Peter Kohler, Chair of Technical Development Team, Asset Management Council, is a member of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Asset Management Committee – ISO PC251 and International Electro Technique (IEC) TC 56 Dependability Committee. Peter’s extensive career includes being an engineer Captain in the Royal Australian Navy. Through his naval and commercial experience, he has gained first hand knowledge regarding asset management in practice. After leaving the Navy, Peter founded a company specialising in asset management.

James Kennedy, Immediate Past Chair, Asset Management Council, is a member of the IEC Dependability Committee TC 56. He has a 40 year perspective on the escalating importance of maintenance engineering which began when he was in the RAAF. In 1986 he joined the Institute of Engineers National Panel on Maintenance, the forerunner of MESA, and subsequently became a founding member of MESA.

Sally Nugent, Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Council, is a qualified Materials Engineer and has gained extensive experience in corrosion and alloy research.

Safety, customer satisfaction and risk minimisation are some of the outcomes that effective asset management can deliver to councils and local government. These outcomes can apply to all types and classes of assets from simple to the very complex. For example, the planning that good asset management requires was fundamental in determining what trees could be planted where, and what protective strategies would be required to protect them, during major flooding – such as that which threatened Brisbane in February 2011.

The asset management community of practice, through the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) and through other international groups such as the International Standards Organisation (ISO) PC251, are developing an awareness of asset management. While the ISO “Asset Management” Standard will lead to an increased focus on asset management through certification, the ‘how to implement good asset management’ will be delivered by the members of the GFMAM, such as the Asset Management Council here in Australia.

One of the key principles of asset management is the understanding of what it is that needs to be delivered by the assets of the organisation. Therefore, from the strategic plan all organisations should determine and document the outcomes needed from their asset portfolio, their asset systems and from each asset.

To achieve those outcomes, an engaged and informed workforce is needed. As a result, those objectives, plans and the required asset performance should be clearly articulated to all members of the team. For asset management to be effective there must be an effective connection between senior management and the workers at the coal face, to ensure common alignment of the organisational goals.

Asset management transforms strategic intent into technical, economic and financial activities. Organisations should develop the actions performed by the organisation (e.g. the operational and maintenance tasks etc.) in a way that ensures that all those activities have a clear connection to the organisational strategic intent.

As the management of assets can occur over long time periods, the culture of the organisation should be developed in line with the long term intent. As a result, an asset management organisation should be a learning organisation where organisations have transparency of process and transparency of decision making. This learning culture should also:

• Be able to challenge existing arrangements, through measurement and analysis of performance, determining what needs to be changed.
• Consider possible long-term impacts and keep in mind that short-term decision making at the cost of future impact is one that may affect organisational vitality, community costs and resource availability; and in doing so,
• Develop a thorough understanding and knowledge of current and future business and socio-economic environments.

There is a wealth of information on asset management practices across the globe to assist councils and local government to use asset management to deliver improved services and increase ratepayer and customer satisfaction.

About the Asset Management Council

www.amcouncil.com.au

The Asset Management Council Ltd is a non-profit organisation committed to the promotion and education of sound asset management practices in industrial, commercial, academic and government organisations. Our mission is to create a broad awareness of the value of asset management, nurture a common understanding of asset management and provide a portal to asset management knowledge and resources. With a vision of ‘enabling benefits for all from effective use of assets’, the Asset Management Council provides Certification, Training, Conferences, a Body of Knowledge and access to the Global Forum of Maintenance and Asset Management to its members and the ever-increasing global asset management community.

About the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management

www.gfmam.org

The Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) is an association of professional maintenance and asset management societies formed for the purpose of knowledge creation and sharing and for information exchange among our member societies. To affiliate with GFMAM, a professional society must be a non-profit organisation, controlled by the whole membership, legally formed within its region of operations, have signifi cant membership representing a broad base from within the industries it represents and be willing to actively participate in the GFMAM Council and other GFMAM activities.