How to Build Robust Asset Management Plans that Prepare You for the Unexpected

Build Robust Asset Management Plans that Prepare You for the Unexpected

Regional-Provincial Development Plan

Asset Management (AM) refers to any system that monitors and maintains things of value to an entity or group. If the entity is an Enterprise, then the acronym EAM is used to define Enterprise Asset Management. AM may apply to both tangible assets such as the physical elements constituting an infrastructure, but also to intangible concepts such as intellectual property and goodwill. AM is a systematic process of operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets cost-effectively.

In the engineering environment AM is often understood as the practice of managing assets to achieve the greatest return (particularly useful for productive assets such as plant and equipment), and the process of monitoring and maintaining facilities systems, with the objective of providing the best possible service to users (appropriate for public infrastructure assets).

Infrastructure asset management is the combination of management, financial, economic, engineering, and other practices applied to physical assets with the objective of providing the required level of service in the most cost-effective manner. It includes the management of the whole life cycle (design, construction, commissioning, operating, maintaining, repairing, modifying, replacing and decommissioning/disposal) of physical and infrastructure assets. Operating and sustainment of assets in a constrained budget environment obviously require some sort of prioritization scheme.

You may be wondering why this long introduction? Well consider the “bi-directional” relation between AEM and ERM (Enterprise Risk Management).

ERM requires a good understanding of the assets nature, location, hazard exposure, failure consequences. Enterprise Asset Management can supply at least part of these vital data to ERM (Enterprise Risk Management).

EAM is not built with a focus on unexpected events as it aims at monitoring and proactively maintain the assets. ERM can supply vital data to AEM, including risk-based prioritization schemes based on societal tolerance, financial tolerance and holistic consequences.
On 04/05/2014 Riskope will deliver a workshop at the Whistler Conference Center focusing on the AM/RM synergy allowing utilities and municipalities to plan for infrastructure renewal (and long term life) in a way that proactively mitigates risks while protecting financial sustainability.

Today, more than ever, planners and decision makers are held accountable for outcomes that are sometimes beyond their control. Unexpected hazards and unforeseen events can interfere with well-intentioned AM plans, having impacts that range from problematic to catastrophic. Thanks to a rational Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) plan it is possible to prioritize and sustainably mitigate these “surprises” resulting in a EAM plan backed by transparent and rational risk-based decision making and risk communication.

Tagged with: AM, Asset Management, Enterprise Asset Management, Entreprise Risk Management, ERM, financial tolerance, holistic consequences

Category: Consequences, Crisis management, Hazard, Mitigations, Optimum Risk Estimates, Risk analysis, Risk management