Adopting Best Practice Asset Management & Achieving The Pas 55 Standard
Khamis Salim Hamad Al-Romaimi, Project Manager – Asset Management Development, OETC
Ali Said Al-Hadabi, General Manager, OETC
Dr Richard Chilton, Director, QASR
Tim Young, Director, QASR
1. ADOPTING BEST PRACTICE ASSET
MANAGEMENT & ACHIEVING THE PAS 55
STANDARD
Khamis Salim Hamad Al-Romaimi, Project Manager – Asset Management Development,
OETC
Ali Said Al-Hadabi, General Manager, OETC
Dr Richard Chilton, Director, QASR
Tim Young, Director, QASR
assetmanagement.iirme.com ■ +971 4 407 2526 ■ register@iirme.com
2. ADOPTING BEST PRACTICE ASSET MANAGEMENT
&
ACHIEVING THE PAS 55 STANDARD
Ali Said Al-Hadabi
*
General Manager, OETC
Khamis Salim Hamad Al-Romaimi,
Project Manager – Asset Management Development, OETC
Dr Richard Chilton,
Director, QASR
&
Tim Young,
Director, QASR
SUMMARY
Utilities around the world are moving away from conventional methods and organisational structures
aligned to operations and maintenance to one’s that focus on optimising their assets. In so doing, they
are establishing a deeper understanding of their assets and the role they play in delivering customer
service. This new way of working is called Asset Management. It is underpinned by the fundamental
objective for all utilities being to provide a high-quality service to their customers by effectively and
efficiently managing their assets.
Asset Management has been developed over a number of years by leading utilities in New Zealand,
Australia and the United Kingdom, and is now regarded as the most effective model for the
management of asset-centric businesses. At a high-level, it is best defined by the work in the
groundbreaking International Infrastructure Management Manual.
Asset Management is essentially a set of key principles that define how to undertake asset-related
activities and how an organisation should be structured to most effectively deliver these. It is
embodied in organisational structures, business processes, establishing responsibilities and policies,
and with support tools. Collectively, these elements are referred to as the Asset Management System.
The application of Asset Management to an organisation depends on the type of organisation, the local
environment and the maturity of the organisation. The detailed implementation will change from
organisation to organisation, based upon the specific conditions and company strategies. However,
the principles should always remain the same.
3. The internationally recognised standard for Asset Management is the British Standards Institution’s
Publically Available Standard, PAS 55: 2008. PAS 55 provides a valuable means of benchmarking
company performance in all of the major areas of Asset Management. PAS 55 is not specific to any
industry, but applies to any organisation with physical assets. It sets out the high-level principles of
Asset Management. However, the lower level principles and the practical implementation of these are
usually best understood by the people who have actually worked in leading asset management
organisations preferably in the same type of utility. Experience from the UK electricity utilities has
shown the importance of supplementing the PAS 55 standard with practical asset-level knowledge and
expertise in how to change organisations.
However, If a company can achieve accreditation to PAS 55, it demonstrates that the organisational
structure, processes and systems are consistent with international best practice. The UK Electricity
Regulator OFGEM for example, now requires all UK distribution companies to have achieved PAS 55
accreditation and report ongoing performance against the standard on an annual basis. Utilities across
the world are now intending to gain PAS 55 standard within the next few years. Several utilities within
the GCC Region are expected to achieve the standard within the next five years.
Organisations wishing to adopt Asset Management and to implement PAS 55 usually start with a
Capability Review using utility experts with knowledge of utility best practice and the implementation of
change within organisations. In this paper we will show how the Oman Electricity Transmission
Company has worked with utility practitioners, QASR, to assess the current capabilities of the
organisation and then to develop a practical Change Plan to adopt Asset Management and hence
improve the performance of the organisation. In this paper, we will share our experiences and make
recommendations to assist other companies also wishing to embark on the adoption of Asset
Management.
KEY WORDS
Asset Management, PAS 55, Change Management, Utility Management, Electricity, Water.
* Oman Electricity Transmission Company, PO Box 1224, Al-Hamryia. Postal Code: 131, Muscat,
Sultanate of Oman
Email: Ali.alhadabi@omangrid.com, GSM: +968 928229666, Fax: +968-24573222.
4. INTRODUCTION
The Oman Electricity Transmission Company,
OETC, has recently started to develop its’
Asset Management capabilities, and therefore
improve it’s overall performance to best
practice levels. We see the adoption of Asset
Management as a journey and we are learning
from others that have travelled the journey
before. Our paper shares the reasons why
OETC has started this process, our experience
so far, and some recommendations for others
who wish embark upon the journey.
WHY ADOPT ASSET
MANAGEMENT?
Governmental and private utilities manage the
world's largest portfolio of infrastructure assets
on behalf of their communities. This
infrastructure constitutes a major investment
made in the expectation that there will be
improved living conditions and greater
prosperity. Moreover, the maintenance of
aging and failing infrastructure is an ongoing
challenge. Infrastructure studies undertaken in
the UK, Australia and the US have shown a
common theme [1]; that the state of existing
asset infrastructure is deteriorating and that
there is a significant backlog of investment
required to ensure that the utilities can
continue to deliver sustainable services to their
communities. Societies across the world
require that the “owners” of the assets apply
the best management skills to ensure long-
term sustainable and economic levels of
service to customers.
These factors are also affecting the GCC
region. Many GCC countries require large
capital investments in new infrastructure to
provide effective supply of electricity and water
and disposal of sewage and wastes from their
rapidly growing populations. We are also
starting to see the deterioration of the existing
asset base following the large investments
made over the last forty years.
A formal approach to the management of
infrastructure assets is therefore vital for
utilities if they are to manage the infrastructure
in a cost effective and sustainable manner [2].
Utility leaders around the world are now using
Asset Management to help them achieve this.
WHAT IS ASSET MANAGEMENT?
Asset Management is a confusing term and
can mean different things to different people.
Most knowledgeable people would, however,
agree with the following statements:
Asset Management has the fundamental
objective to provide a high-quality service
to customers by effectively and efficiently
managing the assets. It is therefore
essential to be able to balance risk, cost
and performance at all levels within the
organisation, making sure that investments
are cost beneficial to the stakeholders;
Asset Management is a structured
approach that covers all assets, not just
the infrastructure assets such as cables,
pipes, roads etc, but also the staff, IT
systems and information that an
organisation needs to manage the assets.
It covers the whole organisation and all
employees are involved and need to
understand Asset Management;
Asset Management is knowing what assets
are owned, their location, condition and
expected lives. It is understanding the
criticality or importance of the different
assets, and knowing what service levels
customers and stakeholders want;
It is about understanding the risks of
different assets failing and the
consequences on the service to the
customers as a result;
Asset Management enables justified
decisions to be made that balance
investments against service, on how and
when to: buy, build, maintain, operate and
dispose of assets;
It is having processes in place to establish
priorities and allocate funds based upon
the risks facing the organisation. Asset
management is being able to justify the
short and long-term funding requirements
associated with the assets; and lastly
It is not a system you can buy. It is a
business discipline and culture that covers:
people, process, data, technology: Asset
Management is a journey and requires a
change in mindset.
5. THE BENEFITS FROM ASSET
MANAGEMENT
Adopting a formal approach to Asset
Management has demonstrably improved utility
performance in terms of cost effective
operations and improved levels of service to
the community. There are, however, several
different benefits associated with the adoption
of Asset Management, Table I.
Table: I. Benefits of Asset Management
More effective and
efficient operations
and investments
Improved relations
with external
stakeholders
Improved customer
satisfaction
Enhanced reputation
and customer
perception
Higher levels of
compliance
Direct links
established between
investment decisions
and the impact on
customer service
More justification of
investments leading
to more appropriate
levels funding
Consistent
approaches to
decision-making
based upon managing
risk
Better information &
measures to justify
decision-making,
investments, and
tariff setting
Appropriate long-term
maintenance of the
assets
Improved response
to incidents
A more proactive
approach to managing
the organisation with a
focus on service
Adequate and timely
planning and
investments for
growth
Clarity of roles,
responsibilities and
processes across the
organisation
THE ASSET MANAGEMENT MODEL
A fundamental element of Asset Management
is related to how all of the organisation(s) that
provide the service to the customers divide the
responsibilities and functions. The generally
accepted method for defining this is known as
the Asset Management model. The generic
model consists of three roles: Asset Owner,
Asset Manager and Asset Operator/Service
Providers. The interaction between these key
roles is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Generic Asset Management model
It is rare for the Asset Management model to
be adopted by an organisation in this generic
and simplistic way. Rather, the model is
customised to meet the specific requirements
and objectives of the organisation concerned
and is phased in and modified as the
organisation matures. The implementation is
based on a number of factors including the:
Overall strategic objectives;
Level and type of financial, performance or
risk benefits required;
Culture and ability to accept and implement
change;
Type and number of asset base(s) being
managed; and
Regulatory and commercial environment.
Almost all of the leading asset intensive
companies have undergone re-organisations
based upon the Asset Management model.
Moreover, they have usually re-organised
every three to five years to strengthen the
model and as a means to drive further
performance improvements.
Having said this, it must be remembered that
the organisational structure plays only one part
in what makes an effective and integrated
asset management organisation [3].
THE EVOLUTION OF ASSET
MANAGEMENT
Although there are several varied drivers for a
utility to improve performance, Asset
Asset
Owner
Asset
Manager
Service
Provider(s)
Maximises
Return
Maximises
Effectiveness
‘The What’
Maximises
Efficiency
‘The How’
Service Level
Agreement or
Contract
Service Level
Agreements or
Contracts
Income
Holds licences
Negotiates with Regulators
Manages Income
Manages Overall Investment
Manages the Asset Base
Defines Investment/Work to
Deliver Performance/Risk
Manages Opex and Capex
Programmes to Deliver Work
Delivery of Agreed Work to
Time, Cost and Quality
May be Multiple Providers -
split by Geography or Work
Type
6. Management techniques can be used to
address all of them.
In most cases, it has been the pressure to
deliver financial performance whilst reducing
income or increasing performance targets that
has driven the need to adopt more
sophisticated management methods.
For most companies, this has been the main
impetus to develop an integrated approach to
Asset Management [4]. The new techniques
have focused on both making more effective
investment decisions and in better justification
of the levels of investment by improving
communication with external stakeholders.
The delivery of improved performance can be
grouped into three generic methods. These
are delivered through focusing on:
Efficiency;
Effectiveness; and
Positioning.
The source and emphasis of performance in
organisations changes over time. In general,
as the organisation matures, the areas of
improvement generally shift from efficiency
though effectiveness to positioning. This
change in emphasis is brought about not only
by increased pressure on income or financial
performance but also through the presence of
more developed asset management capability.
Performance Through Efficiency
This approach has primarily sought to
maximise performance through efficiency
gains. Efficiency can be defined as achieving
the requisite physical work on the asset base
at the lowest possible cost. These gains are
realised through, for example, increased
productivity, improvements in the way the work
programme was delivered, better procurement
methods, and through using better materials.
This is usually the first area where
organisations identify areas for improvement.
There are two main reasons for this. Firstly,
the financial benefits from the improvement
actions in these areas are very tangible and
they can normally be delivered in the short-
term. Secondly, the issues faced are common
across many types of businesses, and so the
systems and external support required are
widely available and well known.
Performance Through Effectiveness
This approach principally influences
performance through improvements in
effectiveness. Effectiveness in this context is
achieving the requisite performance from the
asset base at minimum cost. As opportunities
to improve performance through investment
efficiency diminish, and also to ensure that
pure efficiency gains are not achieved at the
expense of compromising quality, companies
begin to focus more effort on achieving
effectiveness.
Many organisations have looked at ways of
continuing and sustaining performance
improvements through more effective and
intelligent targeting of investment. This has
been the principle means of sustaining
performance in the energy sector particularly
through the management of risk. In this case,
early capability was focussed on analysing the
needs of the asset base through, for example,
condition-based monitoring, failure prediction,
more accurately identifying assets at risk of
failing, and targeting investment accordingly.
Investment effectiveness is also becoming
increasingly more important in other
infrastructure sectors as the efficiency gains
are realised.
Investment effectiveness is also about
ensuring the right investment is made; repair
versus maintenance, versus refurbishment or
replacement and making the capital / operating
investment trade-off on whole life costs
grounds.
In recent years a move to output-focussed
effectiveness has been prevalent within many
asset management organisations. Businesses
are using their understanding of physical asset
failures to determine the effect such failures
will have on output performance, that is the
performance that customers and external
stakeholders perceive. It is then output failure
rather than asset failure that drives investment
need identification and selection.
Performance Through Positioning
7. This approach influences performance to the
greatest degree through positioning.
Positioning is about maximising stakeholder
benefits at minimum total costs to the
business. An important aspect of strategic
positioning is the ability to formulate and
analyse different investment scenarios to
ensure that the best possible position is
presented to justify the funding requirements
and subsequent charges to customers.
For businesses where growth or consolidation
opportunities are limited, the scope for return
on investment improvements from purely an
efficiency and investment effectiveness
perspective has a finite limit. Arguably, making
improvements in the way businesses position
themselves to justify levels investment is where
the biggest opportunities for future return on
investment improvements and long-term
sustainability lay.
Improving Performance in the GCC
Utilities
Although every utility within the GCC is
different, the region as a whole can be
considered to have a different set of drivers
and level of maturity to the utilities in the United
Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Having said this, the GCC utilities still have the
need to adopt Asset Management and use the
same techniques to improve performance.
However, the order of adoption and focus will
be different. In general, the GCC utilities
should focus on improving effectiveness first,
then efficiency and then positioning.
WHERE HAVE THE LEADING ASSET
MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES BEEN
DEVELOPED?
Asset Management techniques have been
developed across many industries and
countries. Its application to utility management
was initiated in New Zealand and later in
Australia. However, it really became
established and developed from a largely
academic basis to a practical means for driving
performance improvements in the United
Kingdom after privatisation and more effective
regulation were established.
New Zealand
Since the mid-1980's New Zealand has
undergone a period of far reaching structural
reforms aimed at improving the internal
efficiency of the economy and reducing the
number of high-profile utility service failures.
Public sector, including municipal, reform has
been aimed at both reducing the role of
government in the provision of goods and
services, and improving efficiency and service.
One key implication of this has been the
requirement for municipalities to produce and
adopt an Asset Management Improvement
Plan, which outlines the timeframe and
physical and financial resources required to
improve Asset Management practices [5].
The National Asset Management Steering
Group was formed in 1995 to develop and
promote infrastructure Asset Management
practices, policies and systems in New
Zealand. This is an autonomous group, and its
activities are funded by contributions from its
member organisations, sales of asset
management manuals and subscriptions to
training seminars.
Their key contribution has been the
development of the International Infrastructure
Management Manual [6], Figure 2, which
provides municipalities with a comprehensive
framework for complying with legislative Asset
Management requirements.
Figure 2. International Infrastructure
Management Manual
8. Australia
Australia has implemented similar reforms
against a background of increasing community
expectations as to the quality and extent of
services provided by federal, state and local
governments. In Australia the Asset
Management concept was tied into
municipalities by the Australian Accounting
Standard 27, which requires infrastructure
assets to be accounted for and included in
financial statements.
The regulatory environment in which
municipalities and utilities operate varies from
state to state, however there has been a focus
on regulating the prices of utility services. This
has led to utilities developing more robust
Asset Management practices, and detailed
Asset Management plans, to support pricing
audits undertaken by the regulators.
Australian municipalities and utilities are
progressively improving their Asset
Management approach but lack the national
coordinated approach of New Zealand.
However, state level regulators are
progressively introducing more robust Asset
Management planning requirements and
practices to support pricing regulation.
United Kingdom
As a result of regulating the United Kingdom’s
electricity and water industries in the 1970’s
and 80’s, the utilities have adopted and driven
best in class Asset Management more than
any other country in the world. The regulatory
model demands extensive and routine
reporting of costs, operations and customer
performance and the adoption of best practice
methodologies. Over the last thirty plus years,
this requirement has driven the utilities to
significantly and transparently improve their
performance, which in turn has led to the
development of a more comprehensive and
detailed Asset Management approach.
It is generally accepted that the regulation of
these companies has driven significant
investment, improvements, and efficiencies
that are unparalleled in Europe and across the
world. Countries that do not work under this
pressure cannot justifiable claim nor
demonstrate being best in class.
Recent, independent, international bench-
marking exercises carried out on behalf of the
water regulator, Ofwat, and other independent
bodies demonstrate that the UK now delivers
high-performing services at lower prices that
outperform utilities across the world. This is
why many countries around the world,
including; Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bulgaria and
Oman are now adopting the UK regulatory
model for utilities.
Countries and industries that are just beginning
to embark on Asset Management can benefit
from the wealth of experience that has been
gained around the world, particularly from the
United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
PAS 55 AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
Building upon the work in New Zealand and the
practical experience from the United Kingdom
on developing and adopting utility best
practice, a standard for Asset Management
has been developed. In 2004, the Institute of
Asset Management worked with several
leading utilities to publish a British Standards
Institution’s Publically Available Standard, PAS
55: 2004, Figure 3. This was subsequently
revised in 2008 [7]. Work is currently
underway for it to become an International ISO
standard within the next three years. PAS 55
has been translated into Spanish and has been
applied to utilities in the UK, USA, Australia,
New Zealand, Middle East and several other
countries.
Figure 3. PAS 55-1: 2008
9. PAS 55 is rapidly being adopted around the
world as the standard for Asset Management.
The UK Electricity Regulator OFGEM for
example, required all UK distribution
companies to have achieved accreditation by
2008, and since to report ongoing performance
against the standard on an annual basis.
If a company can achieve accreditation to PAS
55 it demonstrates that the organisational
structure, processes and systems are
consistent with international best practice.
Some utilities within the GCC are expected to
achieve the standard within the next five years.
PAS 55 is essentially a framework of terms and
definitions for the best practice Asset
Management of physical assets, Figure 4.
Figure 4. The PAS 55 Framework
PAS 55 is universal and applies to all asset
intensive industries, and is therefore
intrinsically high-level. It also includes
guidelines as how to adopt the framework and
enables capability assessments to be
undertaken and therefore accreditation to the
standard.
The framework is extensive and covers twenty-
one separate areas grouped into seven main
clauses:
4.1 General Requirements
4.2 Asset Management Policy
4.3 Asset Management Strategy, Objectives &
Plans
4.4 Asset Management Enablers & Controls
4.5 Implementation of Asset Management
Plan(s)
4.6 Performance Assessment & Improvement
4.7 Management Review
PAS 55 provides a valuable means of
benchmarking company performance in all of
the major areas of Asset Management.
However, it is not the solution to adopting
Asset Management. It is a good start, but
should be supplemented with the lower level
principles and detail. The practical
implementation of PAS 55 is best understood
by the people who have actually worked in
leading asset management organisations
preferably in the same type of utility.
Experience from the United Kingdom’s utilities
has shown the importance of supplementing
the PAS 55 standard with practical asset-level
knowledge and expertise in how to change
organisations. PAS 55 states what should be
done, not how it should be done. More
importantly PAS 55 does not show a utility how
to adopt Asset Management and change it’s
way of working.
OETC’S EXPERIENCE OF ASSET
MANAGEMENT
OETC started introducing the valuable of the
Asset Management as method and concept
through participation in International
Transmission Operation Maintenance Study
(ITOMS) in November 2008. The ITOMS
program is a learning lessons program by
sharing other transmission companies
experience and best practise. Some of the
transmission companies within the ITOMS
program are UK National Grid, Fingrid,
Australia Western Power, News Zealand
Transgrid, Transco Abu Dhabi, Oman
Electricity Transmission Company…etc. OETC
selected experience engineers as working
team for the ITOMS program from each
technical department in the company in order
to collect, validate the benchmarking data
before submitting the data to Transmission
Benchmarking Group which facilitated by the
UMS Group. ITOMS benchmark program is
built to benchmark with other transmission
10. companies based on voltage level
classification within around 29 numbers world
class transmission companies. The ITOMS
benchmark program output to operate at law
cost and high service category which require
preparing action plan following the benchmark
results. After 2009 benchmarking results, the
company prepared one action plan in order to
improve the performance by operating at law
cost and high services. OETC also following
the benchmarking results created Asset
Management Steering Committee which
consists from all department managers in
OETC with ITOMS working team.
The company also conducted several training
courses for the staff as well conducted
international visits in order to learn the Asset
Management from the transmission utilities
ITOMS peers in GCC like Transco Abu Dhabi,
News Zealand…etc. OETC in September 2010
joined the sector Asset Management working
team which leaded by the Electricity Holding
Company (EHC) in Oman. The sector output
leaded to building Asset Management Strategy
Document for the whole Omani Electrical
unbundled companies which owned by the
government, e.g (2) generation companies, (1)
transmission companies, (3) distribution
companies and (1) Rural Area Company. All
the sector working team members are now
PAS 55 certified from the UK International
Asset Management (IAM).
Since OETC has a vision to improve
performance and has recently committed to
adopt Asset Management best practice. In this
process, we found that a useful first step was
to undertake a Capability Review.
This Review helped us to firstly, understand
how well the organisation was working, and
secondly, where and how we should make
improvements.
PAS 55 is a useful benchmark to use as the
basis of the Review. However, the
assessment must be more detailed than PAS
55, and specific to the industry and the local
environment, drivers and culture.
The Capability Review
The Capability Review covered the following
steps:
Assessment of OETC’s current capabilities
against PAS 55 framework and guidance
through a combination of document review
and a series of interviews;
Further in-depth interviews and site visits in
key areas of interest;
Review of the organisational structure;
Review of the IT systems;
Review of asset data and information;
Comparison of overall capabilities and
organisational maturity against best
practice;
Identification of corporate ambition;
Detailed assessment of the gaps and
initiatives required to fill the gaps; and
Development of a Change Plan.
The approach used by the consultant was a
proven approach that they had previously used
to assess many other utilities around the world.
PAS 55 Scoring and Gap Analysis
The first step is to use PAS 55 to assess the
current capabilities. On one level this is
straightforward; using a simple pass or fail as
used by organisations that offer accreditation
services. However, the real value of this
activity is through having experts with first-
hand utility experience, to review the detail and
issues behind the different PAS 55 elements.
This is knowledge is best captured using a
scoring mechanism. PAS 55 does not have a
scoring mechanism, but the consultants
brought their system, which had been used
many times previously and therefore gave the
added benefit of enabling comparison with
other utilities. Individual scores and supporting
observations are provided for the three key
areas found in each of the PAS 55 clauses:
Establishment, Implementation & Maintenance,
Figure 6.
11. Figure 6. Typical Scoring of a PAS 55
Clause
Detailed Capability Assessment
The next element of the Review is related to
the understanding the detail behind the
assessment. In general, PAS 55 shows you
where to look and the detailed follow-up
reviews find the real strengths, weaknesses,
constraints and issues within the organisation
around these areas.
The Review should not simply compare the
organisation against the PAS 55 framework; it
must compare it with other similar
organisations that are adopting Asset
Management, both at the start of their journey,
but also at the leading edge. Again, unless the
consultants are experienced, then the output
from the Review will be limited in value.
Understanding the Gap
Having determined the current capabilities, the
next step is to understand what the
organisation wants to achieve over the next
three to five years. The ambition is related to
the company’s vision, but must be challenged
to ensure that it is practical and achievable.
The ambition can then be used to define the
gap between where the company is currently
and where it wants to be in the future. The use
of experts with experience of other
organisations and how much can be achieved
within the chosen timescales helps to make the
ambition meaningful.
Initiatives and Change Plan
Following from this, it is possible to develop a
list of initiatives to close the gap. These in
turn, can be prioritised and developed into a
practical Change Plan, Figure 7. It is important
that the Plan is realistic and based upon
proven initiatives that are achievable.
Figure 7. A Typical Change Plan
Many organisations try to undertake too many
initiatives and have no clear prioritisation and
phasing to optimise the effort and investments
required to make the change.
Using Expert Support Services
The Review is a critical first step and requires
expert advice to ensure that the future
investments are made wisely and that the
desired success is delivered. OETC hired
independent, specialist, consultants, QASR, to
undertake the Capability Review and to assist
with the development of the Change Plan. We
found that the selection of the specialists is
critical. In order to appoint the right quality of
consultants, we suggest that the following
selection criteria be used:
Experience of PAS 55 and the adoption of
Asset Management;
First hand, practical, experience of
adopting Asset Management;
Individuals who have worked in the same
type of utilities;
Individuals who have worked and made
real change within a utility preferably in the
United Kingdom;
12. A track record of undertaking similar
projects within the region; and
Local knowledge of the culture and local
environment and drivers.
We decided not to use companies that offer
accreditation to the PAS 55 standard, as this is
a different and separate exercise that will be
relevant, but only much later on when the
organisation is ready to achieve accreditation.
We also decided not to use companies that
offer training services on PAS 55, as again,
these skills were different to those that were
required for this work.
As well as selecting the right consultants to
support the Capability Review it is important
that the organisation as a whole also supports
the initiative. Firstly, this requires a champion
for Asset Management to be selected by the
General Manager, and secondly, there is a
need for support and gain input from the whole
of the Management Team. If the specialists
are experienced then the effort required from
the Managers and the wider organisation
should be minimal.
We found that the time we spent with the
consultants to be extremely useful: to learn and
understand about Asset Management, to see
the organisation from a different perspective,
and to appreciate how to make real changes
within the organisation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For organisations wanting to start improving
their performance through the use of Asset
Management best practice then we
recommend the following first steps to be
taken:
Appoint a champion for Asset Management
within the organisation;
Undertake a Capability Review that
assesses the current capabilities of the
organisation, the ambition and identifies
the initiatives to fill the gaps and, which are
prioritised into a meaningful and practical
Change Plan; and
Appoint suitably experienced and qualified
specialists to undertake the Capability
Review and to provide advice and support.
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Approach to Asset Management”,
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Structured Approach”, J AWWA, June
2004
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Cost Control Drive Change from functional
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