In the construction industry, large, medium-sized, and small contractors have assets that are on site, on the road, and in the office. Assets are usually a competitive advantage but, if not properly managed, can become a strain on organizational resources. Which brings us to ISO 55001, an International Standard that is especially applicable to industries that are capital intensive. These industries include:
- Construction
- Property management
- Transportation
- Light manufacturing
- Heavy manufacturing
- Distribution
- Others
What Is ISO 55001?
This Standard was first published in 2014. It establishes specific mandate for the implementation and maintenance of an asset and calls for asset improvements using an Asset Management System (AMS). The Standard is based on PAS55 which has an excellent record in the utility industries. ISO 55001 is the result of efforts to bring the same approach and outcomes to all business sectors, including construction.
What Are the Benefits of ISO 55001 to a Construction Company?
There are benefits to following the conventions of ISO 55001 for construction companies. These benefits include:
- Benchmarking that allows for comparative performance of your construction company to the performance of firms in other industries helping to ensure that your implementation of ISO 55001 follows best practices.
- Better financial performance that is achieved by appropriate management of spend on asset management so that your company can lower costs and protect for the long-term the value of your assets.
- Risk management and mitigation are other benefits of asset management as you constantly review assess protocols and performance allowing you to make informed decisions concerning risk, opportunity, and cost of major equipment acquisition.
- Improved brand reputation stemming from the management of physical assets by enhancing stakeholder confidence and customer satisfaction.
- Improved company-wide communication coming from the need for collaboration between top management and project managers, project managers and crew foreman, and crew foremen with their crews.
This International Standard is primarily intended for use by
- Those involved in the establishment, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of an asset management system
- Those involved in delivering asset management activities and service providers
- Internal and external parties to assess the organization’s ability to meet legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements and the organization’s own requirements.
This International Standard is designed to enable an organization to align and integrate its asset management system with related management system requirements.
What are Factors for Implementation of ISO 55001?
ISO 55001 certification is not a “one size fits all” standard. For a company to succeed at ISO 55001 an asset management system must be built for your construction company’s unique needs. Following are some of the top tips for implementing ISO 55001:
- Get commitment and support from senior management
- Engage the whole business with good internal communication
- Establish an implementation team to get the best results
- Map out and share roles, responsibilities, and timescales
- Adapt the basic principles of the ISO 55001 standard to your business
- Motivate staff involvement with training and incentives
- Share ISO 55001 knowledge and encourage staff to train as internal auditors
- Regularly review your ISO 55001 system to make sure you are continually improving it
Software to obtain ISO 55001
One hassle that construction firms face in implementing ISO 55001 is the amount of paperwork associated with the certification process. Assignar is a Software as a Service for construction company management. Customers of Assignar have an edge in providing data for certification as Assignar software helps in workforce and asset relocation. In accomplishing these goals, the software generates loads of reports, some of which make ISO 55001 certification requirements for information easier to deal with.
