ISO 55000 series of standards for Asset Management, is one of the key fundamentals of an effective asset management system. A well-implemented AMP can help organisations achieve value from physical assets by clearly planning for optimising cost, risk and performance across the asset life cycle.  In the next few weeks, our four-part series of Asset Management Plan will give you comprehensive learning on how to maximise your AMP’s value and satisfaction of the stakeholders’ expectations.  
The first part of this AMP series will discuss what are the key elements that organisations should focus on to ensure an Asset Management Plan success.  A successful implementation of an asset management plan requires many factors working in collaboration in terms of the Strategy, the Activities and the Support needed to achieve the intended asset management plan outcomes. The list of 13 elements will apply to organisations in ALL industries in the infrastructure sector dealing with construction of basic facilities such as transport, water, renewables (e.g., solar), social infrastructure, and telecommunications.  Ready to explore all these elements? Let’s look at them in a bit more detail.  

Quick Links

AMP Framework

Strategy

Activities – Input

The Asset Management Plan

Activities – Output

Support

    • Asset Platform
    • ICT
    • HSEQ
    • Training
    • Finance

Framework of a Successful Implemented Asset Management Plan

Guide an Asset Management Plan in the Strategy Facet

Assuming you understand your stakeholders (Stakeholder Needs Analysis) and context (SWOT Analysis and/or Risk Assessment) you are maintaining your assets in, the first two key contributing elements to an Asset Management Plan is the Policy and the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP).  

Organisations that are mature in their Asset Management Culture will already have these in place so take the time to understand the intention of these two documents before moving towards writing your asset Management Plan. If these two documents are not in place, organisations at the very least should perform a Stakeholder Needs Analysis and SWOT/Risk Assessment. 

Element 1: Policy and Objectives – What is your purpose  

The Policy and Objectives outline how your company values, supports, resources and ensures the required asset management activities take place. It should be signed and/or endorsed by the most senior person that is responsible to ensure the required asset management takes place. In line with ISO55001 it should be in harmony with any other related organisational policies (Health & Safety, Environment or Risk) plus outline or refer to the asset management objectives your company wishes to achieve. 

Element 2: Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) – What do you want to achieve 

The image above is a screenshot of a Strategic Asset Management Plan Template.  The Strategic Asset Management Plan is more of an organisational strategy document than a working / operational day to day plan to determine annual maintenance activities. It should outline your organisational tactics or in simpler terms how you will be organised to support the Asset Management Plan(s) you will put together plus meet the Asset Management Objectives via a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). ISO5500:2014 states that a SAMP is, “Documented information that specifies how organisational objectives are to be converted into asset management objectives, the approach for developing asset management plans, and the role of the asset management system in supporting achievement of the asset management objectives”  
Tip: Summarise your SAMP KPIs in your AMP to show continuity/linkage of the SAMP as per requirements of ISO55001.

Supporting Activities Required to Develop and Implement an Asset Management Plan 

Element 3: Asset Register (into Asset Platform)   

The Asset Register is a critical record in order to develop an AMP. Without records of assets, there is little opportunity to measure whether what you are seeking to achieve has occurred. Ideally the Asset Register should be loaded into an actively used Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) or Computerised Maintenance Management (CMMS) Platform. These platforms enable visibility of activities that have occurred relating to assets and the cost and condition.  
Tip: Underpin your asset Register with the development of an Asset Information Strategy. This document should outline how and what data will be collected and managed across the asset lifecycle. Asset Information (data) also has a lifecycle, so think about how this data will be managed effectively. 

Element 4: Asset Condition Assessment

Knowing and recording your asset condition is critical to applying the right maintenance in comparison to the goal you wish to achieve from your assets at the specific stage of the asset’s life.  An Asset Condition assessment will help you plan how much resource (financial, people and organisational) you may wish to invest in in context to other organisational demands such as depreciation schedules and renewal/replacement programmes. There may not be much value in investing in assets via maintenance if they are already flagged for renewal/replacement.
Tip: Try to record asset condition on an annual basis, comparing previous year results so that you can optimise your maintenance plan(s) accordingly.

Element 5: Asset Criticality Assessment (FMEA /RBD, RCM)  

Asset Criticality Assessment is a systematic process that identifies the criticality of assets based on the consequence and likelihood of failure of an asset to perform its function. By understanding the criticality of your assets in your organisation based on risk versus cost, you can then effectively prioritise and make the right asset management decisions that focus on the most critical asset.  

To make the assessment efficient, you can import your asset hierarchy data into the asset criticality assessment software (such as ReliaSoft Software Tools) and configure the software for the criticality assessment process. 

Tip: The Asset Criticality assessment will help you in investing just the right amount resources in your assets.

The Asset Management Plan – How are you going to achieve it

Now you have your input elements established, it’s time to write your Asset Management Plan. 
The image above is a screenshot of an Asset Management Plan Template.  The Asset Management Plan is a combination of your tactical plan and operational activities that you will perform in relation to your assets, whilst relying on key support elements. Generally, it will not repeat your SAMP content but will point back to how it will achieve any of the SAMP requirements such as organisational objectives or specific asset management activities such as asset condition assessment. 
Tip: The Asset Management Plan should summarise the intent of the total asset Lifecycle (long term), then break this down to medium (Annual) and short term (monthly/weekly) activities or goals that wish to be achieved.

Element 6: Asset Lifecycle Plan (Medium to long term)  

The Asset Lifecycle Plan should draw data from your asset register, asset condition assessment and asset criticality assessment that by now should be recorded in your asset register and stored in your EAM/CMMS. 

You may wish to develop a customer Lifecycle tool within your EAM/CMMS or use an external tool such as ReliaSoft. These lifecycle modelling tools help you optimise your future plan (1-5, 5-10, 11-20 years) for the life of the assets and what can be expected to maintain, renew or replace them. 

Tip: Plan to keep this data current by updating this on at least a 3-monthly basis, and track the changes that have occurred on at least an annual basis.

Element 7: Annual Works Plan (Short Term Planning)  

The Annual Works Plan is your schedule mainly of preventative maintenance (PM). Your PM may follow the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or statutory requirements. However, with FMEA and ReliaSoft it may provide benefits to modify of your PM schedules and the tasks to be completed with these schedules. You may wish to include elements of your replacement program and also projected Corrective Maintenance spend, especially if your stakeholders require a Total Expenditure (TOTEX) summary. 

Element 8: Work Orders (Weekly and day to day planning)    

If fortunate to have a planner/scheduler working with you to manage the Work Orders being assigned to the resources this will allow you to focus more oversight in measuring the tactical outcomes of your Asset Management Plan (did it work / how well did you plan to meet its intended goal).  Good planning/scheduling enables granular cost savings and risk management in that the resources you require are being used as efficiently and effectively as possible. 
Tip: Work with your contractor management and procurement teams to source and manage the best resources for the job. Give them as much data from your assets and works required. Try to build a databased of regular maintenance task for your asset groups so they can help source better value for you. 

Support Needed to Achieve an Asset Management Plan Success 

Element 9: Asset Platform (mobility, API, reporting platform) 

Where possible and effective use of a mobility solution for the assigning and completion of your work orders. Ideally having all persons using the same mobile work order application removes the duplication of effort to source data from completed works and manually entering them against the asset on completion of the work orders. 

Element 10: ICT  

The best allies the asset manager can have is a great ICT support. They can help you with your data whether in an EAM/CMMS, mobility work order app, lifecycle tool or reporting suite. Further as the move to digital twins occur then ICT needs to be leveraged to enable ongoing asset management gains. 

Element 11: HSEQ  

Working well with your HSEQ teams ensures that people and the environment your work are cared for, plus any legal obligations are maintained. Make sure you keep a healthy working relationship with your HSEQ teams and involve them in your improvement programs, risk management, asset criticality assessment and FMEA for their insight and depth they can bring to the conversation. 

Element 12: Training  

Keeping your training current and abreast of industry requirements ensures that when work is needed to be performed on assets, then it is done as effectively and efficiently as possible. It is heartbreaking to have to perform rework simply because the person doing the job did not apply the right skills for it to be done. Improperly applied maintenance is one major losses in asset management.

Element 13: Finance 

All the great (asset management) plans in the world will not come to fruition unless you have the finance to fulfil it. This is where you need to show your financial people the reason you are spending the required money will work towards positive organisational objectives being met.

Involve your financial team early in your Lifecycle plans and annual works plans so they understand the need to spend the amount requested and the likely increase business risk if the required maintenance does not occur. 

Now, I believe you have a more comprehensive knowledge of the key elements that determine a successful Asset Management Plan. Keep reading other articles in the AMP series by clicking the links below.

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Catch up on other articles in the AMP series

Part 1: 13 Key Elements of a Successful AMP Implementation [THIS BLOG]

Part 2: How to Meet Stakeholder Requirements with Your AMP (primary, industry, and regulatory)

Part 3: 5 Ways to Unlock Value for Your Assets from an AMP 

Part 4: 3 Ways to Sustain Value from Your Asset Management Plan 

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