How a Disciplined Asset Management Strategy Can Directly Lead to a Better Quality of Life

Every organization has a mix of assets on its balance sheet. These probably include infrastructure, human resources, financial assets, as well as some “intangibles.” The key to an organization’s success is getting the most value out of each one.

To do this effectively, organizations need an overarching asset management strategy: a connected approach that looks at the entire lifespan of each asset and how they relate to one another. You have to think the entire process through from end-to-end—from acquisition to utilization and maintenance to disposal or renewal—to get the best value-for-money over the life of the asset.

Too often organizations make asset management decisions as they come up, with no overarching, strategic plan. They don’t consider the decision’s impact over the asset’s entire lifespan, or how their decision fits in with plans for other assets in their portfolio. Without a connected approach, value is often lost.

The good news is that more and more organizations are taking a connected approach to asset management, including the U.S. federal government. I was in Washington, D.C., recently to participate in the Federal Asset Management Policy Forum & Expo to share my experience implementing an asset management strategy at Sodexo. The goal of the forum was to discuss policies that could help the federal government make better use of its assets and ultimately help the country prosper. The forum brought together national and international leaders, experts, policy makers, and decision makers to draft a policy paper on the topic to advise the new President and Congress on how to get the most value out of the federal government’s existing assets. Topics that were discussed included how new technology like smartbuildings can help us monitor and maintain infrastructure, and how data management can ensure valuable information is not lost.

Smarter asset management is the solution to many of the economic challenges that face the federal government, as well as many other industries. The healthcare industry, for example, is coping with diminishing funds, and aging assets. But smart asset management can put strategies in place to help them meet their commitments to their patients using their existing resources.

Many organizations looking for a more strategic approach to asset management are implementing the ISO 55000 Standards, which are the first-ever set of international standards for global asset management. The ISO 55000 standards include specific requirements for creating an integrated, effective asset management system. They also offer guidance for how to implement them, such as offering your teams training in new methods of scheduling and planning.

Sodexo has so far implemented the ISO 55000 standards at 600 of its sites globally. The new approach is already helping us use our resources in smarter ways and better serve our customers, clients and employees.

Connecting your asset management strategy doesn’t require organizations to do things differently. But it does mean that leaders must recognize where the elements of what they do are connected. For example, perhaps an organization decides to change how it maintains a building. In that case, any reporting or performance management tools must also be changed to maintain consistency to understand how the change impacts the client. Smart asset management isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about building on what you already have, and connecting all the pieces.

About Keith Hamer
Keith Hamer is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, with additional post graduate qualifications in Manufacturing and Health and Safety management. Keith has some 32-years’ experience in leading Technical engineering and service teams, providing Asset Management solutions in support of the core business operations for major private and public sector European and Global organizations. Keith has also been Chairman of the Asset Management Skills Facilities Management Board providing leadership to the development of national standard qualifications for the Facilities Management Sector, and was a member of the UK PC251 mirror committee and involved in the development of ISO55000. Keith continues to be involved in TC251 and the ongoing discussions on the development of ISO55000 and other ISO standards.

In his current role for Sodexo, Keith has been responsible for the creation, development and deployment of a unique framework of processes to enable standardization of Asset Management service delivery in line with the requirements of PAS55 and now ISO55000. This framework, now certified to ISO55001 is now helping Sodexo to demonstrate and differentiate its Asset Management capability in the FM Outsourcing sector.