IMPLEMENTING ISO 55000 FOR SMALL OR

IMMATURE ORGANISATIONS

Rolan Moodley, Jacobs Consulting Pty Ltd

Summary: International Standards are only a guide which allows businesses to follow best practise.

For some organisations it's not easy to understand these standards nor does it show the organisation

how to address each clause when implanting ISO55501, which becomes a challenge for businesses

to adopt these practises.

The ISO 55000 series of Asset Management standards launched in January 2014. Small to large

organisation envisaged using this standard to document their Asset Management System and other

related areas like finance, operations, maintenance, safety and environment, and other asset-related

activities to gain and, understand the value of their assets.

Figure 1 - IS055000 suite of standards

The ISO 55000 standard consists of 3 documents, the ISO55000 as the Overview Document,

ISO55001 as the Requirements document for the Asset Management System "the organisation

shall…", and ISO55002 Guideline for ISO55001 "the organisation should…".

implementing the ISO55001 processes within an organisation. However, it may not apply perfectly for

all business, and it is vital for companies to look at how their organisation's current state and

procedures are able to meet each criterion correctly.

Figure 2 - Asset Management Council's Capability Delivery Model

Some companies implemented ISO 55001 well, however, some misunderstood the actual intent of

the standard. Smaller companies, with fewer resources and capability, struggled to understand each

of the 72 shall clauses, overcomplicated their documents when considering the scale of their

operations and often missed the vital enabler by ensuring that a clear "line of sight” between key

documentation was created.

“Line of Sight – The alignment of objectives, requirements, and performance indicators from

the Asset Management Policy, Strategic Asset Management Plan through to the Asset Management

Plan/s”
The companies, who implemented ISO55001 well, are leading the market in Asset Management and

are seeing numerous benefits, most notably moving from a reactive based business to a preventative

or predictive business.

The ISO 55001 provides a framework to establish asset management policies, strategy and

objectives, processes and governance and facilitates an organisation to develop a line of sight form

strategic goals to implemented actions on the ground.

Keeping the document concise will allow the organisation, particularly smaller ones, to address all the

72 Shall Statement in ISO 55001. Small or large, it’s vital for an organisation to have the critical

documentation in place, like the Asset Management Policy, Strategic Asset Management Plan

(SAMP) and Asset Management Plan/s (AMP/s) to articulate the future of the business. The business

strategy and objects are an essential part of implementing ISO55001 because this document allows

the organisation to articulate their objectives and apply key performance indicators to meet those

objectives.

Keywords: ISO55001, RISK, SAMP, AMP, Strategy, Objectives.

INTRODUCTION

The areas of ISO 55001 which are required are grouped in 11 key areas for businesses to show documented evidence
and how their processes and procedures are implemented and understood within the organisation.

The 11 key areas consist of 72 Shall Statements and the overarching elements of these requirements can be captured in
3 documents for smaller business, or multiple for medium to large organisations.

The Asset Management Policy should be a one-page document setting the scene for the Strategic Asset Management
Plan (SAMP) and the Asset Management Plan/s. Small to Medium Enterprises Strategic Asset Management Plans can be
up to five pages where medium and larger business can be up to thirty pages long.

ISO 55001 should still be dissected for small businesses, as for larger ones, to understand and know how to address
each shall clause, be very concise with the fundamental principle of keeping a line of sight. In doing so a smaller
organisation should still identify the type of business it is in, recognises the capability and resources it has at its disposal
and how to maximise the benefits and the organisations return on investment from its assets.

But many smaller organisations with a smaller resource pool struggle to know where to start. There are many
organisations like the Asset Management Council, Global Forum on Maintenance & Asset Management, Institute of
Public Works Australasia and Institute of Asset Management (IAM) that have well-established guidelines on how to
implement ISO 55001.

After working within the Asset Management environment for over ten years, I have come across some organisation that
implemented asset management principles very well and some who haven't got it quite right from the start. Organisations
that got it right have their documentation concise, supporting processes and procedures in place and well-established
systems to support their business needs. Organisations like TransGrid, NASA, CASA are great examples of companies
who apply asset management principle very well.

So this is why it is so important to keep things concise and follow the organisation's line of sight.

UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE OF HOW TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

TransGrid, the owners of one the most extensive high voltage transmission networks in Australia, are a local example of
an organisation that has implemented ISO 55001 well. TransGrid where an early adopter gaining their certification in
2014, and then continuing on their continuous improvement journey to gain recertification again in 2017.

Figure 3- TransGrid Asset Management System diagram

The diagram above “courtesy of TransGrid” is their model of the Asset Management System and this shows that there are
organisations in the world that have the right idea of asset management as it applies to their type and scale of operations,
clearly understand their business and their level of maturity in asset management.

Starting from scratch as an Asset Manager / Owner is always hard, you question yourself with;

Where do I start?
What do I need to do?
What do I know about asset management?
What are the business strategies and objectives?
What is the scope of our asset management system?

These questions are valid and can be addressed in a simple and straightforward manner for small and immature
businesses. You can understand the scope of the organisation’s asset management system using these simple steps
below:
1. Define the organisation's asset management system by understanding what assets are in-scope and what assets
are out-of-scope. The overall framework should cover the asset management system boundaries and who is
responsible for the asset classes within the organisation. If you just starting the asset management journey,
consider starting with a smaller scope, such as physical plant and equipment, then expand the scope as you gain
awareness and confidence in the system
2. Documenting the Asset Management System which forms the organisations Strategic Asset Management Plan
(SAMP). This high-level document shows the overall business plan, alignment to the asset management strategy
and objectives, what or who supports these objectives and how the organisation intends on achieving these
objectives and performance indicators.
3. Start with documenting the Asset Management Policy first; this is a crucial document. The Asset Management
Policy must be able to set the scene and have the businesses line of sight. I.e. Every statement in the policy must
be able to demonstrate how it supports the achievement of the organisation’s missions and goals.
4. Set the organisations Asset Management objectives – i.e. defining the objectives based on what the function of
the asset means to the organisation. If it is an asset-based business, the objectives should be around
maintenance, legislation, regulation, construction, life-cycle cost, people, strategy, information, technology etc.
5. Planning is imperative to see how the organisation is going to achieve the asset management objectives that
have been set out in the SAMP.
It is essential to look at methods and criteria for decision making, how the organisation is going to prioritise the
activities and, use business resources to meet these objectives and, who will be accountable and responsible for
these tasks.
Documenting the assets full life-cycle costs are essential as they would lead to informed decision making.
It is a good idea to look at the organisation's assets and processes to ensure these align to the objectives
documented in the SAMP.
It is a good idea to have achievable key performance indicators for each objective in the SAMP. If you can’t
measure it, how do you know if its achieving what you need?
It is essential when managing physical assets that the business is aware of any impacts or risks involved when it
comes to financial and non-financial risks. The asset management plan/s should outline the risk and potential
failures of the physical assets.
The asset management plan/s should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure they stay relevant to the needs
of the organisation and its stakeholders. Top Management, the executive team, ideally should see the plans and
approve any review, regardless of whether there has been a change or not. Even reviewing the Asset
Management Plan’s and confirming that they still support you’re your business requirements is an extremely
valuable process and top management should be part of that process.
6. Documenting information is essential, but defining who should produce the information and who should have
controlled access is just as important. Data is the oxygen that gives life to an asset management system. Without
quality data that is accurate and accessible to the right people, the organisation cannot make the best business
decisions possible. Just like the human brain cannot function if it is starved of oxygen, a business cannot function
if it is starved of quality data. Naturally the Asset Information Strategy document needs to align with the Asset
Management Objectives. Define the strategic roadmap for the 1 - 5 yearly plan and budget, the business plans for
information and the effectiveness of the asset management system.
The Asset Information Plan/s should have information about the asset classes, metadata and data dictionaries,
legal obligations, regulations etc.
7. Documenting the organisations operational planning and control, look at how the business is going to plan,
implement and control the process which meets the organisation's requirements. Look at the implantation actions
which would have risks and opportunities. Risks and opportunities identified will lead to documenting the
businesses corrective and preventative activities in the asset management plan/s. The organisation is required to
decide on the criteria for, implement stable controls, process and procedures and, have confidence and evidence
to support the operations carried out. The organisation should be confident in how the risks are managed and
monitored and how the organisation has recorded the evidence to support an internal or external audit.
8. When documenting the organisation's performance evaluation, the business would be required to keep the
appropriate documents and information which they can provide as evidence from analysis, evaluation
measurement and monitoring.
9. Conducting an internal audit is a critical part of asset management, and it is essential to have an audit plan, with
planned intervals so that the business knows where there are potential risks, lack of evidence or the company
cannot provide evidence, would be documented in the audit results. Again measuring performance is a key
requirement to ensure you continue to meet your organisational goals.
10. Management review is critical and done on a regular basis, with the support of Top Management, so they can
review the asset management system to make sure that the business continues to be effective, efficient and
adequate.
11. Lastly, there is always room for improvement usually through a nonconformity or corrective action. These allow
the business to prove and provide evidence through documentation, processes, controls, and human interaction.
The business should address these nonconformities or incidents and show the corrective actions taken to
address them.
All of the above are important to implementing a successful AM system using ISO55001 as a guide. However, small and
immature organisations should remember to start with a simple and straightforward plan that is uncomplicated and makes
sense to the business. Part of the success is gaining internal support and an unwieldy and overly complicated system
may fail before it starts because it’s too complex for a small organisation. A basic system that is implemented and working
is far better than an extremely robust and complex system that never sees the light of day.

What do organisations struggle with?

There are three areas which business commonly miss or do not articulate very well when implementing ISO55001.These
are essential and are not very hard to achieve as other business units usually have it documented in their processes or
procedures, which are:

Change Management,
Continuous Improvement and
Outsourcing.

Change management is not only the changes made to data or a system, but it changes to document process and
procedures. Business should have a mechanism in place, for example, a communication plan, change management plan
to show evidence that changes are monitored and approved.

Continuous improvement is a requirement, and the organisation should be able to provide evidence on how the
business manages continuous improvement through audits committee reviews and addressing the risks. BAU or the SLT
can also control the risk.

Outsourcing is very import and how the business manages this through contracts, agreements, skills, competency
during the build and operate phase of the asset management life-cycle.

CONCLUSION

The steps above are a breakdown to help simplify how to implement ISO55001. The key to achieving ISO 55001
accreditation is to keep the organisation's documentation, processes, information consistent, simple and straightforward.

Address any nonconformities and show the actions taken with evidence. When the organisation is audited internal or
externally have an audit plan, know how the organisation is going to provide evidence to support the shall clauses and
continuous improvement actions. Show proof of change management, outsourcing controls and continuous improvements
and keep the organisation ’s documentation concise. Small and immature business do not to need to have
overcomplicated documents. Keep them straightforward, show evidence and continuous improvement. If in doubt, start
small and build up later rather than lose the opportunity with too much detail.

REFERENCES

1. ISO 55000 ISO Standards