Asset Management: Process First

Tougher economic times, business directed to control spending, drive for greater efficiency and control of resource are all excellent reasons to take control of your assets and their management. Assets should come into a business for one reason only; to provide support in the generation of revenue in some form.  Understanding and measuring that investment becomes even more critical in these times with creditors and financial institutions more demanding on incremental returns and driving lower costs.

Many organisations have played lip service in the past to management of assets.  These behaviours have resulted in:

• Lack of asset resources available within the business when most required.
• High cost model for a given asset base.
• Less than optimal service throughout an assets lifecycle.

There are numerous reasons as to why these out comes occur, but the key is the future.  Taking control is core in reducing cost and improving business performance.  And the best time is…Now!  And how?  Through process!
Process and the constraining governance ensures repeatable actions are carried out in the most efficient and effective manner in order to meet the needs of the business. A good process will have some/all of the following characteristics:

• Defined – A process requires a defined set of inputs, outputs, desired outcomes and resource to operate effectively.  A defined scope ensures clear boundaries are understood and work is contained.
• Flexible – A process is a structured collection of activities or tasks.  It does not need to provide detailed procedural level descriptions.  This characteristic, if applied correctly, provides guidance to ensure the required result is achieved, without restricting user creativity.
• Sustainable – A poor process is never followed; with users drifting toward the easiest option available.  Processes need to be created with usability in mind, which can be achieved in part by having users participate in their creation.  Enforced process without user buy-in is never sustained.
• Accessible – Users need to be able to quickly access processes today.  In days gone by this may have been a manual on each desk or area, which became the coffee cup coaster over time.  In these days of cost efficiency, green considerations and technology, access via an intranet or similar mechanism can provide users with up to date process and procedural changes instantly.
• Controlled – Inadvertent process change without taking into account legislation, governance and business work practice requirements can put a business and its workers at risk.  Processes need to be reviewed, examined and updated regularly through their own control procedures to ensure risk is minimised.
• Informative – A good process should provide all the information a user requires to carry out the required activities.  This would include the activities, sequence of actions, decisions required, resources available, timelines, responsibilities, and reference material.
• Business focussed – Process for process sake is ridiculous.  A process should be focused on areas which deliver value to the business, which can be seen as the recipient of the process.  The process should provide clear direction to achieve the outcomes, which in turn delivers value back to business.
  

With these points in mind, steps which will be discussed in latter articles include:

1. Identifying processes – Where to start and how far to go.
2. Process support elements – such as resource, projects, tools.
3. Process creation – getting the information in a useful and controlled format.
4. Training of users – Communicating the information in manner to achieve greatest acceptance.
5. Maintenance of the processes – Ensuring governance is in place for review of suitability and performance.

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