Asset Maintenance Management: what it is and 5 tips to manage it

Asset maintenance management is a strategy that helps improve physical resource maintenance processes. Here are 5 useful tips to optimize it!

Physical resources are at the heart of every organization and it is important to take care of them so that their performance remains unchanged over time.

In this article I will give you some valuable tips to help you improve your asset maintenance management strategies. If you don’t know that expression yet, don’t worry! Below I will explain its meaning and help you discover why it is different from asset management.

If you need to optimize the management and maintenance of your resources right away, I recommend you first rely on a Facility Management software. It is a system that encloses in a single centralized platform the functions to plan, track and manage all your maintenance activities and keep track of the performance of your assets. Try it now and find out how easy it is to implement a successful maintenance management strategy!

What is Asset Maintenance

The term “asset maintenance” literally means “maintenance of assets”.

It refers to the set of technical, administrative and management actions aimed at maintaining or returning the physical resources of an organization in a state that can perform the required function.

“Assets” means all physical elements used in the day-to-day operations of a facility intended to provide an advantage to the business. They can include buildings, plants, machinery, tools, equipment, computer equipment and so on.

These goods are subject to wear and deterioration over time. Depending on the budget available and the objectives set, companies can use different types of maintenance to ensure the proper functioning of these resources and maximize their efficiency and productivity.

Why Asset Maintenance is Important

Although “maintenance” is often thought of as synonymous with “repair,” in reality, in an efficient structure, asset maintenance eliminates the need for repairs.

Companies that base their business on the use of tangible assets, have to deal with the physical effects of time and daily operations. Through effective maintenance it is possible, however:

• keeping resources in top shape;
• prolong the useful life of the equipment;
• improving the performance and reliability of facilities;
• limiting unexpected faults and malfunctions;
• reducing unplanned outages.

To achieve these objectives, maintenance operations within a facility cannot be relied on chance.

It is important to adopt targeted maintenance management strategies that help companies understand when, where and how to intervene to keep their resources always in optimal condition. These are the goals of asset maintenance management.

What is Asset Maintenance Management

Asset maintenance management is a strategy of continuous improvement of processes that aims to ensure the correct maintenance of company assets, in order to optimize operational efficiency and minimize maintenance costs.

This process requires a strategic and systematic planning of maintenance activities and the creation of an accurate monitoring and reporting system. Thanks to asset maintenance management it is possible to maximize the reliability, availability, safety and useful life of the equipment.

What are asset maintenance management strategy’s essential components?

An AMMS (Asset Maintenance Management Strategy) can be defined as really effective if it allows you to monitor, manage and keep under control the following five essential components, which serve to fully characterize the resources held by any organization, namely:

1. identification. Not all of a company’s assets can be managed and maintained in the same way. For this reason, it is important to correctly identify all the assets for which you are responsible and define the relative level of criticality, so as to choose the most appropriate maintenance strategy;
2. position. In order to properly manage an asset, it is necessary to know its exact position. It is likely, however, that a company’s resources are not all located in the same place. Some organizations base their business on the use of mobile assets or resources distributed across multiple geographies. To more easily locate the assets to be managed, many professionals in the sector rely on GIS (Geographical Information System) and GPS (Global Position System) technologies;
3. condition. Knowing the condition in which the assets are located is essential to plan the appropriate management, maintenance and disposal strategies. Condition information can be collected manually by visual inspections or by direct monitoring with intelligent sensors;
4. maintenance. Depending on the type, position and condition of each asset, it is possible to create an adequate maintenance plan. It is important to establish which are the most critical resources that need preventive maintenance and which, instead, can be managed with simple corrective maintenance. The use of CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) systems will help simplify and automate all maintenance management operations;
5. cost. Asset performance tends to decline over time as operating costs become higher and higher. A correct asset maintenance management strategy will maximize the useful life of resources and identify potential areas of savings, minimizing management costs.

Asset Maintenance Management vs. Asset Management: What’s the Difference?

Although the name may be misleading, asset maintenance management strategies should not be confused with asset management strategies.

Although these two concepts complement each other, they are not the same thing.

Asset management refers to a management system that requires the contribution of all departments involved in business processes (maintenance represents one of these departments).

Every aspect of an asset’s useful life – from research to purchase to disposal – is part of the entire asset management strategy. This strategy involves the planning, production, maintenance, accounting, etc. departments working together to assessing cost’s management, value, risk, and performance of each asset.

Asset maintenance management focuses on the execution of maintenance activities and the coordination of maintenance resources (including parts, labor, budget, etc.). This strategy can be considered as a smaller and more defined component of asset management.

Maintenance arises from the need to keep the equipment running, with maintenance plans always updated and costs as controlled as possible. To achieve excellence in maintenance, however, it is essential to enter the field of asset management.

If the goal is to optimize asset availability throughout their lifecycle, reduce repair costs, increase productivity and comply with regulations, you need to follow resource management principles that help define the best strategies to apply to each asset to achieve the ultimate goal.

The better the asset management strategy, the lower the costs associated with its maintenance.

5 Best Practices to Improve Maintenance Management

If you really want to get the most out of your resources and optimize your maintenance management processes, follow the 5 tips below:

1. perform Adequate Data Collection. Collecting reliable information about your assets will help you improve decision making and achieve operational cost savings. Using a resource tracking software will allow you to create a centralized database where information will be constantly updated making easily accessible to everyone who needs it;
2. implements the right maintenance strategy. The data collected in the initial phase is essential to choose the most appropriate maintenance strategy. The most critical resources will need a preventive maintenance program. This strategy will help you reduce unplanned downtime, improve the performance and efficiency of your assets keeping maintenance costs in check.
3. improves inventory management. Proper inventory management is essential to ensure adequate availability of materials and spare parts ensuring continuity in the production and operation of resources. Using a MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) strategy will make it easier to avoid excess inventory, optimize orders. Receiving the necessary materials in the right place and in the shortest possible time reduces management costs;
4. monitor maintenance metrics and KPIs. Maintenance metrics and KPIs are essential parameters for monitoring asset and maintenance team performance. Keeping track of these parameters will help you implement increasingly effective and targeted maintenance management strategies;
5. strengthen your team with training and technology. An efficient team must be supported by the strategies illustrated so far with cutting-edge technologies. Therefore it seeks to strengthen training to increase the skills, capacities and staff’s preparation. Be sure to use the latest technologies, such as digital CMMS systems. Particularly to track resource performance in real time and schedule maintenance managing all tasks from a single centralized platform.

To implement a successful Asset Maintenance Management strategy, follow the best practices just illustrated and rely on asset maintenance software. With this powerful system you can plan, monitor and manage directly online centralizing every aspect related to your assets maintenance. This will allow you to improve the productivity of your maintenance processes. Greatly reducing the time and costs related to your resource management.