The 39 Subjects of Asset Management

Understanding the different functions and disciplines of asset management

The Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM) has worked with the major bodies (SMRP, PEMAC, IAM, etc.) to achieve a consensus on the major subjects within asset management.

These subjects are intended to describe the complete scope of topics within asset management. You can download the GFMAM guide for free here. It is important that anyone who wishes to understand asset management has an understanding of each of these topics, and hopefully some experience in each.

However, it is not expected everyone in asset management will be an expert in each subject, that is just not possible. The IAM is currently working to develop detailed subject specific guides, which will expand on the GFMAM document and some are currently available for download.

The 39 subjects are broken into 6 subject groups, which are described below.

Strategy & Planning

The Strategy & Planning subject group is the core of an asset management system. It covers the activities required to align the system with the organization, implement and improve the system.

Strategy & Planning focuses on the long-term strategic requirements of the organization and planning to achieve the objectives. The subjects covered are;

Asset Management Policy
Asset Management Strategy & Objectives
Demand Analysis
Strategic Planning
Asset Management Planning

Asset Management Decision Making

Making decisions that impact the lifecycle of the asset is a common activity that takes place frequently. To make these decisions, common frameworks, analysis and strategies should be in place.

Having these commons tools and strategies will ensure that the decisions are aligned with the organization’s objectives, regardless who is make the decision. Included in the Asset Management Decision Making subject group are;

Capital Investment Decision-Making
Operations & Maintenance Decision-Making
Life Cycle Value Realisation
Resourcing Strategy
Shutdowns & Outage Strategy

Lifecycle Delivery

During the operational phase of the asset, it is up to the asset managers to look for efficiencies and improve the performance, cost or risk of the asset. Since the operational phase is typically the longest, it is vital that there are systems in place to manage the asset with the long term in mind.

During the operational phase, maintenance activities come into play, and can be a major source of inefficiency in both the assets and the support services of the assets. The subjects within this subject group describe how to identify and exploit those inefficiencies and how to ensure consistency in the assets;

Technical Standards & Legislation
Asset Creation & Acquisition
Systems Engineering
Configuration Management
Maintenance Delivery
Reliability Engineering
Asset Operations
Resource Management
Shutdown & Outage Management
Fault & Incident Management
Asset Decommissioning and Disposal

Asset Information

Being able to perform decisions and carry out the life cycle activities, require information. Having the right data and information is vital to being successful. The diverse set of data must be accessible, and have a single source of truth. This is where the Asset Information comes in. Asset information lays out everything required to make data-driven decisions;

Asset Information Strategy
Asset Information Standard
Asset Information Systems
Data & Information Management

Organization & People

Since asset management is a system spread across the organization, it will have an impact on specific functions and resources. Asset management relies on the right organization, roles, and people supporting and work towards the common objectives of the organization. As such, the Organization & People subject group covers;

Procurement & Supply Chain Management
Asset Management Leadership
Organizational Structure
Organizational Culture
Competence Management

Risk & Review

Balancing risk is at the core of asset management. How the risk is managed, and performance reviewed will allow asset managers to continue to improve not only the assets but the system as well. Being able to do this, requires knowledge in a variety of areas;

Risk Assessment & Management
Contingency Planning & Resilience Analysis
Sustainable Development
Management of Change
Asset Performance & Health Monitoring
Asset Management System Monitoring
Management Review, Audit & Assurance
Asset Costing & Valuation
Stakeholder Engagement

A successful asset management systems involve all the subjects covered above. This is why you require crossing functional and multi-disciplined people to make it successful.

Have you read the GFMAM Asset Management Landscape? It is free and covered each of the subjects with references to additional documents. Have you read any of the IAM’s Subject Specific Guides? Do they provide additional insight to the subjects?

Remember, to find success, you must first solve the problem, then achieve the implementation of the solution, and finally sustain winning results.

I’m James Kovacevic
Eruditio, LLC
Where Education Meets Application

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