System Strategy
New Technology Software
There are two major areas of benefit to be derived from new technology aspects of asset management, and they are the:
- Identification of efficiency gains that could be made over existing asset performance and operations
- Reduction in the overall life cycle costs of the assets in rehabilitation and replacement.
In the first instance, these benefits flow from the ability to quickly identify the operations and maintenance costs of individual assets and their components, for a certain level of performance.
These are compared against the efficiencies and savings to be made through the implementation of modern, improved assets that would perform the same functions.
This constitutes an opportunistic investment where the benefit relates to an efficiency gain.
There is no likelihood of failure of the existing asset, and therefore the benefits will not include any major risk reduction as measured through consequence of failure, etc.
The second instance constitutes an ancillary benefit to the extended asset life. By cost effectively extending asset life, the organization will reap the benefit of more competitive and better rehabilitation techniques being available at a later date in the asset's life cycle.
What If Scenarios
The effective long term strategic planning strategies of any asset owner are dependent on its ability to predict and model the impact of a variety of possible scenarios such as:
- Staff turnover
- Input costs, eg. energy
- Changes in construction costs
- Developments of new technology
- Environmental issues
- Various growths in demand and population
- Ageing assets on the level of service
- The failure modes of the system.
By looking at the sensitivity of each of the issues concerned, strategic planners will be able to predict problems or issues that may arise for the organization within the time frame for the strategic plan.
A good asset database will enable the organization to develop strategies and techniques to overcome the predicted problems.