1. Engineers Journal I Volume 63: Issue 7 I September 2009
ASSET MAnAGEMEnT – no WoRRIES?
One of the major concerns for engineers in the current economic climate is the struggle to deliver the same
or higher performance levels from equipment and infrastructure with reduced resources. Ray O’Neill writes
about the contribution BSI: PAS 55-2008 can make to efficient asset management
C
ertification against an asset management specification Following the Deming Cycle of ‘plan-do-check-act’ (and
is becoming a regulatory requirement in a growing aligned to other management standards such as ISO9000,
number of industries. The specification in question 14000, 18000 etc), the revised PAS 55 clarifies how to
is BSI: PAS55-2008. Many users of it believe it could integrate the ‘top down’ pressures on an organisation (e.g.
actually win you more business or at least ensure you keep the competing stakeholder expectations) with the ‘bottom up’
business you have! realities and opportunities. It provides the framework for
understanding how all the parts fit together.
lack of clarity
Asset management is a term which is used by a wide variety flavour of the month?
of sectors – a Google search revealed over 28m hits and the Cynics might argue that PAS 55 is ‘in vogue’ because it is
most common users include our friends in the financial and becoming a regulatory requirement. If developments in
IT sectors. It is fairly topical at the moment too, with the corporate governance also require best asset management
establishment of NAMA to, we hope, help sort out the mess practice of this type to be deployed, then, I argue, that has to
associated with bankers, builders and the downturn. be a positive.
For us engineers, PAS 55 defines asset management as: PAS 55’s definition of asset management highlights that a lot
“Systematic and coordinated activities and practices through of maintenance departments are (or should be) doing a lot
which an organisation optimally and sustainably manages its more than just maintenance. To explain, BS 3811:1984 states:
assets and asset systems, their associated performance, risks “Maintenance is ‘a combination of any actions carried out to
and expenditures over their life cycles for the purpose of retain an item in, or restore it to an acceptable condition’...”
achieving its organisational, strategic plan.” If all we ever do is this ‘maintenance’, then the very best we
It’s an awful mouthful but it hasn’t put off an increasing can hope for (and hope is the operative word here), is that
number of plant owners and operators of critical assets. our performance will stay the same. And that means that our
Assets are pretty much everything you can think of – competitors, who are continually improving, just roll over us
machinery, plant, facilities, buildings and roads. They have and put us out of business.
adopted the term ‘asset management’ to describe their The definition above has never represented all of what
core business – the combination of investing in, using and asset care professionals are engaged in since, to mention
maintaining appropriate physical plant and infrastructure two examples, it makes no reference to managing the level
over its entire life. of resources required to achieve this acceptable condition 339
Management

2. Engineers Journal I Volume 63: Issue 7I September 2009
(e.g. budget and personnel), nor to the fact that continuous specification. Woodhouse 1 writes: “Organisations who have
improvement is, or should be, a fundamental tenet of any adopted it quote benefits such as 30 per cent reduction in
maintenance strategy (would Deming have been happy with the total cost of asset ownership, 25 per cent improvement
just maintaining?). in service delivery, higher reliability, better regulator and
So, there is much to like about PAS 55 including a structured customer relations and a range of other core business
approach and a raising of awareness that decisions made improvements.”
today can have long-term implications over the life of the
assets. Published in two parts: part 1 is the checklist of what pAs 55 assessment methodology
needs to be in place, while part 2 provides extensive guidance Perhaps the way to go is to ‘dip the toe in’. The Institute
and illustrations of what should be done to achieve the of Asset Management (IAM) in the UK2 has developed an
requirements – not taking the short-term view, but focused on assessment methodology which contains a series of questions
optimally and sustainably managing assets and asset systems. to explore the maturity of an organisation’s asset management
Easy to write down, tougher to achieve. However, compliance capability across all the elements of PAS 55:2008.
provides evidence of systematic, cross-disciplinary and It has graphical outputs, which enable an organisation to
optimised management that correctly blends responses to view the results of its assessment, and identify where it has
short-term requirements with the sustainable delivery of strengths and weaknesses. These are available as radar plots,
long-term goals. with other graphical outputs, which enable the organisation
to drill down further into the results. The combination
Adopting pAs 55 enables organisations to test themselves, identify weaknesses,
Should we bother? Others have. Here in Ireland, ESB and to plan improvements – with the proviso that skilled
Networks have been certified just this year and glancing interviewing and facilitation is required to ensure the correct
across the Irish Sea, Ofgem, the UK regulator has already information is collected.
mandated compliance with PAS 55 for electricity supply Einstein told us that “We can’t solve problems by using
companies. Wessex Water, United Utilities and Scottish the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Power are just some companies who have also embraced the PAS 55 isn’t a panacea for all our ills, but it does provide
an objective standard across all aspects of good asset
management, ranging across the development of life cycle
strategies and plans for capital investments; asset utilisation;
maintenance; renewal and disposal; and the cost/risk/
performance optimisation of the whole picture.
However, like all standards, if we implement it only to get the
certificate, we will have wasted our time. It is only through
proper adoption of the process that we can deliver real
optimised asset management. That is what delivers best
value-for money, in a sustainable manner and helps in
delivering enhanced performance despite reduced resources.
references:
[1] Woodhouse John, Maintenance Engineering Magazine,
Nov/Dec 2008. PAS (Publicly Available Specification)
55:2008.The standard for integrated, life cycle-
optimised asset management.
[2] The Institute of Asset Management, www.iam.co.uk
Ray O’Neill began his career as a marine engineer
working for BP worldwide in the early ’80s before
taking up a position in the industrial engineering
division of Tetra Pak. His next role was as maintenance
manager with Greencore. Since 1996, he has been
managing director of asset care performance
improvement specialists ESS Ltd. Ray holds an MSC
(Distinction) in Maintenance and Asset Management
340 from the University of Manchester.
Management