Improved Asset Performance seen as top challenge for Infrastructure Asset Management Professionals

We asked our community about their concerns and priorities for the coming year. Throughout the report we have highlighted extracts from the respondents on the challenges they are facing and their top priorities for the year ahead.

Asset Performance

Improving asset performance is the biggest challenge facing 76% of asset management professionals in their current projects. It is a particularly acute challenge when maintaining older assets and infrastructure. Delivering a reliable and stable service that keeps customers happy is of paramount concern, and finding ways to link improved asset management to drive better customer service is a key priority, but implementing and measuring the right performance indicators to help achieve this can be very difficult.

Regulation

For such highly regulated companies it’s understandable that demonstrating regulatory compliance is the top priority for 63% of asset management professionals. Health and safety regulations, including protecting the lone worker in the field, is a primary focus, while practitioners also want to understand how PAS 55 accreditation can help optimise asset management. Several respondents stated that clarity on how carbon emission and climate change regulation will affect the asset management industry.

Risk Management

Improving risk management came out as the biggest challenge for 60% of asset management professionals – not surprising for companies operating in such highly regulated industries. Industry practitioners do not fully understand the total cost of project ownership and struggle to reduce lifecycle costs. Forecasting - and then mitigating - people, process and performance risk in complex projects is also a huge challenge.

Strategy

30% of asset management professionals stated that they struggle to create a sustainable asset management strategy, and require guidance in pulling together the plethora of tools and solutions deployed across the business. Looking ahead to 2013, building a sustainable asset management road map and realising the full potential of infrastructure asset management are top priorities for many practitioners.

People

Given that people engagement usually registers as one of the most complex challenges in any project, it was surprising to see that only 23% of respondents indicated that a lack of end user buy-in was their most pressing challenge. Practitioners struggle to gain support from peer level stakeholders (such as Heads of Maintenance and Operations), communicate the value of asset management to executive leadership and change the perception of asset management within the business.

Smart Grid

Finally 8% of industry practitioners require further clarity on how smart grid deployment will affect their asset management initiatives and future investments in tools and technologies.

2013 Infrastructure Asset Management Exchange

Taking place 18-20 March 2013 the Infrastructure Asset Management Exchange brings together 80 COOs, Managing Directors, Heads of Asset Management, Maintenance and Operations from leading enterprises across Europe to meet with a select group of leading solution providers and industry analysts to find solutions to their most pressing asset management challenges.

For more information on the 2013 Exchange: Visit: www.iamexchange.com Call: +44(0) 207 369 9484 Email: [email protected] Join our LinkedIn Group Follow us on Twitter! #IAMEX