How the Asset Management Landscape is Changing in Health

Teifi Caron
Senior Consultant (Strategic Asset Planning & Sustainability)

20 February, 2019

Introduction

Asset Management is often confused with maintenance, significantly undervaluing its strategic significance. Strategic Asset Management (SAM) focuses on optimising asset portfolios across each stage of the asset lifecycle, including: planning, acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal.

The benefits of SAM are increasingly being recognised, leading to translation into government policy and enterprise-wide integration.

Benefits of SAM

Today’s sophisticated asset management landscape presents the opportunity for wide ranging benefits for health services that understand and incorporate the value of SAM, including:

• Reduced operating costs;
• Adaptive reuse and extended asset lifespans, reducing CapEx budgets;
• Improved decision-making underpinned by robust asset data;
• Better quality assets and enhanced service delivery outcomes;
• Financially and environmentally sustainable asset portfolios; and
• Enhanced risk management, resilience and business continuity.
  
  

Changes to the AM Landscape

In parallel with increased competition for limited funding pools and more scrutiny to achieve financial sustainability, exposure to SAM is increasing. Jurisdictions are responding to these challenges by introducing new asset management frameworks and reporting requirements.

• Asset Management Accountability Framework (AMAF), Victoria
• Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP), Queensland;
• Capital Planning, NSW; and
• Strategic Asset Management Framework, SA and WA.

These policy measures have direct implications to health services, including mandated compliance requirements. Furthermore, they will equip health services to maximise the value from existing assets and adopt an entire asset lifecycle approach to infrastructure and service delivery planning in alignment with organisational objectives and available funding envelopes.

Adapting to the New Landscape

Changes to the asset management landscape are a response to the increasing size and complexity of government asset portfolios. Additionally, service providers are expected to deliver more from an ageing asset base that costs more to operate and maintain.

Adapting to this new asset management landscape requires a different way of thinking to drive more value from the assets. A mature SAM capability is required to embed real cost savings in the operational profile and enhance decision-making, supported by robust information.

Fortunately, the tools and capability to support you achieve your SAM objectives and integrate strategic planning and service planning with infrastructure planning are available:

• The International Standards Organisation (ISO) best practice standard for Asset Management – the ISO 55000 series - can be used to assess and optimise asset management capability in line with organisational requirements. Accreditation is also available.;
• A robust Asset Management System should articulate a considered asset management policy, plan and clear asset management objectives based on service delivery requirements and in alignment with strategic objectives;
• To determine the performance of the existing asset portfolio, quantitative and qualitative assessment should be considered. Leading and lagging KPIs can be used to drive performance improvement; and
• Aligning asset planning with existing climate change frameworks can identify further operational efficiencies, enhance resilience and improve sustainability performance.