1. Consider asset management when constructing new buildings

The first step is to think ahead: how do you want to manage an asset for the next twenty or thirty years and what information do you need for this?

In the case of new construction or the purchase of assets, the emphasis is often on completion and costs. The management phase afterwards receives less attention from the project. As a result, important data may be missing when commissioning, such as serial numbers, maintenance instructions, documentation or the link with spare parts.

For example, one organization noticed when a part had to be replaced after three years that no one knew exactly what type it was anymore. Only after a lot of research could the maintenance be carried out.

By determining in advance which data you will need later, you prevent this type of delay. You lay a solid foundation for good maintenance and the (future) deployment of asset monitoring and condition-based maintenance.

2. Work organization-wide and according to one strategic asset management plan

The second step is to ensure that everyone within your organization works from the same framework. In many companies, maintenance is organized per department or location, each with its own data and sometimes even its own environment for enterprise asset management (EAM). This fragmentation makes it difficult to compare assets or set priorities properly.

A strategic asset management plan (SAMP) helps to bring structure to this. ISO 55000 asks for it for a reason: it ensures that policy, information needs and data standards are aligned. This creates a single line in how you manage and assess assets.

Whether you work with IBM Maximo Application Suite (IBM MAS) or another system: the point is that everyone speaks the same language and follows the same agreements. This makes data more reliable and insight into performance and risks comparable; it is the basis for targeted management of asset health.

3. Manage the transfer from project to asset management

The transfer from project to asset management is a crucial moment. Often an installation is formally delivered, but it remains unclear which data must be supplied exactly, with which details. The result is that asset managers later lose time restoring or supplementing information.

A good approach is to work with an information delivery specification (ILS). This specifies which data is mandatory upon delivery, how it is checked and when it is accepted. This prevents installations from being managed without the correct basic information.

For example, in a large infrastructure project, hundreds of assets were transferred without correct coding. It took the management organization months to restore the asset data. By setting clear requirements for data quality in advance and only accepting the transfer once these have been met, you prevent your asset management from being undermined by incomplete information.

4. Organize people and processes and continue to improve

Data is only valuable if it is consistently recorded. This requires clear processes and the right people in the right place. Reliability engineers, maintenance engineers and configuration managers each play their role in this: the first determines which data is needed to understand failure behavior, the second ensures that maintenance actions are well planned and registered, the third monitors the quality of the data itself throughout the asset’s lifecycle.

In practice, this is often a matter of discipline. If a mechanic forgets to enter a component code, you lose a link in the data chain. By clearly defining processes, setting thresholds and checking periodically, data quality remains at the required level.

A water management organization saw the effects of this when a simple validation check was built in: the system automatically checked whether a component and cause were entered for each malfunction. Within three months, data quality increased by thirty percent.

5. Manage your service providers on data and execution

More and more maintenance is being outsourced. This is efficient, but only if you also retain control over the data. After all, service providers not only deliver performance, but also information that is needed to manage and improve your assets.

Therefore, contractually stipulate which data must be supplied, according to which (data) standard and within what period. Check these agreements regularly, for example via audits or KPIs on data quality. This prevents crucial information from remaining with the implementing party.

In practice, this works best if all parties in the triangle asset owner – asset manager – service provider share the same goal: reliable data that everyone can use. The provider works more efficiently with up-to-date information and you can plan, analyze and justify maintenance better.

From reliable data to predictable maintenance

With these five steps, you not only ensure reliable data, but you also lay the foundation for professional maintenance. Assets are findable, malfunctions are traceable and documentation is complete. Then asset monitoring becomes interesting: you can set thresholds, follow trends and plan maintenance based on condition instead of time.

IBM MAS offers powerful support for asset monitoring and condition-based maintenance, but the real value only arises if you properly organize the quality of your data. Together with ComOps and strategic knowledge partner Compris, Gemba helps to strengthen this foundation. First the quality, then the analysis: this gives you better insight into the performance of your assets, more control over your maintenance and more predictability in risks and costs.

Want to know more about improving your data quality and maintenance processes and which steps will have the most effect for your organization? Contact Wouter Schouten (Gemba) via +31 (0)6 52 68 37 43 or w.schouten@gemba.nl.