Welcome to the Iamdata Solutions Asset Management Monthly Newsletter - March 2022
March is Asset Management Awareness month. Yes, apparently this is a thing! I must admit I've never heard of this before and I've worked in Asset Management for over 20 years. But anything that gets people thinking about how Asset Management can benefit them is a good thing and I support it 100%.
What is Asset Management and Why is it Important?
Here is what the LGA Best Practice Guide say about Asset Management:
Asset management is a systematic process to guide the planning, acquisition, operation and maintenance, renewal, and disposal of assets. Its objective is to maximise asset service delivery potential and manage related risks and costs over their entire lives. Infrastructure assets are fundamental to overall council service delivery and planning. Taking effective responsibility for asset planning requires a strong and informed council, management team and an engaged community. The long-lived nature of many assets and the need for their ongoing renewal means that planning must be based on an understanding of the full costs throughout each asset’s lifecycle, and address both short and long-term planning needs. Key to effective asset management is the preparation of a high-quality asset management policy and strategy, supported by Asset Management Plans that focus on value for money and support councils in engaging with communities to find a balance between service levels, risk and cost. (from the LGA Best Practice Guide)
This is a great summary above from The LGA and they have explained it perfectly.
For me, Asset Management feels a bit more personal. It is exciting, challenging, frustrating and complex!
I am passionate about Asset Management, I do find it exciting, even if it can also be challenging, frustrating, and complex. I wonder how many other Asset Managers feel a huge sense of achievement and general love for the world when something goes right! Councils manage and maintain most of the infrastructure assets for the community to enjoy, the main assets categories include:
local roads and infrastructure
parks and reserves
playgrounds and pools
water and sewerage
waste collection
animal management
planning and building services
parking management
community facilities such as halls, libraries, sporting facilities
It's a big job looking after all these assets and keeping them maintained at the condition the community expects. Asset Management helps us to manage the assets effectively and helps us to plan where we need to spend money to ensure the assets are maintained to the agreed optimal condition. For example, which roads will be on next year's resurfacing program so that the overall condition of the road network remains at the agreed level of service.
Councils are obligated to provide information to their residents and to the State Government about how they have been managing the Assets. Where money has been spent, why money was spent, and how much money was spent. Good Asset Management helps us fulfill those reporting obligations. The decisions we've made are based on what the data from our Asset Management systems are telling us and we are using the good processes and procedures we've put in place to help us.
We can be confident that we have made good decisions that are evidence based and transparent.
If you consider the lifecycle of an asset, and how this fits in with the rest of the organisation, you can understand that every department within the council will be involved in one way or another.
Asset Management Key Roles and Responsibilities
I see asset management as a ‘whole of council’ directive – everyone, all departments are doing Asset Management, it’s just that sometimes they don’t realise it.
Helping people to understand where their role aligns with the organisation's asset management structure is important. Also implementing systems, designing processes and procedures to help the organisation do Asset Management well is a big job and can take years, but once it has been achieved, you'll wonder how on earth you managed before. It is well worth it in the end.
What do you need your Asset Management System Software to do?
While we are discussing Asset Management, we should speak a little bit about the Asset Management System software. Asset Management System software have improved over the years, as organisations and business embrace Asset Management they naturally want to have a good system to help them.
A full Asset Management system should provide you with the means to manage Asset Registers, perform Condition Monitoring and Analysis, Log Defects and create work orders, and perform Risk Management.
Remember, any software system is only as good as the data you put into it. Good data is key!
How are you going to observe Asset Management Awareness Month?
This may be the ideal opportunity to evaluate your current position. I would encourage you to consider the value of asset management and the benefits your business can gain from implementing Asset Management across Council.
This is also a good time to celebrate your achievements. We're all so busy with our work that sometimes the achievements that has been made passes by without the recognition and applause it deserves - so, take some time to acknowledge your achievements and celebrate your good work! Well done!
What are common asset management myths?
In this Q & A, Steve Verity, Principal Advisor for Asset Management at IPWEA hits the nail firmly on the head. Read the full article here.
Myth 1 – Asset management is a software system used by the business.
An organisation’s asset management system is the people, processes, tools and other resources involved in the delivery of asset management. Asset management is not software. Asset management information system technology is merely a tool used by asset managers to fulfil a part of their roles and responsibilities.
Myth 2 – Asset management is maintenance management.
Asset management is not just maintenance management, or tasks required to prepare a pavement resurfacing program for example. It goes way beyond maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement programs by considering the whole-of-life cost to delivering effective and affordable services from the available resources.
Myth 3 – Asset management planning is a technical task.
Asset management planning can be best described as an art, a complex one at that. It takes a multi-disciplinary approach within a whole of organisation business framework to ensure all options and trade-offs are understood by decision-makers.
Myth 4 – You can’t start the asset management planning process until you have all the data.
Our communities and decision-makers can’t wait for the data to be collected.
Asset Management Questions and Answers
What is meant by Level of Service?
The defined service quality for a particular service against which service performance may be measured. Service levels usually relate to quality, quantity, reliability, responsiveness, environmental, acceptability and cost.
(IIMM)
What is Life Cycle Expenditure?
The Life Cycle Expenditure is the actual or planned annual operations, maintenance and capital renewal expenditure incurred in providing the service in a particular year. Life cycle expenditures will vary depending on the timing of the asset renewals.
(IIMM)
What is Useful Life?
Useful Life is the period over which an asset is expected to be available for use by an entity. It is the estimated or expected time between placing the asset into service and removing it from service, or the estimated period of time over which the future economic benefit embodied in a depreciable asset, are expected to be consumed.
(IIMM)
What is Remaining Life?
Remaining Life refers to the time remaining until an asset cease to provide the required service level or economic usefulness.
(IIMM)
Happy Asset Management Awareness Month!
I have worked on many different projects with my Local Government clients, from designing and developing Power BI Reports, to building SQL Server databases for spatial data, to managing and maintaining the GIS and the Asset Management systems. If you'd like to discuss how we might work together, then please email me at ➡️ jill.singleton@iamdata.solutions
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