is to ensure that:
• There is an organization-wide common and standard approach to physical asset management.
• Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders are clearly defined and communicated.
In short, the governance model should embody the strategies, policies, and structures that provide the mandate for the strategic/tactical framework. This, in turn, structures the necessary procedures and practices to guide appropriate decisions and actions. Hence, you would want a governance structure that will engage key stakeholders at different levels in the organization as well as having a championing body that will endorse and support the physical asset management system.”
“Governance models can be different for different organizations based on their size, complexity, and context,” Darren adds as he reaches into his bag and pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil.
Jerry watches in silence as Darren starts drawing a few rectangles. After a few minutes Darren hands Jerry the paper (Figure 2.1).
“Here you go,” Darren says. “This is a governance model that I used in my previous job and worked pretty well. You can start playing around with it to adapt it to your organizational context.”
FIGURE 2.1 Centralized asset management governance model.
“Thank you so much, sir!” Jerry grabs the paper in delight. “This will definitely help me getting started.”
Right away Darren warns Jerry, “Mind you, Jerry, this is only an example of a governance model: a centralized corporate asset management office, and an asset management steering committee, and a decentralized asset management network team. The steering committee is responsible for giving directions and supporting the asset management initiatives, while the asset management office is responsible for developing and implementing an asset management system. The network team is responsible for rolling out and operationalizing the asset management initiatives.”
Darren leans over the table and clasps his hands as he says: “Your organization may require a completely different model that will suit your organizational context and ensure consistency and sustainability of your asset management system. It will also need to deliver expected results while maintaining a certain autonomy and flexibility for asset owners and operators to interpret and implement the asset management processes and procedures.”
Jerry looks at the sketch for a couple of minutes and then looks up with a smile. This indicates to Darren that he agrees and is on board with the concept.
“The next thing I suggest you focus on,” Darren continues,“is education and awareness.”
Jerry looks at him a little bemused.
“Yes, you heard it right,” Darren continues. “At this stage, it is of utmost importance to get to know your stakeholders and to engage them early on to set the tone for a collaborative and supportive environment across all the functional areas.”
Step 2: Develop an Asset Management Framework
“To do that, you need to reach out to the different stakeholders not empty-handed but with something to help them understand what asset management is, what you are planning to do, and where they fit in. At the end they should see how the whole process would benefit them in their day-to-day job. It is basically answering the obvious question, ‘What’s in it for me?’”
“This seems to be a reasonable thing to do—especially in my situation,” Jerry says. “I often get asked questions such as ‘What is asset management?’ or ‘Why do asset management?’ I do my best to explain, but I guess I do not do a good enough job as staff still look confused,” Jerry continues.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Darren tries to encourage Jerry. “It’s not you; it’s just the way things have evolved and, with it, lots of misconceptions about asset management.”
Darren goes on, “In this situation an asset management framework does address those misconceptions. Imagine you have a puzzle with different individuals looking at the different pieces of the puzzle on their own. You would agree that it won’t make any sense whatsoever even if you take all the pieces of the puzzle and place it on a table. It is only when you have assembled all the pieces together that you will see the real picture of what the puzzle represents.”
Darren mimics building a puzzle on the table as he continues. “That’s exactly what an asset management framework will do,” he says. “It will assemble all the pieces from different functional areas and put them together to show how they are connected to each other and, most importantly, what asset management is all about.”
“Oh, I see,” Jerry replies. “Then if I show this to the different departments, they will be able to see where their pieces of the puzzle fit in the whole scheme of things.”
“True, and they will also be able to understand how their work relates to other work in the organization and how this can impact the overall objectives. There are many asset management framework templates out there, and it is easy for you to review them and create your own based on your organizational context. I have seen simple ones as well as some complex ones.”
As Darren continues to talk, he pulls the paper with the governance model sketch from Jerry, turns it over, and starts working on another sketch.
Darren is a very visual person and thinker. He likes to draw concepts and images. It is not a surprise that one of his hidden talents is actually sketching and drawing. This time he could not stop himself from having some fun with quickly drafting an asset management framework for Jerry.
Darren is sure Jerry will appreciate the sketch as he watches him do his artwork with a smile.
After a few minutes of drawing and shading, Darren hands the paper over to Jerry once again (Figure 2.2).
FIGURE 2.2 Asset management framework.
Jerry grabs it and starts studying it closely as he tries to follow and make sense of the lines and boxes.
As Jerry studies the sketch, Darren explains to him what he should look for when he develops the asset management framework: “The asset management framework needs to consider the broader view of the organization, meaning it has to consider the different levels in the organization, from strategic, to tactical, to operational. It also needs to show the line of sight from a whole lifecycle physical asset management perspective across all the different levels and demonstrate how everything fits together.”
“Can you please provide some examples of what needs to considered in the framework?” Jerry asks.
“Key elements of the framework are:
• The stakeholder’s requirements and expectations
• The organizational plan and objectives
• The different strategies needed for the asset management strategy, namely, lifecycle management, level of service, risk, and demand management strategies
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