201703 – Boshier – Technology Based Asset Management

Asset Management is an area that continues to develop through innovation, technical developments and through new ways of looking at whole of life management. In tough economic times, businesses often take short cuts with asset management in a bid to remain profitable. Its usually one of the first areas whose budget gets cut back for a whole range of reasons. Such a decision only provides a short term solution to a problem that ultimately gets worse and comes back to bite even greater.

New technologies are helping to drive a long term, reliability driven approach that is delivering greater gains for businesses. In adopting a back basics approach which includes good work practices and fixing the problem assets, is resulting in some amazing outcomes. The focus is to reduce the amount of unplanned maintenance and to implement a best practice, proactive approach with the right tools and information.

With the overall aim being to spend less on maintenance to provide a greater gain for the business. The benefits this produces can transform a business with a poor reputation for on time delivery to a highly reliable, customer focused operation where patronage growth raises the overall service performance.

Technologies such as BIM, Mobility, Analytics, and a suite of ISO standards represents a coming of age for rail systems asset management. They are transforming the rail sector and are helping to drive a long term approach to maintenance with benefits. One that is now allowing staff to do more with less whilst allowing them to improve the asset reliability, availability and system safety.