Understanding And Complying With ISO 55001: Part 3 in a 3 Part Series

Planning Part 3 in a 3 part series by Darrin Wikoff

Asset Management Plans are documents that translate the Asset Management Policy into actions or tasks, including resource requirements and timelines, for a specific asset in order to mitigate identified risks and achieve the stated value and stakeholder defined objectives. Section 6 – Planning – of ISO 55001 lists the requirements associated with defining asset management objectives and, planning to achieve the asset management objectives.
When defining your asset management objectives, the focus should be on four equal but unique business categories, Finance, Customers, Community and Employees, relative to your stakeholder requirements.  Objectives should be balanced in order to drive performance improvement in two equal directions, the financial health of the business and overall image of the business.
 Financial growth is based on the organization’s ability to reduce the cost of operating through focused improvements in overhead, maintenance and material costs. Financial growth is also reliant on the business’s ability to improve capacity through higher levels of availability, production rate and quality. These capacity improvements must be balanced by customer demand.
 Image growth, on the other hand, is based on the organization’s ability to develop intellectual capital within its own business through training, strength-based organizational structures and performance management, and the business’s ability to expand its license to operate within the community based on environmental, health and safety performance.
Demonstrate that risk-based methodologies are used when planning the design, implementation, operation, support and improvement of the asset management system.  Risk refers to stakeholder requirements and the impact that the asset management system has on these objectives, such as resource utilization and cost.
Demonstrate that each and every business function within the asset management system has specific and verifiable asset management objectives that align to the overall Strategic Asset Management Plan and stakeholder objectives.
Demonstrate that each asset management plan is derived from a risk-based methodology and specifies the type of task needing to be performed, the individual skill or competency required to complete the task, the frequency at which the task will be performed and the method of determining if a completed task complies with the intended outcomes.
Demonstrate that financial risks considered during the design and implementation of asset management plans include life cycle costs and residual risks at the end of the life cycle period.