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A S S E T
M A N A G E M E N T
Machinery & Equipment MRO
February 2022
Asset management is not something that you ‘do’, but is rather ‘the way you do things’, and shouldn’t be thought of as a separate entity or department. BY CLIFF WILLIAMS
Q
uite often the questions of what will change for the maintenance department if and when the organization starts doing asset management. The most accurate answer, even though it might disappoint the asker, is ‘it depends’. This is the only answer to give, as what will change totally depends the maturity of the main-
tenance department and the culture of the organization. If the maintenance department is fully matured and using all of the latest techniques, technologies and tools, then likely the only thing that will change will be the reporting of their results in the format that shows support to the strategic objectives. As a reminder of what the focus of asset management is, here is a recap of the fundamentals that underpin it and show how they will apply to maintenance.
VALUE: Assets exist to provide value to the organization and its stakeholders
Asset management does not focus solely
on the asset itself, but on the value that the asset can provide to the organization. This means that the maintenance focus might need to change a little, as value is often a moving target; should we continue to spend lots of money doing a fullblown maintenance program on an asset that is losing its ability to provide value? It may be that markets have shifted, competition has forced prices down, technology has passed us by, and so there is less value being derived from the asset. Now this doesn’t mean that maintenance departments should arbitrarily stop their maintenance program for this asset, but in discussion with other departments and guidance from leadership, they can make the decision on how to proceed.
Photo: ra2 studio / Adobe Stock
MAINTENANCE: WHAT CHANGES IN ASSET MANAGEMENT
