Visibility - The critical foundation for effective asset management.
By Domenic Fonte, AssetFuture
AssetFuture recently had the pleasure of hosting a fireside chat at AMPEAK 2024 that explored some of the transformative insights gained from implementing Strategic Asset Management.
Joining us was Damien Green from Venues NSW, a government agency which manages the most significant sporting and entertainment precincts in NSW. Venues NSW has transformed its asset management capability to get accurate oversight of all its assets and enable its Asset Management initiatives while achieving compliance with NSW Government requirements.
Damien shared his insights alluding to; Leadership, Capability and Currency of Data, however it was clear that underpinning their success was clearly the importance of visibility: the state of not just being able to see, but also to be seen.
Being visible to the executive (and therefore the rest of the organisation)
Interestingly, we spoke of the ‘voice’ of asset management, and the importance of being visible to the executive team, so you can bring them on the journey and align corporate strategy to asset management strategy.
Asset Managers need to be able to influence executive leadership - the "sphere of influence" that we discussed at last year’s AMPEAK - and to do this they need to ensure that senior leaders understand the value and benefits of Asset Management, and the shared goals for the AM function and the overall organisation.
Getting visibility into your assets
Achieving full visibility into your own asset portfolio is the critical foundation for effective asset management, from financial planning to optimising performance.
Key to visibility is having high quality data on your portfolio: information that’s accurate, relevant, complete and accessible. With the recent changes in the economic landscape, financial resources are tighter, budgets are stretched, and appropriate capability is limited. This has highlighted a greater need for Asset Managers to make smarter and informed decisions on assets, with an increased reliance on metrics to support data-driven decisions.
““we all know Data is key at all stages of asset management, so treat data as an asset, that has a lifecycle just like our tangible assets and if you program data currency, it will provide you with visibility. If you get visibility of your assets, you will be visible!””
Long term visibility - sustainability and the circular economy
One shared goal is sustainability. This has become a top priority for Australian organisations - made even more urgent by the upcoming mandatory ESG reporting requirements that will require reporting on Scope One, Two and Three emissions as part of business activities. Asset Management has an integral role to play here, by enabling a circular economy with the reuse, recycle and repurposing of assets.
For example, when it comes to building new facilities, Venues NSW is looking to use assets that can be recycled or reused when decommissioned from their original purpose. Visibility is vital here: knowing exactly what assets are available and their precise condition.
Asset Management Co-Pilot?
In wrapping up the conversation, we explored a ‘future AM gamechanger’ where Damien predicts AI will increasingly enhance the effectiveness of asset management and increase visibility. While it won’t replace humans, Damien suggests AI has a role as a co-pilot in streamlining decision-making and synthesising information. Seems like we need to watch this space…