5 Foundational Strategic Asset Management Questions

When it comes to strategic asset management, there are a multitude of factors to consider. However, success in asset management starts with understanding the fundamental principles.

In this blog, we’ve put together 5 questions that underpin strategic asset management and can provide a framework for good practice.

1) What levels of service are you expected to maintain?

Understanding stakeholder needs and expectations is critical to determining an acceptable level of service. Levels of service should be clearly defined, and directly derived from the higher-level objectives of the organisation.

2) What assets do you have, and what condition are they in? 

Most organisations have a whole lot of physical and intangible assets that could be considered assets. However, classifying everything the organisation has as an asset creates an administrative nightmare that can quickly get out of hand.

The organisation needs to have a set of rules in place to determine whether something is an asset, ideally, directly referenced to the levels of service.

3) Which are the critical assets, and what are the risks? 

A critical asset is one whose failure would significantly impact achievement of the organisations objectives. Essentially, these are the assets whose failure would cause the organisation to fail to meet its organisational objectives or suffer significant financial loss.

While thinking about the risks surrounding these critical assets can be scary, defending against a hidden threat is scarier. It is crucial to understand the risks inherent in critical assets, so they can be mitigated as well as possible.

4) What are your best LifeCycle, Capital Investment and O&M strategies to sustain organisational performance?

An important part of asset management is knowing what needs to be put in place to manage the risks identified within critical assets and systems. Understanding the options, and potential future liabilities allows you to make informed strategic decisions based on cost, risk and performance.

5) How will you finance these strategies?

Regardless of how activities are funded, successful funding requests are usually based on a robust argument. When putting together a funding request, ensure the request directly links to the delivery or failure of service outcomes.

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