Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) provides the ability for organizations to achieve their asset and business goals. When it is effectively implemented, EAM is many things:
One can argue that pretty much all organizations have assets. Manufacturers have production equipment, transport companies have fleets of vehicles, hospitals have facilities, and cities have infrastructure to give a few examples.
Assets are the instruments that provide the ability for organizations to achieve their goals; whether the goals are profitability and return on investment for an automobile or steel manufacturer to the delivery of key services for patient care in hospitals or education to students on a university campus. Assets for most organizations are mission critical and the greater the number of assets the more difficult it is to orchestrate people, processes and technology to ensure these assets are delivering what the organization requires and expects. To effectively manage their assets Createch believes that organizations need to take a more holistic and strategic view of assets across their operation.
Make no mistake, EAM needs to be planned across an asset’s life cycle and managed with the mindset of driving excellence in maintenance and operational execution. It needs to be analysed tenaciously to forecast and predict the potential asset failure states such that preventive actions can be set in place before the failed state to ensure that assets perform optimally for its operating environment. You need to know where you are starting and where you are going. Often utilizing an asset management maturity model example as depicted in the chart below from (Asset Acumen Consulting) is a good start point to map out this ongoing journey.
The asset performance management maturity model provides a framework that can help organizations benchmark their current situation compared to others in similar industries and identifies areas for potential improvement. It embraces continuous process improvements to help optimize people, processes and technology to support EAM.
Many studies have shown that a greater percentage of organizations find themselves on the lower end ofthe maturity model scale. Their strategy consists primarily of reactive and breakdown maintenance sprinkled in with some preventive maintenance when time permits.
This could be because many organizations used to see asset management primarily as something we just do and sometimes because it has been mandated by safety and regulatory requirements. It has been the work that management did not shine a spotlight on and in some cases maybe even ignored. When you consider that the average age of most maintenance workers was close to retirement with potentially no succession plans, alarm bells should be going off for organizations to start looking at asset management strategically.
On a positive note, the fact that most organizations are at the lower end of the maturity continuum can be taken to mean that asset management offers potential for great improvements and returns for many organizations. Even a small advancement in asset management practices can have a major impact. And now with IOT (Internet of Things) creating more assets within organizations and providing the ability to garner more data from existing assets, it is not surprising that Enterprise Asset Management is starting to take a front row seat.
The question is – how can you get started? We suggest the best way to proceed is to take a well paced transformational approach. First identify where you want to be on the continuum and then assess your current situation by reviewing:
This assessment will help identify the key areas that may be hindering you from reaching your goals and will lend to a stronger baseline and starting point. The assessment will also be the basis for a continuous improvement roadmap. You can identify your goals and benchmark where you are in achieving these goals. You can also identify quick wins and low risk opportunities for improvement to help keep the momentum alive and motivate staff to keep marching ahead in unison. In addition, the assessment will help identify areas where technology can be better optimized to support your enterprise asset management processes.
Are you making the best use of technology such as work/asset management systems, SCADA, mobility and reporting tools? In the end, you will have a framework to help you systematically move your organization through the maturity model continuum.
For many organizations taking on this journey might seem like a daunting task and for some it is. It requires the collaborative commitment across the organization from senior management to operations and maintenance staff. You need to examine and question current practices to see if there are opportunities for improvement.
More importantly, it requires the ability for people to accept change. People are often the biggest barrier to EAM success. Change is difficult for someone who were doing the same thing the same way for 20 or 30 years. Communication is essential to help grow acceptance of change. Keep staff updated on the progress of the changes. Make certain they understand how EAM will not only benefit the organization but themselves and their positions. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but hopefully it is a thought starter.
The reality is that EAM is truly the heartbeat at every organization and it definitely needs to be well taken care of if you want to be sustainable long term.
What does EAM mean for your organization? Let us know… perhaps we can help you strategize and determine how we can raise your potential. Contact us!