Asset Management And ISO 55000

This new column, and a dynamic body of content at efficientplantmag.com/iso55k, will explore the intent, issues, concerns, and questions relating to the ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management Standard. Over time, it will reflect insight from a number of sources, including emerging asset-management practitioners and other experts in the field of asset management.

This column and the website will address these burning questions:

• What is ISO 55000:2014?
• Why should you be concerned about ISO 55000?
• Do you have to become certified in ISO 55000?
• What is asset management?
• What is the role of maintenance?
• Where do reliability programs fit?
• Is ISO 55000 just another new maintenance program?

ISO 55000:2014

Many readers are familiar with the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standard and ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standard. These, and many other international standards, are developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) based in Geneva, Switzerland (iso.org).

The ISO 55000:2014 Asset Management Standard (issued in late January 2014) defines the requirements for a “management system for managing assets,” also known as a management standard for an asset-management management system. The new Standard is not a standard for how to manage assets.

While ISO 55000 is a general topic and current buzzword in industry, keep in mind that the criteria for certification are not contained in a document entitled ISO 55000:2014. The Standard is not confined to a single publication, but instead is reflected in separate and related documents, often referred to as the “suite of ISO 55000 Standards” or “ISO 5500X Standards.” They are:

• ISO 55000:2014—Asset Management Overview, Principles, and Terminology
• ISO 55001:2014—Asset Management–Management Systems–Requirements
• ISO 55002:2014—Asset Management–Management Systems–Guidelines for the Application of ISO-55001

While the three separate publications are available for purchase from a number of sources, the ISO website provides these online browsing versions at no cost:

• ISO 55000:2014
• ISO 55001: 2014
• ISO 55002:2014

‘Assets’ in context

A quick review of ISO 55000:2014 reveals that the term asset (in the context of the standard) refers to more than what we typically consider as physical assets, i.e., facilities and equipment. ISO 55000, 2.3 defines an asset as “an item, thing, or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization.” This can be interpreted as intellectual property, real estate, software, works of art, or literally anything that an organization depends on to achieve its goals. (Going forward, this column will concentrate on types of assets commonly found in operations, including physical plants, buildings, equipment and processes, utility equipment and systems, servers and networks, control systems, and related assets.)

Assets within an organization (not the organization, company, plant, or facility) are the focus of ISO-55001 certification. ISO 55001 is not about certifying asset-management methods and programs but is the system for managing assets throughout the entire life cycle of the targeted assets.

To be clear, asset-management systems can also focus on individual assets, groups of assets, types of assets, asset systems, or asset portfolios across the business as a whole. This means that organizations can pursue ISO-55001 certification for an individual value-adding asset, an important production system, and/or a type of asset that is common across the organization and at various locations.

A system view

The ISO 55001:2014 Asset Management Standard describes the elements of a system for asset management and serves as the criteria for certification. Note that this Standard spans the entire life cycle of the assets: design, engineering, procurement, installation, startup, operation, maintenance, restoration, decommissioning, and disposal. It’s designed to assure the organization and its stakeholders, regulators, insurance underwriters, and investors that the organization has a system in place to manage their assets in ways that deliver value aligned with the organization’s objectives.

While you may now understand what ISO 55000 is, it’s just as important to understand what it is not. To be precise, the Standard doesn’t specify the process, programs, or best practices for actually managing assets. Neither is it a “standard for the management of assets.” Even though maintenance and reliability processes, programs, and best practices fit within ISO 55000, the new Standard is definitely not about maintenance and reliability.

Managing risk

The intent of ISO 55001:2014 is to specify the criteria for a system to manage an organization’s assets in ways that align value with the organization’s objectives. All physical assets in an organization are not equal in terms of a value proposition, however. Some are clearly more critical to achieving the objectives of the business than others. Likewise, some assets present a higher degree of risk to business goals than others.