The Asset Journal, Volume 15, Issue 1
Data and Information always have been considered as important. We iterated for a long time that good data and good information are the basis for good decision making. The new trend in Business is to take integrate data and information as part of our daily work and an organisation's work flow. We are now also recognising that Asset Management is a digitally driven activity. In Europe and the UK we find that there are regulations and guidelines prepared by Governments, in some cases mandating the use of Building Information Models (BIM). ISO Standards have also emerged that intend to bring the various types of data and key information as well as supplementary information and equipment attributes together.
The trend in developing requirements definitions about the required data and information and where they are to be used by an Asset Owner are becoming critical. These requirements can then also be used to better define metrics and KPI's that drive the Organisation's continuous improvement. In the UK, Government has developed methodologies and governance requirements guiding users through the BIM related data collection in seven stages. These could easily now supplant the mode conventionally used Project stage gates, as there is a need to not only deliver the hardware in a structured manner, but also the supporting data. Why not align?
The elementary practices of Requirements Management, Information delivery (in a way it can be processed), Life Cycle Costing and many more elements that have been identified in practices dating back to the 1970's, are finally reaching the prominence they have been denied in the past. Data driven digital Asset Management requires still more work to mature. In Australia, it seems that there are not (yet) the same unifying directives generated as has been the case elsewhere. A recent experience in this arena with a client in the UK and a local client clearly shows the need differences in approach. Data collation, Information generation and interoperability create opportunities for radical rethinking of past practices.
Asset Performance Management is the logical next focus in Asset Management. This concept requires huge amounts of correct data that can be processed into valuable information. We cannot neglect the fact that everything that is owned as a physical asset also has soft attributes like the descriptive data, information about and for managing this physical equipment and of course what its value contribution to the Business is. Whether we call it Digital Asset Management, Digital Twin, BIM or any another name, the revolution in treating data and information as Assets has the potential not only to make our lives much richer by providing us better capability for decision making. Implementing processes that effectively support the integration of digitised information into the Business reaches beyond the realm of data analytics, it requires strategic direction and like Asset Management, a Chief Information Officer who creates the drive and urgency to truly reform our way of managing Business and Assets.
Where are you in your digital Asset Management journey? We would like to hear your experience in this transformation into the digital world and how the specific challenges your organisation has were resolved. Please send your ideas, thoughts and experiences to publications@amcouncil.com.au
Ernst Krauss
Editor in Chief
theasset@amcouncil.com.au
