Effective asset management and facility management software

asset management

Asset management is vital for the efficient and sustainable operation of any firm. Repair and maintenance at important places can preserve an asset’s performance and extend its life.

Proactive asset management shows what a facility owns or rents, its condition, location, and when it will be maintained or replaced. This streamlines facility managers’ budget planning, enables effective planned maintenance, and decreases backlog obligations.

This article explores the four phases of an asset’s life—planning, purchase, maintenance, and disposal—and shows how to deliver a profitable asset management strategy.

Planning and acquisition

When considering staff costs, training, maintenance, operation, withdrawal from service, depreciation, disposal, renewal, and rehabilitation, an asset’s operational costs often exceed its initial purchase price.

Good asset planning helps a company decide whether to buy an item (and if so, whether to purchase, lease, or hire it). When purchasing an asset, the facilities professional must specify its service criteria, including its minimum acceptable condition and how its service levels can be measured. Service levels should consider failure implications and minimal condition grade, which affect the asset’s criticality rating.

Good asset management begins with a complete asset register. The register should flow into asset management software, which helps plan for replacement and keeps records for insurance and auditors.

Keeping an updated asset management plan allows facility managers to track model performance. Life cycle cost analysis monitors asset performance and maintenance during operation to find cost-saving opportunities. This helps decide whether to replace an asset with a more efficient solution before the end of its useful life or continue with a poor initial purchasing decision.

Operation

The operational phase of an asset’s life is its longest and most useful—when it’s the asset is managed and used to serve the core company, proactive asset management is crucial.

With an asset register in place, an asset management procedure should be put up to ensure new items are included when purchased/leased and asset status changes are noted. Regular audits are important. Frequency depends on environment and assets. If a hospital has many moveable, high-value assets, the audit should be done more often.

In Phase 2, analyze asset performance, intervention options, risk assessment, and business continuity planning.

Maintenance

Asset management requires regular maintenance. A well-thought-out maintenance plan and the suitable sort of maintenance (preventative or reactive/corrective) lengthen asset life. The facility management software’s data will enable the facilities manager to determine if investing 10% extra per year in maintenance can double an asset’s life.

Proactive facility asset management includes understanding the criticality of each planned or reactive repair request. Scoring things by priority (0 is low, 100 is high) helps the facilities manager understand the urgency of jobs and an asset’s attributes to make informed decisions on maintenance or audits.

Disposal

Good asset management and maintenance planning means knowing when an asset’s useful life is over and disposing of it.

All disposed assets must be noted on the asset register/software to ensure they are not included in the portfolio. An equipment disposal form lets the asset’s ‘owner’ describe how it was disposed of and identify any residual value.

Asset-tracking technology

Before implementing a technological solution, learn how software might benefit maintenance. This helps pick systems and prioritize features.

Facility Management Software can manage asset finding, monitoring, tracking, and management. It can establish genuine operational expenses, support optimal life plans, and improve asset auditability and transparency.

Facility management software improves data visibility. For data to be useful, the organization must verify, correct, and manage it consistently. Therefore, it can measure and track performance more accurately, allowing for modifications to achieve desired results.

Summary

Good asset management can improve a company’s finances, performance, and service. It can also simplify FM operations.

Technology is important for tracking an asset’s location and managing its maintenance cycle. Handheld technology has improved the maintenance worker’s efficiency and access to information. Every asset must be managed and maintained to work as designed.

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About the Author: John Watson

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